Huge costs of emergency call-outs identified by insurer’s research

Research by an insurance firm has identified the high costs incurred by landlords on emergency call-outs. Whilst inevitably promoting the merits of insurance, the research by Direct Line is helpful because it highlights the stark costs of such emergencies,. The insurance firm says that over 2019 and so far 2020, private landlords have spent an […]

Property tax rises and falling house prices coming in 2021

Property tax rises and falling house prices look as if they are on the way according to the small print accompanying yesterday’s Spending Review by Chancellor Rishi Sunak. No tax increases were mentioned yesterday but the Office of Budget Responsibility, which oversaw the Sunak statement, says: “Our central forecast shows £20 billion to £30 billion […]

Help our tenants! ARLA demands government grants to cover arrears

ARLA Propertymark is one of seven trade and charity groups calling on the government to help bail out private renters with arrears triggered by the pandemic. In a letter sent to The Times the groups say swift action to provide tenants and landlords with the security and stability needed during the pandemic should be an […]

Rent guarantee scheme for private sector launched by council

A council says it’s let 21 properties thanks to a rent guarantee system launched to woo private landlords to supply homes for vulnerable tenants. Let’s Rent Coventry encourages private landlords to provide a tenancy at what the authority calls an affordable price and matches potential tenants with landlords who have properties to let.   Click […]

More overseas landlords are admitting tax avoidance

The number of overseas landlords coming forward to admit tax avoidance has risen 65% in the last five years, said the accountancy firm Moore. Some 390 overseas buy-to-let landlords admitted to HMRC they have not been paying the right amount of tax last year, up from 237 in 2015/16.   Click on this link to […]

House prices to fall next year as furlough and stamp duty holiday end

House prices are expected to fall next year due to the end of the stamp duty holiday and a hit to household incomes when the furlough scheme draws to a close. The Office for Budget Responsibility said that the level of house prices remains around 17 per cent lower over the five-year forecast period, compared […]

Investors nervous about the economy are turning to property

A combination of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the coming to an end of the transition period for the UK leaving the EU has resulted in over half of UK investors being nervous about the economy, a recent survey by the investment company FJP Investment has found. The survey, which was taken by […]

Berlin’s rent cap offers a new way of thinking about Britain’s housing crisis

For most tenants in the UK – conditioned to the prospect of rising rents, poor living conditions and the ongoing threat of eviction – the very idea of receiving a letter from their landlord outlining a reduction in their monthly rent would be absolutely unthinkable. And yet this is exactly what has happened to thousands […]

Rise in private sector rents spark call for more social housing

The latest private rent statistics from the Scottish Government report that advertised rents have continued to rise in the year to September despite the pandemic hitting jobs and incomes. Nationally rents have risen above inflation for all house sizes. The cost of a typical two-bed property has risen above Consumer Price Index inflation of 0.5% […]

Will the 2020 housing market boom continue?

As property investors, it is very important that we monitor house price trends when assessing new deals and during existing long-term projects, especially if we need new or additional finance. Nothing is certain in property investment, but an upward trend in house prices can build additional equity and increase profits. But will this current boom […]