One of the local authorities with the tightest clampdowns on rogue landlords and letting agents has issued a statement celebrating its successes. Tower Hamlets council in east London says it has brought 57 successful prosecutions against rogue landlords and letting agents in the past three years. Courts issued fines totalling over £361,662, of which £115,461 were handed to landlords and £225,500 to letting agents.  Thirteen landlords were given a criminal… Continue Reading Rogue Landlords and Letting Agents Clampdown

ARLA Propertymark has blasted the government over its net zero policy new boiler ban from 2035 and giving landlords £5,000 to pay for alternatives. Timothy Douglas, policy manager at Propertymark, says: “The government’s long-awaited Heat and Buildings Strategy has missed a vital opportunity to provide landlords, homeowners and businesses with adequate incentives and financial support to ensure that their decarbonisation targets for the property sector will be met. “Their announcement… Continue Reading New Boiler Ban As Letting Agents Put Heat On Government

All sides of the industry have expressed anger and frustration that effectively yesterday’s Budget ignores the private rental sector. ARLA Propertymark’s policy and campaigns manager Timothy Douglas says: “The announcements provide some good news but the Budget ignores the private rental sector. “A rise in the national living wage is good in principle but with inflation expected to top 4% by the end of the year, higher household bills from… Continue Reading Budget Ignores Private Rental Sector

Justice Secretary Dominic Raab says it will take a year for possession court delays to be reduced substantially and even longer to restore the judicial system to pre-pandemic efficiency. The private rental sector has been plagued by legal problems for around 20 months with eviction bans, extended notice periods and possession court delays to accommodate social distancing. Even now, with the eviction ban lifted and notice periods in England restored… Continue Reading Possession Court Delays – At Least A Year

The number of private renters in arrears in England has more than doubled during the pandemic, according to new government data. The latest Household Resilience Study shows that in April-May, 7% of private renters were in arrears, up from 3% in 2019/20, amounting to more than 780,000 renters. Another 9% expect to fall behind with their rents over the next 12 months, despite private rents having fallen in real terms.… Continue Reading Private Renters In Arrears Doubles

In one of the many submissions sent to Chancellor Rishi Sunak prior to his Autumn Budget at the end of October is to stop penalising landlords and just for a change help encourage the sector. The trade body that sent the submission firmly believes Sunak should tackle the pandemic’s tenant rental debt. It also states that if the ponderously slow court system is not changed along with ever increasing tenant… Continue Reading Chancellor Told To Stop Unfairly Penalising Landlords

Almost a third of landlords who took part in a UK survey have had to take some form of rent reduction because of Covid. 753 landlords took part in a survey held by a UK wide online lettings agent said that they had agreed to reductions in rent or payment ‘holidays’ because of the pandemic’s impact on redundancies, fears over job security and furlough as well as its imminent demise. The survey also found… Continue Reading Rent Reduction For Third Of Landlords

The Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities says the long-awaited Rental Reform White Paper will now not be published until next year. It had long been stated by the Ministry that the Rental Reform White Paper would come out “this autumn” but now contributors to the preparation of the document have been told that the extra time will give the government an opportunity to produce a “balanced package of… Continue Reading Government delays Rental Reform White Paper

Lettings agency Hamptons, part of Connells, says there’s little sign that the stamp duty holiday led to large numbers of new investors of buy to let properties. At their peak this year, investors purchased 14 per cent of homes sold across Great Britain in February, the month before the original scheduled end of the stamp duty holiday.   However, over the entire course of the 15-month tax-break investors purchased 12 per… Continue Reading Stamp Duty Holiday did nothing to improve buy to let purchases

London Assembly’s housing committee has called on the government to raise the landlord cost cap of upgrading rented properties to £10,000. Under Domestic Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (MEES) Regulations, landlords currently don’t have to spend more than £3,500 (including VAT) on energy efficiency improvements. A government consultation earlier this year also suggested increasing the maximum investment amount, resulting in an average per property spend of £4,700 under a £10,000 landlord… Continue Reading Raise Landlord Cost Cap For Eco Upgrades

A despairing landlord has finally managed to evict a rogue tenant who managed to disrupt the court process by more than a year after claiming he had Covid four times. He’s now more than £100,000 out of pocket after the man racked up £83,000 in rent arrears and has paid out at least £20,000 in legal fees. But the despairing landlord, from Saundersfoot in Wales, is just grateful to finally… Continue Reading Despairing Landlord Evicts Rogue Tenant

As of today (1 October 2021), changes to Section 21 and Section 8 notice periods have returned to their pre-pandemic levels in England. Since the introduction of measures in this area in March 2020, Section 21 and Section 8 notice periods conditions have been altered on several occasions due to the ongoing instability caused by the pandemic.  While most landlords and tenants have tried to sustain tenancies throughout the pandemic, this has… Continue Reading Changes To Section 21 and Section 8 Notice Periods

The chief executive of Shelter says the experience of Scotland shows that the scrapping of S21 eviction powers produces benefits that far outweigh disadvantages. Polly Neate, speaking on BBC Radio 4, says that Scotland effectively scrapped its equivalent of Section 21 almost four years ago.  “We’ve done a lot of research on the scrapping of S21 eviction powers in Scotland and the benefits for renters have been huge and the… Continue Reading S21 Eviction Benefits Outweigh Problems

Today the Government will go ahead with a planned cut to Universal Credit of £20 per week which will worsen rent arrears crisis says NRLA. The level of welfare support had been increased in light of the impact of the pandemic on household incomes. With the rent arrears crisis at historically high levels, the NRLA’s view is that this cut will significantly worsen the levels of rent debt accrued by… Continue Reading Universal Credit Cut Will Worsen Rent Arrears Crisis Says NRLA

After 10 days of reports of soaring energy costs, PropTech supplier Goodlord has produced a series of tips for letting agents on how they can help tenants with the issue. Rik Smith, head of tenant services at Goodlord, says: Point fuel-poor tenants towards financial support – If your tenants are struggling to keep up with the energy costs, it’s important that they are aware that most suppliers do have support available… Continue Reading Agents Advised To Help Tenants Reduce Energy Costs

New research reveals that student property portfolios based in smaller university towns or cities typically generate the best returns. The findings, from Paragon Bank, reveal the 10 best locations for student property portfolios investment, highlighting the places where investors can generate the highest rental yields.  Swansea tops the list with an average yield of 9.56 per cent for student property, with an average property price of £231,534. Towns and cities with… Continue Reading Best Areas For Student Property Portfolios

A £65 million fund to cover rent arrears built during the Covid-19 pandemic has been announced today, following months of NRLA campaigning. The cash will be given to councils in England to support low-income earners in rent arrears – with payments expected to be made directly to landlords. The NRLA has been calling for a comprehensive package of financial support to tackle arrears built since the start of the pandemic.… Continue Reading £65 Million Fund To Cover Rent Arrears