Can the landlord claim rent after the tenant has left?
From the Landlord Law Blog Here is a question to the Blog Clinic from John who is a tenant: I got into arrears with my rent, after the fixed term, my landlord asked me to leave the property, which I did as it did not serve any purpose staying. He now says that he wants […]
Tax Increase Leads To Landlords Converting To HMOs
Growing numbers of landlords are converting their rental properties into Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) in order to optimise rental income in the face of government induced tax increases. Roma finance has reported that they have recorded record numbers of conversions of this type during 2016. The main influences behind such a decision tend to […]
Why not serving notices properly can cost you your case.
From the Landlord Law Blog I had someone email me recently. He told me “A landlord recently posted a Section 21, first class mail with certificate of Posting ( as allowed for in the AST) to a tenant of one of a few flats within a building. The tenant was represented at court and his […]
Buy-to-let investors offered online tax training.
With just over two weeks remaining until the January 31 Self Assessment deadline, buy-to-let investors are being reminded that there are tax tutorials available for landlords requiring help calculating the tax owed on their rental income. The computer-based tutorials make it easier for landlords to understand when and how to pay tax on property they […]
Nearly 1,000 agents ‘unlikely to still be in business in three years’ time’
New analysis from an insolvency firm which monitors levels of financial distress across the UK economy has claimed that 2,893 estate agents were experiencing financial distress at the start of this year, up 13% from 12 months ago. One-third of these are forecast as unlikely to be trading in three years’ time. These businesses all […]
Universal Credit recipients to be given direct landlord payment option
The Scottish Government plans to use its new social security powers for the first time to increase the frequency of Universal Credit payments and offer to pay housing benefits direct to landlords. While Universal Credit itself remains reserved, ministers will use new powers to give claimants the option to be paid fortnightly instead of monthly. […]
Landlords should be ‘supported’, rather than ‘burdened with unfair tax measures’
The government needs to do more to support buy-to-let landlords, and start by reversing recent tax increases and unnecessary regulation in the buy-to-let sector, it has been suggested. There has been a significant drop in the number of buy-to-let transactions following the government’s outright assault on buy-to-let landlords, with haart, one of the UK’s largest […]
Buy-to-lose: Is there value left in the UK letting market?
As we enter 2017, the tide has truly turned against Britain’s buy-to-let landlords. First, George Osborne discouraged people from buying a second residential property by imposing extra stamp duty of 3 per cent. Now, the Bank of England is demanding that mortgage lenders “stress test” loans to landlords. Since 1 January, the Bank’s Prudential Regulation […]
Most landlords to be limited companies by April
Using a limited company will become standard operating procedure for most buy-to-let landlords from April 2017, despite them not using the incorporated structure today. More than 54% of such investors told Mortgage for Business (MfB) they would incorporate in future — even though two-thirds aren’t ‘Ltd’ currently. At least 15% will keep buying personally. Some […]