Lloyds Bank Rental Plans – which this year announced its intention to become a private landlord through the acquisition of new build apartments – is already talking about quadrupling its initial investment. In June the mainstream press revealed that under a plan called Project Regeneration the bank would buy and manage a range of new build and existing properties across the UK, through a purpose-created subsidiary called Citra Living. Lloyds… Continue Reading Lloyds Bank Rental Plans To Quadruple

A senior Labour politician in the capital claims that there’s been “a stark rise” in people losing their homes since the ending of the final eviction ban in June. Sam Moema, a member of the London Assembly and the senior housing spokesperson in the capital, says that from April to June 2021 there were 172 landlord repossessions per 100,000 households in London, which increased to 1,302 per 100,000 from July… Continue Reading Final Eviction Ban Causes Stark Rise In Homeless

Housing minister Chris Pincher has written an open letter to all landlords and agents in England, telling them how to enact the government’s Omicron Guidance Winter Plan to tackle rising cases of Covid-19. The emphasis is on agents and landlords making sure that all rental properties can be properly ventilated to minimise the spread of Covid-19 and particularly the new Omicron strain in enclosed spaces. There are five key Omicron… Continue Reading Omicron Guidance For Private Rental Sector

Shocking figures produced by a council in the south west show the vast number of short lets available – and by contrast the very few mainstream rental listings. Data for Devon County Council shows that as of late last week there were 253 listings for Airbnb in the seaside town of Exmouth in the south of the county – and there were just four residential rental listings available. And in… Continue Reading Airbnb Outnumber Rental Listings By 60 to 1

The Minister for Business, Energy and Corporate Responsibility has acknowledged that the financial burden of green upgrades for homes falls more heavily on landlords than homeowners. When quizzed during a Lords debate on raising standards in the sector, Lord Callahan admitted: “There are a number of financial packages private landlords letting to low-income tenants can take advantage of, but it’s true that there’s a dilemma in the PRS that the… Continue Reading Landlords Hit Hardest Under Green Upgrades

Shelter claims its helpline has received 1,000 callers a day since the eviction ban began easing at the start of summer. It says the eviction ban helpline – free to use and part-funded by M&S Food – has been “inundated” with over 60,000 people ringing between June and October. Of those calling 70 per cent were already homeless or at risk of homelessness. A new statement from the charity claims… Continue Reading Shelter Blames Eviction Ban For Help Pleas

The private rental sector is already attempting to improve its EPC results according to research from Shawbrook Bank. From 2025 new rules mean rental properties with EPC results rating of D, or below, will not be able to take on new tenants. The bank’s study found that 17 per cent of landlords had made efforts to improve the energy efficiency of their property, rising to 22 per cent of portfolio… Continue Reading Rental Sector Cleaning Up Its Act On EPC Results

The government says it’s finalising plans for a new tax regime to apply to additional homes, and in particular those used for holiday and short lets. There has been widespread criticism of some holiday home owners who have registered their additional properties as businesses, thus making them entitled to rate relief for small businesses. Lord Greenhalgh, speaking at a House of Lords debate on second homes, has said: “The government… Continue Reading New Tax Regime For Airbnbs And Holiday Lets

It’s understood there will be a Christmas truce with tenants not enduring bailiff-enforced-evictions between December 13 and January 10. HM Courts and Tribunal has confirmed that this will follow the pattern of previous years. In line with formal protocol the Lord Chancellor will inform the High Court Enforcement Officers’ Association – this association, in turn, will instruct its bailiff members no bailiff-enforced-evictions during the truce period. An informal truce of… Continue Reading Bailiff-Enforced-Evictions Suspended Over Christmas

New figures from the Ministry of Justice show a dramatic long-term decline in the number of possessions in the private rental sector – and take the wind out of the sales of calls for S21 eviction power to be scrapped. The MoJ data says: “When compared to the same quarter in 2019, landlord possession claims, orders, warrants and repossessions by county court bailiffs have decreased by 64, 75, 69 and… Continue Reading Why Scrap S21 Eviction Power With Cases Plummeting

Just as COP26 is drawing to a close, so one of the lettings industry’s leading legal voices is warning that the next change proposed to EPC regulations will affect almost half of the UK’s entire buy to let sector. Since April last year landlords can no longer let a property with an EPC rating of F and G, unless they have a valid exemption in place.  The government propose to raise this… Continue Reading New EPC Regulations

Investors could be ‘severely impacted’ by government plans to raise the required Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating for buy-to-let properties in Britain. Some experts have warned that the plans could lead to some homes becoming ‘unmortgageable’. Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) ratings rank properties from ‘A’, the most efficient, to ‘G’, the least efficient – with new proposals on the table to change the minimum rating from ‘E’ to ‘C’ by… Continue Reading Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) Change

ARLA Propertymark has thrown its weight behind a new dispute resolution service as a quicker and less expensive alternative to court action to resolve tenancy disputes. In a statement Propertymark praised the work of its letting agent members to prevent and resolve disputes by setting out clear expectations and information as well as holding all parties to account.  But the trade body said it was clear, after speaking with its… Continue Reading Dispute Resolution Service Could Avoid Court

Burst pipes can cause devastating damage to property, leading to flooding and mould, destroying valued possessions, and potentially leaving people without water and putting them out of their homes. But escape of water, for example a burst pipe, is consistently the most common reason why landlords make an insurance claim across the UK. Escape of water refers to water damage arising from within the property such as leaking pipes or fixed… Continue Reading The complete guide to preventing burst pipes in your rental property

As the UK Government hosts the COP26 climate change summit, it has begun to reveal its strategy to transition the UK’s housing stock to become carbon neutral. In the Heat and Buildings Strategy the government announced grants of £5000 for homeowners and landlords to upgrade the housing stock to heat pumps – but the total funding equals just 90,000 heat pumps per year. While welcome, this is well short of… Continue Reading Energy Efficiency In UK’s Housing Stock

The majority of private landlords helping tenants out during the pandemic by cutting their lost rental income from their savings according to new research. The research conducted by BVA/BDRC for the National Residential Landlords Association shows that sixty-one per cent of those landlords who, in the second quarter of the year, had offered at least one tenant a rent free or deferred rent period absorbed the lost rental income from… Continue Reading Private Landlords Cover Lost Rental Income

There may be a breakthrough in clearing the huge backlog of possession cases as the government is allocating an extra £324m to courts over the next three years. This is part of the £2.2 billion extra funding given to the Ministry of Justice, announced at last weeks’s Budget. “The pandemic created unprecedented challenges but this settlement is the largest increase in more than a decade for the justice system” says… Continue Reading Backlog Of Possession Cases Breakthrough

New figures from the National Home Building Council suggests the best new build buy to let investment of detached properties has soared during the pandemic – prompting the question as to whether more landlords should desert the traditional apartment and buy into larger units. In the third quarter of 2021 some 36 per cent of new build buy to let investment registered were detached – much higher than the 28… Continue Reading Best New Build Buy To Let Investment

PropTech platform Lavanda says urban property renting is changing thanks to the pandemic, and it tells agents, landlords and other providers to adapt. Its report – “The new normal: how demand for urban accommodation has changed” produced with property firms Greystar, Aldar and Hubble – is 70 pages long and recommends how operators of multi-family, co-living and purpose built student accommodation must change. Findings include that differing commuting habits have… Continue Reading Urban Property Renting Changing Thanks To Pandemic

Campaigning charity Shelter says new official figures show evictions since the lifting of the ban have created a surge in homelessness. Shelter says figures for April to June this year – including the first month after the eviction ban was eventually lifted – show that, in the charity’s words, “91 families became homeless each day as lockdown restrictions lifted. “ It adds that since the start of the pandemic “a total of 183,290… Continue Reading Evictions Causing Mass Homelessness