Government ditches help-to-buy homes scheme
The government is scrapping its Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme in December, a flagship policy brought in by former Chancellor George Osborne. The scheme, which was introduced three years ago to stimulate the housing market, gave first-time buyers the chance to buy a home with a Government-backed loan worth up to 95% of the […]
Record numbers left homeless after eviction by private landlords in England
End of an assured shorthold tenancy cited by nearly a third of newly homeless households, figures show Record numbers of families are becoming homeless after being evicted by private landlords and finding themselves unable to afford a suitable alternative place to live, government figures show. The end of an assured shorthold tenancy (AST) was cited […]
Landlords warned about ‘risk’ of using limited companies for buy-to-let
Buy-to-let landlords face the risk of double taxation if they choose to put their property investments into a limited company to avoid paying higher rates of income tax, a leading tax advisor has warned. Addressing an audience at last week’s Association of Short Term Lenders’ annual conference, Nick Cartwright, a tax partner at Smith & […]
Local authorities are letting down tenants, say landlords
Two landlord associations have criticised local councils for a lack of enforcement and failing to prosecute criminal landlords. The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) says tenants are being let down, while the National Landlords Association (NLA) claims it’s ‘too easy’ for landlords to get away with unlawful behaviour. The united message comes in response to figures […]
Why property beats all other investment
Off-market specialist, YPC Group says property beats all other forms of investment. New-build specialist David Lines has come up with several reasons why other forms of investment offer no competition to real estate He says, “When I first started investing in property, I did so for a number of reasons. These included the fact that […]
Million private renters ‘suffer under rogue landlords’
More than a million private renters across England have suffered at the hands of law-breaking landlords over the last year, according to estimates from Shelter. Around one in eight (12.9%) renters have experienced problems ranging from landlords entering homes without permission and deposits not being properly protected to renters being abused, threatened or harassed by […]
Top tips to ensure your tenants stick to the rules
While we all know that it is important for all landlords to have a watertight legal contract in place to fall back on should anything happen to their property, how can we actually make sure that tenants do not breach the rules of their tenancy? With new research showing that one in seven renters have […]
One in seven renters breach tenancy rules
One in seven renters have broken one or more rules outlined in their tenancy agreement, while 11% of renters surveyed claimed that they were unsure as to whether they had actually broken any of the rules in their contract or not, new research from Direct Line Landlord Insurance reveals. Failure to pay rent on time, […]
Almost half of UK renters are now aged over 46
The latest data from estate agents, Your Move, has revealed that almost half of tenants living in private rental accommodation across the UK are aged over 46, signalling the rise of the ‘Silver Renter’. The research involved 36,500 participants, and was commissioned to provide insights into the 4.5 million privately rented households in the UK […]
Charity calls for end to letting fees for tenants
All UK letting agency fees should be paid by landlords who can shop around, rather than tenants – as is the case in Scotland, Citizens Advice has said. The charity said that renters in much of the UK faced rising fees as they had no choice over the agent they dealt with after finding a […]