Propertymark is joining a growing chorus demanding an annual uprate of working age benefits and Local Housing Allowance. LHA rates have been frozen since April 2020. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has noted that since then, the proportion of new private rental properties listed on Zoopla affordable for those in receipt of the LHA has fallen from 23 per cent to just 5 per cent. From April this year the… Continue Reading Benefits And Local Housing Allowance Increase

The removal of Section 21 notices and the end of fixed-term tenancies are the two issues that concern landlords the most, according to a new report issued by Propertymark. The trade body’s latest study found that 72 per cent of landlords were worried about the end of Section 21 notices, and 69 per cent viewed the removal of fixed-term tenancies as an issue. Under the Renters Reform Bill, fixed term… Continue Reading Removal Of Section 21 Notices And End Of Fixed-Term Tenancies

The vast majority of landlords & letting agents view the Government’s plans to abolish Section 21 evictions as a mistake, a new report has revealed. Some 80% of landlords and 71% of agents told a survey published today by the Property Redress Scheme (PRS) that they view the policy ‘negatively’, a huge increase from 40% and 50% respectively compared to a year ago. The survey polled some 2,700 landlords and… Continue Reading Landlords & Letting Agents Say Section 21 Ban A Mistake

Jeremy Hunt’s recent Spring Budget hid a stealth tax grab on landlords seeking to sell properties after April 1st, it has been claimed. Letting agency Hamptons says Hunt’s changes to the annual capital gains personal allowance will see 89% of higher-rate and 100% of lower-rate taxpaying landlords who sell a property for a profit will see their capital gains tax (CGT) bill rise in April.   This is because the… Continue Reading Budget Hid Stealth Tax Grab On Landlords

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has launched a new Residential Retrofit Standard in a bid to help the housing industry meet net zero targets. A statement from Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) says: “This new standard has been developed by a team of experts as a response to a demand for high quality, residential retrofit advice, spurred on by increasingly high energy prices and UK government net-zero targets,… Continue Reading Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors New Standard

Hello, We all know that politicians of all parties have some very strange ideas and like to waste our money, but it’s unbelievable that an organisation whose members are landlords has an anti-landlord policy. Does Ben Beadle even know that most landlords are strongly against the banning of Section 21? He should be supporting us instead of daft ideas which help lead to landlords leaving the market, evictions and a… Continue Reading Why Is The NRLA Supporting Anti-Landlord Policy?

A Conservative commentator says that the Renters (Reform) Bill can best be described as a ‘wholesale and fundamental invasion’ into the principle of private property. Tim Briggs goes on to say that the Bill ‘will demonise landlords – and bankrupt councils’. Writing on Conservative Woman, he says that the Bill ‘insinuates that all tenants are victims, and all landlords are villains’. He adds: “It forces the cold, dead hand of… Continue Reading Principle Of Private Property Invasion

One million private housing renters who depend on Universal Credit are unable to cover their rent with the housing benefit they receive, the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) reveals. It has analysed government data and found that two-thirds of the 1.5 million private housing renters in Britain and receiving Universal Credit have a shortfall between their Local Housing Allowance (LHA) payment and their monthly rents. The LHA is the housing… Continue Reading Housing Benefit Leaves 1 million Private Housing Renters Struggling

The government has written to Conservative MPs promising changes to the Renters Reform Bill to ease concerns over its anti-landlord bias. Jacob Young, a junior housing minister, tells MPs: “We will bring forward an amendment to require the Lord Chancellor to publish an assessment on barriers to possession… in advance of abolishing S21 for existing tenancies.” Amendments the Government plans to table to the Bill include: – Accepting a proposal… Continue Reading Anti-Landlord Bias – Changes to Renters Reform Bill

The Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has announced the end of a tax scheme that offered tax incentives for landlords with holiday lets in favour of long-term renters. He said the Furnished Holiday Lettings regime was causing a ‘distortion’ in the housing market and depriving local people of affordable homes. Mr Hunt said: “I am concerned this tax regime is creating a distortion meaning there are not enough properties available for long… Continue Reading Chancellor Attacks Landlords With Holiday Lets

There’s been a rise of over 400 per cent in the monetary total of fines issued for Right To Rent offences by agents and landlords. However the overall total remains relatively low. Agents and landlords were fined £151,480 in 2023 compared with £29,960 in 2022: the number of penalties issued rose from 32 in 2022, to 155 last year. New Right To Rent offences fine increases came into effect last… Continue Reading Right To Rent Offences – Big Rise

Sharpened rules to double council tax on long term empty properties will come into force from April 1, says the government. A statement from the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities says this will support local people in areas where high numbers of empty homes are preventing them from finding affordable housing. The rules will apply when a property has been empty for 12 months, rather than the current… Continue Reading Long Term Empty Properties To Double Council Tax

Latest data from agency Chestertons reveals a 125 per cent increase in the number of landlords choosing to reduce rents in February. The agency says this is in reaction to shifting market conditions in the capital. It believes that rents have dropped by up to 10 per cent in some areas compared to the same time last year; meanwhile there are nearly 40 per cent more properties on the market… Continue Reading Landlords Choosing To Reduce Rents

Despite several fires in rented properties, the government is proposing to double the maximum legal power of e-bikes. A Department of Transport consultation has two proposals for e-bikes – officially called electrically assisted pedal cycles (EAPCs or e-cycles): 1. to amend the legal definition of EAPCs, so that the maximum continuous power output of the electric motor is 500 watts instead of 250 watts; and, 2. to allow ‘twist and… Continue Reading Fires In Rented Properties – E-Bike Concerns

The Government wants more private landlords to sell their properties and exit the market, commentary within Jeremy Hunt’s Spring Statement briefing document has revealed. Buried within the Treasury background notes published yesterday after the Chancellor’s speech in parliament, it explains why the reduction in the higher rate of Capital Gains Tax (CGT) for residential property disposals has been cut from 28% to 24%. While some landlords might assume the reduction… Continue Reading Treasury Wants Landlords To Sell Their Properties

Tenant referencing platform HomeLet reports a 400% increase in cases of tenant applicants falsifying documents. The number of tenant applicants faking documents to secure rental properties has increased 400% during the past two years, according to HomeLet. The tenant referencing platform says would-be renters are doctoring bank statements and inventing job histories to improve their chances. FALSE EVIDENCE Almost all the documents that had been changed (90%) were bank statements… Continue Reading Big Rise In Tenant Applicants Doctoring Evidence