Making Tax Digital Central Housing Group

HMRC Takes Aim At Short-Let Landlords And Sends ‘Encouragement’ Letters

Recent tax advisers and accountants’ feedback is that HMRC has sent out a wave of ‘one-to-many’ letters to taxpayers. HMRC’s latest targeted ‘victims’ are taxpayers claiming Research and Development Tax Relief, individuals exceeding the lifetime limit of the Business Asset Disposal Relief and unsurprisingly those who operate short-term property letting and perhaps not declaring part or all of their ‘gains’. According to the financial advisers and accountants the letters were…

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Landlords And Property Agents Central Housing Group

Deposit scheme goes green with trees initiative

The Tenancy Deposit Scheme has announced a link up with eco organisations in a tree-planting initiative. TDS says the campaign was driven by agent customer and so far over 100 trees have been planted across the UK. Sales head Debbie Davies says: “As the world looks towards greener, more sustainable solutions to our everyday actions, this initiative is an excellent example of how we can all make a difference.” The…

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New Landlords Central Housing Group

Self-managing landlords ready to instruct agents – new report

The majority of private landlords would consider switching to a letting agency because of the current complexity of buy to let.  A survey of 2,000 landlords by comparative service USwitch says 63 per cent of landlords are open to make the transition – and one of the biggest reasons is because of agents’ knowledge of the sector. And almost a third of landlords say agents’ capacity to manage repairs provides…

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Energy Efficient Buy To Lets

EPC changes – investors admit they need help to meet targets

A new survey of landlords has revealed a patchy record of awareness of new energy efficiency regulations for the rental sector. The survey, by Market Financial Solutions, is relatively small – just 459 landlords – but it shows that just 58 per cent of landlords are aware of the new EPC rules coming into effect from 2025 and just 38 per cent saying they now of the details. Two thirds…

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Private Renters Sector Central Housing Group

UPDATE: New How To Rent guide just released by government

A new ‘How to Rent’ guide has been released by the government today, with letting agents and private landlords reminded they MUST serve this version at the start of any new tenancy or on renewal. Rules were brought in eight years ago making it mandatory for agents and landlords in England to provide the latest version of ‘How to rent: a checklist for renting in England’ to their tenants when…

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Let Out Illegally CHG

Self-managing landlords consider instructing agents, report reveals

Self-managing landlords consider instructing agents, report reveals The majority of self-managing private landlords would consider switching to a property manager or letting agency, a new study shows. This is especially true for landlords managing their own properties, with 63% being open to make the transition. Almost a third (29%) of private landlords say a switch to an agency would be due to their stronger knowledge of the market. The most…

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Fraud In The Letting Sector

‘Bills Included’ now increasingly popular with tenants

New research from Rightmove suggests that all-inclusive rents are rising up the list of priorities for tenants using the portal.  The research was commissioned for the BBC and shows that ‘bills included’ is the second most popular on the list of search terms, having been fourth a year earlier. The data shows that historically the acceptance of pets in lets has consistently topped the list of search terms for rental properties.…

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Buy-To-Let Mortgage Central Housing Group

Government rental mediation scheme flops – change needed

A much-hyped government proposal to introduce a Rental Mediation Service to resolve disputes, sustain tenancies and reduce pressure on the courts appears to have flopped.  The idea came up during the pandemic when the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities wanted the County Court service to operate the mediation idea. However, it’s now been discovered that there were just 0.73 per cent of potential…

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Renters Leaving London Central Housing Group

FEATURED UK House Prices Are in Focus with Stubborn Inflation & Worsening Cost of Living Crisis

The UK housing market is back in sharp focus today with Nationwide’s house price index showing falls for the sixth consecutive month. Buyers are bossing it in the market right now. They know they have the upper hand, given overall interest is so weak so they are clearly bullish about getting reductions from sellers. There are some hopes that the lower deals now on the market, compared to awful Autumn’s mortgage mayhem…

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Housing Market Prices Central Housing Group

Nationwide House Price Index: First Annual Decline in Property Prices Since June 2020

Annual house price growth slipped into negative territory for the first time since June 2020, with prices down 1.1% in February compared with the same month last year. Moreover, February saw a further monthly price fall (-0.5%) – the sixth in a row – which leaves prices 3.7% below their August peak (after taking account of seasonal effects). The recent run of weak house price data began with the financial…

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Buy-To-Let Landlord Taxation Central Housing Group

FEATURED What does the Latest Inflation Data Mean for the UK Property Market?

The latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), released on 15 February, revealed inflation slowed down for the third month in a row in the UK. Prices rose 10.1% in January, down 0.4% when compared to the 10.5% inflation rate in December. Despite this slight decline in overall inflation, food prices remain at a 45-year high, while regular pay – when adjusted for inflation –…

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Looking Ahead to Spring Budget 2023

March arrives this week and ahead of the planned 15th March Spring Budget statement by the Chancellor, let’s take a look at what 10 things we’d like to see from Jeremy Hunt’s Budget. Growth plans Jeremy Hunt laid out the bare bones of a plan for growth in January, but this needs to be fleshed out with a lot more detail about where the funding will come from. He has…

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Campaign For Rent Controls Central Housing Group

Research – rent controls will force landlords from the sector – Originally Posted by NRLA

The last year has seen a surge in calls for rent controls across the UK as demand continues to outstrip supply and the cost of living crisis continues.  In Wales, the Welsh Government is exploring what ‘fair rents’ may mean and is planning to publish a green paper on this later in the year. In England a number of the city mayors recently called for a rent freeze and a ban…

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Select Committee throws its weight behind NRLA plans – Originally Posted by NRLA

NRLA proposals for major court reform, a review of landlord taxes, and exemptions for student landlords set to be hit by the abolition of the fixed term have been backed by the influential Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Select Committee. NRLA Chief Executive Ben Beadle explains more. Since the Government first announced its rental reform plans more than two years ago, the NRLA has been vocal about what needs to…

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Poor Energy Performance Certificates

Revealed – the cost of improving a rental home’s EPC

New analysis of the English Housing Survey by the Building Research Establishment has found that excessively cold homes in England could be costing the NHS £540m a year. The BRE’s report – The Cost of Poor Housing by Tenure in England – provides a breakdown of the impact of poor housing on the NHS in each of the owner occupied, privately rented, and socially rented sectors. Of the 2.4m homes…

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Private Rental Sector Report CHG

Agents back Polluter Pays concept to help leaseholders

Propertymark says current government policy over leaseholder protections is too weak. The letting agents’ trade body has thrown its weight behind a series of House of Lords amendments to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, put forward by The Earl of Lytton.  The amendments would establish a Building Safety Remediation Scheme and ensure that remediation focuses on individuals responsible for building safety risks arising, be that from non-compliant products or…

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Rental Property Energy Efficiency

Rental Property Energy Efficiency Soars

There’s been a 165 per cent increase in the number of private rental property energy efficiency certificate rating of A to C in the past decade. Government data reveals 1.925m rental properties in England have an EPC rating of A-C, an increase of 1.2m compared with 2011, with the sector boasting a higher proportion of homes in the bracket compared to owner-occupation. Paragon Bank, analysing the data, says that 44.5…

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Energy Performance Certificates Are Inaccurate CHG

Energy Performance Certificates Are Inaccurate

Shocking new research shows that Energy Performance Certificates are inaccurate at best, useless at worst, and easily rigged. A Sunday Times report over the weekend revealed the results of sophisticated and highly detailed research by a firm called CarbonLaces.  The firm claims Energy Performance Certificates are inaccurate, overestimate energy use by up to 344 per cent – yet they remain a key part of current and expected legislation affecting landlords…

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Governments Boiler Upgrade Scheme CHG

Governments Boiler Upgrade Scheme – Who Knew

It’s been revealed that Propertymark contributed its thoughts to a Parliamentary committee which has slammed the failure of the governments Boiler Upgrade Scheme. The House of Lords Built Environment Committee Inquiry into the scheme concluded that it is failing to deliver. Since launching its inquiry in May 2022, the committee has found public awareness of low-carbon heating systems is very limited, and promotion of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme has been…

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Non-Freehold Tenants Don’t Feel Safe

A poll of 2,000 non-freehold tenants suggests that almost two-thirds claim not to feel 100 per cent safe in their homes. Some 41 per cent of non-freehold tenants state they’ve observed fire safety hazards in their building, including non-existent or faulty sprinkler systems, fire alarms or extinguishers and fire escapes being locked or blocked. This figure is significantly better than a similar poll 18 months ago, where over two-thirds had…

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