Buy-to-let repossessions surge in Q3 2019
The number of private landlords’ properties being repossessed jumped by 40% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2019, figures from a trade association show. There were 800 such repossessions of buy-to-let mortgaged properties in July to September 2019, up from 570 in the corresponding quarter in 2018, UK Finance said. Click this link to read […]
Labour vows to cap rent rises for private tenants
Labour has vowed to “put bad landlords out of business” and bring in rent controls in England, if it wins power. Private rents would not be allowed to go up by more than inflation – and landlords would be fined for letting out sub-standard property. A Labour government would also bring in “open-ended” tenancies, to […]
Labour’s PRS plans ‘offer nothing’ to good landlords
The Labour’s longer tenancies offer nothing to encourage and support “good” landlords to stay in the market long-term, the RLA says. RLA policy director David Smith acknowledges enabling tenants to remain in their property as a good thing. But Smith maintains that needs to be matched by a system that gives confidence that landlords can […]
Be aware of the silent killer
To mark Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week, landlords are being reminded that they have a legal obligation to keep tenants safe by maintaining gas appliances and ensuring that a qualified Gas Safe registered engineer carries out a gas safety check every 12 months. Click this link to read the full article.
Revealed: The towns and cities taking the biggest gas safety risks
Experts are warning homeowners and landlords across the UK to check their gas appliances in the run up to Christmas with carbon monoxide poisoning, gas fires and even explosions due to faults in their heating systems potential risks that have remained dormant over the summer. As temperatures fall, more of us are switching on the […]
Labour drops its much-derided private tenant ‘right to buy’ policy
Labour has ditched its key private rented sector manifesto policy for the general election. Andrew Fisher, its key manifesto architect, has decided that giving private tenants the ‘right to buy’ their rented properties would be unworkable, the FT has revealed. Click this link to read the full article.
Ten estate agents closing every week as clients go online
Ten estate agents are going bust across the UK every week, according to new research. Property management firm Apropos by DJ Alexander said 371 businesses (348 in England and Wales and 23 in Scotland) have entered formal insolvency proceedings in the first nine months of 2019. Click this link to read the full article. […]
Renters quizzed in relation to their landlord’s tax affairs
Tenants are being quizzed on the tax status of their landlords by HMRC.1 An HMRC fact finding letter goes on to suggest tenants may have to take tax off their own rental payments to ensure the correct tax is paid if their landlord is not resident in the UK and is not registered under the […]
Repossession times rise for landlords
The time it takes landlords from making a claim to the courts for a property to be repossessed to it happening has risen from 22.5 weeks in Q2 to 22.6 weeks in Q3, The Ministry of Justice’s Mortgage and Landlord Possession Statistics have revealed. Click this link to read the full article.
Property firm flags looming crisis in student rental market
A leading property consultancy has broken ranks to say that too many student property developments are being built in the UK and that in some locations supply has reached ‘saturation point’. The comments have been made by David Feeney of Cushman & Wakefield on BBC Radio 4 programme You & Yours. Click this link to […]