London house prices rose by £260 a day in 2014

Average London house values rose by £260 a day during the course of 2014, figures have shown. According to estate agent Marsh & Parsons’ latest London property monitor, the majority of the capital’s property price rises were in the first half of 2014 and values actually dropped by 1.6% in quarter 4 – the first […]

It’s landlords v council part II

Housing landlords and Hyndburn council are AGAIN set to battle it out in court over the controversial £1.1m selective licensing scheme. Council bosses are seeking to appeal a ruling by the Residential Property Tribunal made in favour of the landlords which dismissed or amended six conditions of its licensing scheme. The scheme was introduced in […]

New rules for Welsh landlords on water charges

David Smith, solicitor and Partner in Anthony Gold Solicitors has some news for Welsh Landlords … A perennial problem for Water Authorities is tenants leaving without paying their final water bill. This results in massive costs to the industry which we all ultimately have to pay for. For some time there has been power to […]

UK’s renters forking out £300 on agent fees

More than four in 10 of the UK’s private rented sector (PRS) tenants are being hit by an average of £298 in letting agent and landlord fees every time they move home, a survey has revealed. According to SpareRoom.co.uk’s poll of 4,000 flat and house sharers, alongside the fees, tenants are typically asked for a […]

Rents to continue rising

Over a quarter of landlords are planning to increase their rental charges by over 3 per cent in 2015. The data, originating from Spareroom.com, revealed that a sizeable 27 per cent of landlords are expecting see their rents rise by the aforementioned amount, which equates to triple the latest UK inflation rate. 13 per cent […]

HMRC CASHING IN ON BUY-TO-LET LANDLORDS

Taxman grabs £136 million following Capital Gains Tax probe. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) pocketed £136 million as a result of its investigations into underpayments of Capital Gains Tax last year, mostly from buy-to-let landlords.That’s according to new data obtained by accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young. HMRC crackdown The taxman has launched a number of […]

Millions fear missing January’s rent or mortgage payments, says Shelter

Interest rate rise would put many more in trouble, with almost 60% saying they are already struggling to meet housing costs. More than 3m households in Britain fear missing their rent or mortgage payments this month, Shelter has said, adding that an interest rate rise would put many more in trouble. Research from the housing […]

Buy-to-let tenants should be able to ‘rent for life’

Respected think tank Civitas argues tenants of private landlords should be able to stay in their properties for as long as they wish, with rent increases linked to inflation. Tenants of private landlords should be given new rights to stay in their home as long as they want, along with guarantees that their rent will […]

Rent controls would spell disaster for thousands of buy-to-let investors

Rent controls as suggested by think tank Civitas could be the final straw for landlords, says Richard Dyson – especially if they coincide with rising mortgage rates The rapid growth of buy-to-let is hugely controversial, with private landlords now numbering over 1.2m. Buy-to-let investors are blamed for forcing up prices and preventing younger generations from […]