A new survey by PropTech firm Goodlord has the unsurprising conclusion that the biggest worry for tenants is that their rent might go up. The survey is small – just 231 tenants – but it found that 87 per cent named the rising cost of rent as a key concern.  The average cost of a rental property in England is now £1,071 – that’s 8.7 per cent higher than at…

Propertymark is querying why there’s no help for the private rental sector to meet energy efficiency targets expressed in a new review led by a former Tory cabinet minister.  Ex-energy minister Chris Skidmore has recommended delivering more energy efficiency homes in his latest Net Zero Review, which was commissioned by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy. Of critical importance for the rental sector in particular, Skidmore recommends that…

A high profile lettings agency has backed a petition demanding the reinstatement of tax relief for landlords. Benham and Reeves says it wants the full amount of mortgage interest to be set against rental income before tax is calculated.  Tax credits, which came into force as of April 2020, resulted in landlords no longer being able to deduct any of their mortgage interest from their rental income when calculating the…

A tax expert says the current economic climate has made it so hard to save for a deposit that many tenants aged under 30 risk being stuck in rental accommodation for years. David Hannah of Cornerstone Tax says the poor outlook for younger tenants “has been exacerbated due to the fact that landlords have had to increase rents as a result of their mortgage repayments shooting up.” And he says the…

The government has been accused of pushing up the cost of home insulation because of a poorly timed public campaign. The National Association of Property Buyers says the government’s pre-Christmas information campaign urging landlords and home owners to insulate actually accelerated demand and consequently pushed up the cost. The association warns that wage rises and a surge in production costs – up to 20 per cent – mean consumers now…

Propertymark has written to Housing Secretary Michael Gove outlining its concerns about the latest licensing scheme proposal from a local council. The specific letter concerns a proposal from Labour-led Brent council in north London to implement a borough-wide selective licensing scheme across all bar one of its wards, but the issues raised by Propertymark apply widely to the raft of licensing proposals now being floated by local authorities. In its…

Agents are being urged to sign a petition launched by a landlord facing higher tax burdens which may force him to sell up. The petition is calling on the government to reverse the Section 24 tax change. Before Section 24 was introduced in 2017, landlords were able to deduct mortgage interest from their ncome tax – at that time it was also possible to offset mortgage application fees and some other loans. …

A warning letter signed by 330 major players in the private rental sector has been delivered to Housing Secretary Michael Gove. The delivery – just before the holiday break – was made by, amongst others, letting agent Kristjan Byfield, founder of The Depositary, and William Reeve, chief executive of Goodlord. The letter warned Gove to back off attacks on the lettings industry in general and landlords in particular. Other signatories…

Propertymark wants the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy to widen access to cash help to those that need it and to ensure the application process is streamlined for landlords and property agents. The BEIS has consulted on proposals and delivery of the Energy Company Obligation – a programme to deliver energy efficiency measures in homes including the rapid installation of energy efficiency measures. This is part of a…

A survey of economists reveals that most believe a recession will have a major impact on house prices. House prices will slump this year economists warn, as the market suffers a major correction. The housing market will see its biggest decline since the financial crash in 2009, according to economic experts surveyed by The Times. Rising mortgage costs and a likely recession are being blamed as the two main reasons…

The NRLA has written to housing minister Felicity Buchan reiterating its calls for the Government to beef up plans to clamp down on anti-social behaviour in the PRS. Chief Executive Ben Beadle shared harrowing accounts of members’ experiences at the hands of anti-social tenants at a Government roundtable last month as well outlining the impact this has on landlords, fellow tenants and neighbours. He also used the event to outline…

A buy to let investment site has used Artificial Intelligence to identify 10 top property investment opportunities in 2023.  Based on analysis of Property Forecaster’s 2022 data, alongside market forecasts and experts’ opinions, the north of England is predicted to continue to dominate the most investable locations next year.  Bootle tops the list with the greatest number of ‘Diamond’ ranked properties – these properties have been identified as the best…

The government has ‘shown its belly’ at long last by listening to arguments from accountancy groups and landlords over its intended deadline for compulsory digital tax returns, by delaying it by a further two years. In the HM Treasury’s latest statement on the matter released at the end of last week, it says: “Understanding that self-employed individuals and landlords are currently facing a challenging economic environment, and the transition to Making Tax…

An insurer claims there is a distinct possibility that landlords could be set to lose at least £3 million next university term, as 60 per cent of uni students are considering moving out of their university accommodation because the cost of living catastrophe is biting hard, citing findings taken from the company’s research. Students are stating that landlords need to provide more help with 76 per cent saying they should…

A new survey by HomeLet and Dataloft shows that of 12,000 tenants questioned, over three quarters are worried about the cost of living crisis impacting on their ability to pay rent. Just 11 per cent feel that the cost-of-living crisis will not impact them. Those who share a rental property are the most concerned about paying their rent (85 per cent), compared with couples (75 per cent), single people (78…

Students face chaos as government plans to reform the rental market threaten to cause widespread uncertainty as to whether housing will be available at start of each academic year. Under the plans, included in the Government’s Rental Reform White Paper, all student housing, with the exception of purpose-built blocks, will be subject to open-ended tenancies.  This move means landlords are unable to guarantee that accommodation will be available for the start…

The government is, as expected, scaling back support for businesses with energy bills from April. Under the new and less expensive scheme, firms will get a discount on wholesale prices rather than costs being capped. Bills will automatically be discounted by up to £6.97 per megawatt hour for gas bills and up to £19.61 per MWh for electricity bills. Heavy energy-using sectors – not including agencies, obviously – will get…

The scheme is aimed to help households who are struggling to save for higher mortgage deposits get on or move up the housing ladder. The mortgage guarantee scheme — the initiative designed to turn generation rent into generation buy by helping first-time buyers get a foothold on the property ladder — has been extended for 12 months, the Government has announced. Launched in April 2021, the scheme protects lenders against losses when…

Some early 2022 predictions have stood the test of time better than others. At the start of the year, anybody making a spread bet on the UK having five housing ministers, three prime ministers, and two monarchs during 2022 would have been considered a fool. But the year we should have spent happily congratulating ourselves for limping through the pandemic — and moving on to better things — has lurched…

Analysis by portfolio landlord Open Property Group has revealed that it pays out 32% of its gross rent each month in rental property expenses. Using Hammock software, the company studied its 140-strong portfolio across England and Wales to establish what percentage of the gross rent it receives as net rent (gross profit) after subtracting typical running expenses but excluding financing costs. Repairs were revealed as the biggest outlay in November,…