Five signs your rented home could be an electrical disaster including ‘fishy smell’
Renters and landlords are being urged to look out for signs their homes may be suffering from dangerous electrical faults. The warning comes as a recent investigation by the consumer safety charity, Electrical Safety First, discovered thousands of dangerous electrical faults in privately rented homes across England. The UK’s private renting sector has doubled in size […]
Evictions are falling over the long term, latest figures suggest
Fresh government data shows that over 2021-22, some 12,965 rental properties were repossessed – a huge increase on the previous year, where figures were artificially low because of eviction bans imposed by government during the pandemic. In fact, the 12,965 repossessions seen over the last year is actually 56 per cent fewer than the 29,347 […]
Should landlords buy new build property?
Most buy-to-let investors purchase older property rather than new builds and that is generally because they are cheaper. With rental yields being an important part of a landlord’s business model, this makes sense. Newly built property has a price premium and there is a big difference between the prices of old and new property. The […]
Councils failing to enforce regulations on rogue landlords
A Freedom of Information request by a newspaper has unveiled the almost complete lack of activity by local councils when it comes to the government’s so-called rogue landlords banned list. Just 56 property agents and landlords have been entered on to the list since the list came into effect in April 2018, which suggests either […]
Have Your Say! Consultation opens on Rental Reform White Paper
The National Residential Landlords Association is asking all landlords – not just its members – to contribute to a consultation on the government’s Fairer Private Rental Sector White Paper. “Given the interest, we are opening this up to any landlord or lettings agent” says NRLA chief executive Ben Beadle. The White Paper includes a raft […]
Should I rent to students? Advice for landlords
A recent poll by the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS) asked landlords and agents about their experiences renting to students. The poll revealed the top causes of disputes and whether their experiences have encouraged or deterred landlords from renting to students in the future. There is a general belief within the private rental sector that student tenants may […]
MPs slammed by agents for failing to help private renters
MPs on a key Select Committee have been criticised by the letting agents’ trade body for failing to probe how Local Housing Allowance rates could be reviewed to help private tenants. The Select Committee on Work and Pensions – an all-party group chaired by Labour MP Sir Stephen Timms – has considered measures that could […]
UK average rent up 8% annually: DPS
Rents in the UK went up by 8.21% on average between the second quarter of last year and the second quarter of 2022, says The Deposit Protection Service (DPS). This equates to average rents rising from £804 to £870 per month. And the jump up from Q1 2022 to Q2 2022 came to 2.47% – […]
1,487 per cent increase in rental property repossessions
Industry analysis by Landlord Action, housing law specialist and part of the Hamilton Fraser Group, has revealed that the number of rental property repossessions carried out on behalf of landlords across England and Wales has increased by one thousand four hundred and eighty seven per cent annually, following the end of the tenant eviction ban […]
Housing stock shortages putting upward pressure on prices, says Propertymark
There is a lack of incentives keeping landlords in the sector, the industry body said. Shortages of homes for sale and to rent are adding to the cost-of-living squeeze by putting an upward pressure on housing costs, according to a body representing estate and letting agents. Landlords seeing increases to their monthly mortgage repayments are […]