Prime Secure’s Fire Safety division, the Waking Watch Initiative, has launched the UK’s first affordable, wireless evacuation alarm technology system,   V-Fire*, which removes the need for expensive waking watch fire marshals in high-rise buildings with flammable cladding. In the wake of the Grenfell disaster, thousands of leaseholders across the UK have shouldered the financial burden of either a wired alarm solution, or a waking watch fire marshal, which could… Continue Reading Wireless Evacuation Alarm Technology Reducing Burden

Will the Red Hot Housing Market Cool? The threat of conflict breaking out on the doorstep is hanging over European indices, as hopes begin to fade that there will be fresh meaningful moves from diplomats. The tech sector jitters are continuing, unsurprising given the seemingly unstoppable slide of the Nasdaq composite and the march downwards of the S&P 500 on Friday. Amid expectations that inflation appears more entrenched, which could… Continue Reading Will the Red Hot Housing Market Cool?

EU citizens with settled status in the UK, but who have stayed in their native countries during the pandemic, are likely to return here and boost the rental market in coming months. That’s the view of a leading lettings agency chief who anticipates that their return will help keep demand high for rentals. “I can see strong demand in the lettings sector being maintained in the coming year. The reason… Continue Reading Returning EU citizens will boost lettings market – agency chief’s view

A landlord who is owed £14,000 in rent arrears and is in the throes of trying to evict his errant tenant has warned others to use professional letting agents to protect their investments. The tenant, a former friend, has always been on benefits that were originally paid directly to landlord Max Ferzoli until a few years ago. Problems started in 2020 when he stopped paying and Ferzoli tried unsuccessfully to… Continue Reading Use Professional Letting Agents Warns Landlord

The Liberal Democrats have proposed sharp restrictions on holiday rentals at the heart of the party’s plans to solve the housing crisis. South Lakes MP Tim Farron – a former party leader – has led a debate in the House of Commons on what he calls “the housing crisis created by excessive second home ownership.” He presented a seven point plan to limit the number of second homes and make… Continue Reading Lib Dems Want Restrictions On Holiday Rentals

Propertymark has expressed a sigh of relief at a decision this week by the Appeal Court, which ruled in favour of landlords and management agents. The case was Northwood Solihull v Fearn & Ors, which began as a possession claim based on a section 8 notice served by the Solihull branch of lettings agency Northwood. The tenants, Mr Fearn and Ms Cooke, issued a counterclaim for damages for failure to… Continue Reading Landlords And Management Agents – Decision Affects Industry

Landlords who manage their portfolio through a VAT-registered business have been warned they must sign up to HMRC’s Making Tax Digital initiative (MTD) by 1st April. The Making Tax Digital initiative will then become mandatory for all businesses paying VAT to store details of their affairs digitally and file their tax returns using specialist software on a more regular basis. Businesses with a taxable turnover above £85,000 have had to follow… Continue Reading Deadline for Making Tax Digital Initiative

Housing minister Christopher Pincher MP has written an open letter to all landlords in England this December to explain the measures contained in the Government’s Autumn and Winter Plan (2021) to tackle rising cases of Covid-19. In particular the Government is keen to ensure that all residential property can be properly ventilated to minimise the spread of Covid-19 in enclosed spaces. Intended for both social and private landlords in England… Continue Reading Minister Writes To Landlords In England

Over half of private landlords responding to a new survey say recent tax changes in the rental market have had a negative impact on their investment plans. That’s the finding from a new study by the London School of Economics (LSE) for the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA). Based on responses from over 1,400 private landlords across England it finds that 52 per cent say tax changes in the rental market have… Continue Reading Impact Of Tax Changes In The Rental Market

There’s been a slump in demand for rental properties as a result of tenants staying put in the latter part of 2021 as Omicron worries gripped the country. This follows the pattern of earlier in the pandemic when far fewer tenants moved to different properties because of difficulties with lockdowns and viewing restrictions. Research by Midlands lettings agency Barrows and Forrester, analysing 23 cities, found that demand for rental properties… Continue Reading Omicron Affects Demand For Rental Properties

So, we ended 2021 after twenty-one months since the first Covid lockdown with the new variant, Omicron, spreading fast, and with Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland putting in stricter measures and speculation that England may follow with an announcement early in the New Year. The eviction suspension was put in place from April to October 2020 following the introduction of the Coronavirus Act 2020, as the Government understandably did not… Continue Reading Paul Shamplina: ‘Possession cases will rise in 2022’

Nearly two thirds of landlords in the buy-to-let sector would prefer to be called something else, new research has revealed. Broker Mortgages for Business canvassed the sector and found that only two thirds of landlords (36%) preferred to be called landlord, with 43% opting for ‘small housing provider’ and 7% warming to ‘rental accommodation provider’. These attitudes mirror developments in the US, where many buy-to-let business people have called on the media… Continue Reading Two Thirds Of Landlords Prefer To Be Called Something Else

Shelter claims that women are impacted by homelessness more than men, and says rising private rents are a contributory factor. In a new study Shelter says 60 per cent of all homeless adults living in temporary accommodation in England today are women, despite only making up 51 per cent of the general population. The campaigning charity suggests women are more likely than men to have to tackle rising private rents,… Continue Reading Rising Private Rents Impact Women More Than Men

A survey by PropTech firm Moveable suggests that over a third of those renting in London are doing so only while they save to rent or buy outside the capital. The main aspiration is to achieve a home with more space, considered much more achievable outside London than inside. In a survey by the firm, 38 per cent of those renting in London plan to rent for longer in order… Continue Reading Those Renting In London Plan To Quit Capital

Self managing landlords who think they don’t have the same compliance obligations as agents could face serious repercussions, Trading Standards chiefs have warned. At a rental round table debate led by PropTech supplier PayProp, Emma Cooke – policy and information manager at the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agent Team – said: “You open yourself up to prosecution – not just from Trading Standards but under the Housing Act… Continue Reading Agents May Shun Self Managing Landlords

The Government has announced that leaseholders in lower height buildings will not have to pay for the removal of unsafe cladding. Instead, leaseholder residents in blocks between 11 and 18 metres high will have their unsafe cladding removed at a cost to developers and builders. Reports suggest that the Government is still considering whether the funding should be available to leaseholder landlords. The NRLA is making urgent representations to the Department… Continue Reading Leaseholders In Lower Height Buildings Wont Pay Unsafe Cladding

Owners of second homes who abuse a tax loophole by claiming their often-empty properties are holiday lets will be forced to pay under new measures announced by the government today. The Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities says the changes will target people who take advantage of the system “to avoid paying their fair share” towards local services in popular destinations such as Cornwall, Devon, the Lake District, Suffolk,… Continue Reading Tax Clampdown On Letting Second Homes

Home offices are already the most-demanded must have from prospective tenants says James Hay, director at Surrey lettings agency, The Home Club. And he forecasts that this home offices requirement will remain popular next year too. “The rising fear of a New Year lockdown has seen family renters’ wish lists dramatically change, prioritising home office space over larger gardens, school catchment areas and even affluent residential areas. A property that would once have… Continue Reading Home offices set to be tenants’ must-haves for 2022

A leading expert on the private rental sector predicts it will take three years for the government to scrap Section 21 evictions powers. Paul Shamplina – Head of Property for Hamilton Fraser and founder of Landlord Action, and also the star of the Channel 5 show Evicted! Nightmare Tenants – says 2022 will see at last the government’s plans to end Section 21 evictions powers for agents and landlords. But… Continue Reading Scrapping Section 21 Evictions Powers May Take 3 Years

A former Conservative councillor has used a leading party website to call on the government to restrict the purchase of buy to let properties. Sam Clark is a former Conservative councillor living in Epping Forest in the south east of England, and writes on the Conservative Home website: “We are repeatedly told that what the country needs is more housing. In Epping Forest’s local plan, it is expected 11,400 houses… Continue Reading Restrict Purchase Of Buy To Let Properties