Vast majority of letting agents expect rents to rise in 2017

Rents will continue to increase next year, owed in part to a reduction in housing supply in the private rented sector (PRS), as more buy-to-let landlords exit the market as a consequence of recent tax changes. The phasing out of mortgage tax relief from April 2017, coupled with the introduction of more stringent buy-to-let mortgage […]

25% of landlords will buy their tenants a gift this Christmas

One-in-four landlords are planning to buy a Christmas present for their tenants this year according to a new survey. The poll conducted by Simple Landlords Insurance found that wine was the most popular gift choice from landlord to tenant this year, chosen by 44% of all those who plan to give a gift. This was […]

It’s official – letting agents save landlords an average £1,910 per year

A new survey suggests that a letting agent saves a landlord an estimated £1,910 a year. The result of an investigation into 500 landlords by insurance firm Endsleigh suggests that there are widespread misconceptions among landlords about the value for money offered by letting agents. Of those landlords suggesting that they could save money by […]

Rogue landlord fined after tenants in East Oxford put at risk

A ROGUE landlord who ‘repeatedly’ endangered the lives of her tenants after failing to keep her house safe has been slapped with a £9,000 fine. Pensioner Maria Rosa De Simone Ramjohn admitted neglecting her East Oxford property and putting tenants at risk of injury, breaching housing regulations 14 times. It was the third occasion the […]

What makes the average landlord tick?

New research from the Council of Mortgage Lenders has revealed significant insights about landlords’ profile, motivations, and plans for the future. The research, by Kath Scanlon and Christine Whitehead of the London School of Economics, broadly finds that private sector individual landlords – whether landlords with buy-to-let mortgages or other landlords – are adopting an […]

Why does Government have it in for residential landlords?

The Government seems to think all these ‘money grabbing private investors’ are getting rich quick and pushing up house prices. In the UK, we have a chronic shortage of housing. Apparently we need 200,000 new houses a year but last year we built 189,650 new homes. Bear in mind though that 2015/16 was a good […]

How a healthy buy-to-let profit could soon become a painful loss

Major changes to the way income from property rentals is taxed could see some people paying up to three times more. We do the maths. The amount of tax owed by many buy-to-let landlords will double or even triple as a result of changes being phased in from April, it was claimed this week. Some […]

£4.1 Billion Maintenance Bill For Landlords

Landlords are spending around £4.1 billion per year on essential maintenance according to research by LV=. The insurance company found that the average annual bill came to £2,360 per landlord. It was also found that this figure could be reduced, as delays by tenants in informing their landlord of maintenance issues often lead to more […]

Don’t let the end of upfront fees stop you checking tenants.

In the Autumn Statement last week the Chancellor announced the end of upfront fees being charged to tenants by landlords and agents in England. This has been the case in Scotland for some time and there are calls for this to be implemented in Wales as quickly as possible. So how can a landlord or […]

Landlords – Be Aware Of Rent Smart Wales

Landlords based outside of Wales could fall foul of new Rent Smart Wales rules due to a total lack of awareness regarding the scheme. Experts at the Cardiff office of Bruton Knowles have voiced concerns that landlords may face prosecution after failing to meet the registration deadline for the scheme on the 23rd November 2016. […]