Landlords start to lose tax relief from next week
Next week, landlords will lose the right to claim full tax relief on their mortgage costs, pushing up costs for some significantly. But in spite of almost two years’ warning, experts suggest that many landlords have failed to plan for rising costs ahead of 6 April. So what is changing, what does it mean for […]
Cleaning is the main cause for deposit disputes between landlords and tenants
The most common cause of a tenancy deposit dispute in the private rented property sector is cleaning, while disputes over rent arrears have soared, according to the latest data from the Tenant Deposit Scheme (TDS). Cleaning has consistently been the most common dispute in cases brought to the TDS, with the latest figures showing that […]
Greater protection for landlords as CMP to be made compulsory for letting agents
There was good news for landlords and tenants yesterday after the government took measures to prevent rogue letting agents stealing your money by agreeing to make it mandatory for all agents to put cash in Client Money Protection (CMP) accounts. The change will mean that if any letting agent goes bust or makes off, the […]
Landlords require ‘more protection’ say couple left with £10k clean-up bill
Significantly more must be done to protect landlords from rogue tenants, according to a couple who were left with a £10,000 clean-up bill after tenants trashed their property in South Tyneside. Sylvia and John Purcell decided to rent out their three-bedroom house in Mortimer Road, South Shields, after moving to a new property. But they […]
1 in 5 say BTL is still a safe bet investment
New survey results published by TheHouseShop.com, have revealed that 1 in 5 Brits believe that Buy-To-Let property is the safest investment option for their long-term savings. While both Buy-To-Let property and high interest ISAs (34%) were popular with respondents, worryingly, 1 in 4 people lacked confidence in the safety of any investment option and said […]
Nightmare Tenants, Slum Landlords warns over using Gumtree
“Nightmare Tenants, Slum Landlords” aired its second episode of the third series last night (Wednesday 15th March) at 9pm on Channel 5 and explores the fallout one landlord faces after deciding to let her property through Gumtree. Despite not knowing much about how Gumtree operates, Vicki McNaught made the decision to list her property on […]
Why the bad news for landlords is just beginning
Good news for hard-pressed, hard-working, would-be first-time buyers – last month, rents in the UK were down year-on-year. Well, not strictly across the UK. The average figure fell, but it was dragged down entirely by figures for London and southeast England. Still, it’s a momentous occasion. Rents in the UK haven’t fallen on this basis […]
Landlords urged to ‘think twice’ about ‘unjust’ tenancy deposit deductions
Buy-to-let landlords are well within their rights to make appropriate deductions from a tenancy deposit when a tenant breaches the terms of the tenancy agreement, such as causing damage or not paying rent, but they must avoid charging for things that they cannot prove. When renting out a property, most landlords opt to take a […]
UK rents to rocket 20% in the next five years
Rents are forecast to rise by more than 20% over the next five years as the falling number of new landlord instructions persists, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). The surveyors’ latest monthly residential property market survey found that the number of landlord instructions dropped by 10%, the weakest reading in over […]
Landlords ‘prefer pets to DSS claimants’
Landlords are more likely to accept potential renters who own pets than people claiming benefits, a BBC investigation has found. Analysis of some 11,000 online listings for spare rooms found all but a few hundred stated benefit claimants were not welcome. Campaign groups say it is “naked discrimination” and are calling for a change in […]