Interior design is a question of taste for tenants — rather than landlords
The accidental landlord has given up trying to guess what style of furnishings her metro-millennial tenants would call cool. They get a bed, a sofa – and a chance to put their stamp on the place. Most self-styled property gurus will tell you that if you furnish a rental home, you will find tenants faster […]
Cross-party calls for rogue landlords to lose properties
MPs have called on the government to confiscate properties from the country’s worst landlords after a series of revelations about tenants being exploited by rogue sections of the private rented housing sector. The calls followed a hard-hitting select committee report in April, as well as a joint Guardian and ITV News investigation which last month […]
Research reveals worrying lack of landlord awareness
The private rented sector is a challenging landscape to negotiate, with tax changes and ever-changing regulation meaning that landlords now, more than ever, need greater support to help cope with industry changes, according to new research. A nationally representative survey of private landlords, undertaken by online agent Urban.co.uk, has found a significant lack of awareness […]
Rogue landlords: 90% of local authorities fail to issue fines
FoI responses from 293 English councils reveal string of weaknesses in private rented market law. Almost 90% of local authorities failed to use new powers to fine rogue landlords last year, in the latest finding to suggest tenants are being failed by a lax enforcement regime. It follows a Guardian and ITV News investigation in […]
When is a landlord not a landlord?
You would think that by now there would be a clear and simple definition of a landlord, given the job has been around for time immemorial and in modern housing law terms at least since 1925 but nope….this is housing law we are talking about. The standard dictionary definition is: The owner or possessor of […]
Landlords wrongly refusing tenant requests to switch energy
More than three-quarters of a million tenants may be wrongly denied the right to switch their energy provider by their landlord, research claims. Auto-switching service The Labrador, which works with letting agents to help tenants move to more affordable suppliers, surveyed 1,000 renters, and found a lack of awareness regarding switching rights. The poll found […]
Changes to Mandatory HMO Licensing
Click here to downloadthis article in PDF format An estimated 4 million people live in private rented homes.Now at least 1.1 million who reside in licensable HMOs will benefit from the protection provided by HMO licensing requirements. Provided by Jason Baggott from our partners PIB Insurance Brokers Quick facts The Licensing of Houses in Multiple […]
Landlords and tenants will be relied upon to help enforce letting fees ban
Trading standards will almost certainly need help from consumers to help police the ban on letting fees, according to PayProp. As part of the government’s plans to enforce the upcoming ban on letting agent fees, a new lead enforcement authority will be established for the lettings sector, with trading standards set to be responsible for […]
Should I use a letting agent?
Letting agents – some landlords avoid them, some couldn’t do their job without them. It’s a personal preference and depends on the way that each individual landlord chooses to operate. The great thing about letting agents is that they manage many of the tricky and lengthy aspects of tenancies that a lot of landlords dislike. […]
£450,000: is this a record penalty for a buy to let landlord?
We regularly carry stories about fines for landlords and letting agents who have apparently broken council or national laws – but we cannot remember an individual having a confiscation order of very nearly £450,000, which may be a record sum. This is what’s happened in Southall, west London, where a landlord has been slapped with […]