To rent or not to rent? Historically, the ambition has been to get on the property ladder as soon as possible, but the constant rise in house prices makes this far easier said than done. The rise in house prices increases the number of people renting, which drives up rental costs, which makes it even […]
Read MoreCrowdfunding site The House Crowd recently published research suggesting that buy-to-let investors see 2016 as a negative year for their investments because of the legal changes to the sector. So much so that a fifth of them claim they intend to sell their buy-to-let properties this year – and perhaps reconsider their retirement plans. It […]
Read MoreThe courts have just awarded over £8,000 and costs to a landlord who claimed an agent had supplied unsuitable tenants. The agent had sourced references from a business with a good track record, which, although not perfect, were deemed acceptable. However, when things went wrong an argument arose as to whether all obligations had been […]
Read MoreMonday 1 February marked the first day of the new Right to Right regime being rolled out across England following a trial period in the West Midlands, which means letting landlords and their agents now have legal obligations they must adhere to – or face a hefty penalty. Right to Rent was introduced by the […]
Read MoreLandlords have the power to evict tenants, but this comes with a process. And where there’s a process, there’s a waiting time. The Association of Residential Letting Agents is currently lobbying Michael Gove, the justice secretary, to speed up the evictions of tenants and reduce the applications that have to be made before High Court […]
Read MoreFor some landlords, the idea of putting a tenant deposit into a protection scheme may seem unnecessary or even burdensome – why can’t you just return the deposit after the tenancy has ended if no damage has been caused to the property? In an ideal world that might be the case, but the purpose of […]
Read More
1. Will I still be covered by my insurance policy when a tenant moves out? You will need to check the terms and conditions of your policy. If a tenant moves out and your property goes unlet for a period of time, some policies won’t provide any cover for the time inbetween and others will […]
Read More
Flood-Damaged Rental Properties: Prevention, Impact, and Recovery You will have seen the devastating effect flooding has had on thousands of homes across the UK, most notably in York, Leeds, and Manchester over the last few weeks. You may even have been directly impacted. Climate change is rapidly showing the extensive physical, emotional, and financial damage […]
Read MoreAs a landlord, you have a number of responsibilities, particularly when it comes to your tenants. Sometimes issues are foreseeable, but sometimes they’re not. Specialist landlord insurance to cover all the possible issues that could pop up is an absolute necessity for landlords, and here are 5 reasons why. It protects your investment Fact: Buying, […]
Read More
The private rented sector has consistently accelerated over the past few years; back in 2014 the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association predicted that if the market trends continued over 50% of UK homes would be rented by 2032. While this is good news for you letting agents, that growth also comes with additional rules and regulations […]
Read MoreThe Tenant Survey 2015/16, carried out by YouGov on behalf of property agent Knight Frank, collected and analysed the responses of 5000 people living in privately rented property across the UK. We have highlighted what we consider to be the most significant findings and from the survey for landlords and letting agents. First, a little […]
Read MoreChancellor George Osborne’s Autumn Statement and Spending Review may have thrown a large spanner in the works for people looking to invest in buy-to-let properties or second homes. He’s decided to wack a new 3% surcharge on stamp duty. His argument? It will be fairer for first-time buyers (as the surcharge won’t apply to them). […]
Read MoreTwo shake-ups to the private rental sector in Wales If you’re a letting agent in Wales, keep on reading, because this week sees two big changes in the private rental sector. New immediate obligation to display fees The first big change is that letting agents need to be aware of a new – and perhaps […]
Read More
Report shows huge shift from owner-occupied homes to lettings If you wanted proof that the rental market is growing, Countrywide has come up trumps. The UK’s largest letting agency has released an extensive report into the private rental sector which shows that more than two million homes have changed tenure over the last decade. Around […]
Read More
Landlords at Risk of Criminal Liability Under the Immigration Bill Landlords or their agents will automatically be committing a criminal offence if told by the Home Office that a tenant is living in the UK illegally. At least, that’s the extremely unfortunate situation to be faced if the 2015 Immigration Bill comes into force as […]
Read More
Download your FREE guide to understand what’s changing and how to stay compliant.Get expert insights now. Enter your details to access the guide.
