Sadiq Khan renews call for private rent controls in London
Sadiq Khan has called on ministers to grant him powers to freeze private rents in London, amid a push by Labour over cost of living issues which also saw the party reiterate its call for the scrapping of the planned increase in national insurance contributions. The mayor has previously called on the government to allow […]
allAgents renews attack on Trustpilot with fresh allegations about GetAgent
Martin McKenzie, the head of property review website, allAgents, has once again attacked Trustpilot, this time accusing the reviews site of favouring paying customers. allAgents has expressed particular concern about comparison website GetAgent, and alleged ‘fake reviews’ about the comparison website from online sources in order to offer what allAgents say are ‘impartial recommendations’ to […]
HMRC must tax AirBnb landlords heavily, insist activists
The Generation Rent activist group has launched a lobbying campaign, giving a template letter for people to send to MPs ahead of the Budget later this month. On social media platform Twitter Generation Rent tells its 17,000 followers: “The rise of AirBnBs is denying homes to people who need them. Taxing them properly will mean […]
Revealed – where landlords are buying now for optimum returns
Buy to let landlords are increasingly targeting smaller, secondary towns and cities rather than big urban centres. Data from Paragon Bank shows the strongest increase in BTL mortgage business in the past year has been in locations outside of major city centres. Aside from London and Manchester, the top 10 highest growth locations in urban […]
Strong tenant demand sees rental stock drop below pre-pandemic levels
Rising tenant demand has caused rental market stock levels to plummet across the UK’s major cities, according to new data released by Octane Capital. Research by the specialist property lender analysed the level of rental stock across 21 major UK cities and how this availability of rental homes has changed during the pandemic and found […]
Landlords call for guidance on how to offer homes to refugees from Ukraine
Landlords are calling on the Government to provide guidance on how they can flag up property that is available to families fleeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Government has doubled the number of people it initially said would be able to come to the UK from 100,000 to 200,000. So far, the UK has said […]
Creating exceptional spaces – how landlords can meet businesses’ workspace demands
23 March will mark two years since the UK entered its first Covid-lockdown. It’s hardly a milestone that will be celebrated, but it does present an opportune moment to consider how significantly things have changed. For the commercial real estate sector, like most industries or markets, the pandemic has had a profound impact. This is […]
Creating space: Home improvements that add real value
When it comes to making home improvements, however, there are certain renovations which can add more value than others. And in the current times – with more of us working from home – it will come as no surprise that having more space really matters. In fact, according to analysis by Flooring Superstore, homeowners keen […]
Inside tenant’s trashed house as landlord finds ‘gigantic’ snake and dead tarantula
A landlord discovered a ‘gigantic’ boa constrictor among mounds of rubbish when his ‘nightmare’ tenant finally moved out. Ironically, the tenant from hell was an animal rescuer who bragged how well he looked after them. Landlord Phil Tewkesley had been battling for months to evict the occupants, who he claims used the Covid-19 pandemic as […]
Buy-to-let landlords targeting smaller UK cities and towns
Landlords buying in urban areas are increasingly shifting their purchasing activities to smaller, secondary towns and cities, data analysis from Paragon Bank’s own lending records has revealed. “Landlord demand for city and town centre property was strong in 2021, with Paragon’s analysis showing completions for house purchases increasing by 100% compared to the previous year,” […]