Runaway Rents Hit 15-Year High
Runaway rents are defying the cost of living crisis as they surge to the highest level in 15 years. Although most major rent trackers disagree about how much renters are paying, they all agree rents have soared to record levels. The Deposit Protection Service (DPS)...
Final Countdown for New Carbon Monoxide Rules
New carbon monoxide alarm rules for private rented homes in England are due to come into force on October 1. The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022 build on existing rules for buy-to-lets in England. Licensed shared houses in multiple...
Buy to Let Rents Rising at Fastest Ever Rate
New official data says tenants are paying the highest ever private rent as payments demanded by landlords rise at a record rate. Buy-to-let rents were up three per cent in June, according to the Office for National Statistics - the most rapid monthly growth since...
House Prices Hit Record, but a Slowdown Is on the Way
House prices have leapt 13 per cent in a year, but these golden times for homeowners and property investors are drawing to a close. Experts across the board agree that the market is applying brakes to runaway house price growth, and although values will keep rising,...
Climate Change Heat Is on for Landlords
Property investors should be ready for a doomsday scenario of heatwaves, flooding, wildfires and storms devastating the country as the impact of climate change worsens. Extreme weather can severely damage homes, and the chances of destruction are heightened by not...
Landlords Rush to Set Up Buy to Let Companies
Landlords are flocking to buy their next rental home through a limited company to avoid higher tax bills. The number of landlords purchasing property through a buy-to-let company has increased, a study by specialist buy-to-let lender Paragon Bank has revealed. At the...
HMRC Keeps Landlords Hanging on the Phone
The tax man seems to throw a tantrum if landlords don’t pay their taxes on time - but service standards data reveals they can’t bother to answer the phone to answer inquiries. Despite HM Revenue & Customs claims that tax is simple, many taxpayers find filing...
Second Home Bombshell Dropped by Welsh Leaders
The Welsh Government has stepped up the crackdown on second home and holiday let owners with a package of planning and tax laws aimed at cooling house prices in popular tourist hotspots. In an ongoing campaign, First Minister Mark Drakeford and Plaid Cymru leader Adam...
Rents Rising at Fastest Rate for Six Years
The cost of renting is still rising despite the cost-of-living crisis squeezing tenant budgets. Rents were up 2.8 per cent in the year ending May 31 (2022) - the most significant increase in the six years since the Office for National Statistics started keeping...
Airbnb Ban on the Way for Second Homes?
Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove wants to heap more woe on second homeowners and landlords with a plan to ban letting out properties on hotel websites like Airbnb. Gove is reportedly considering ways to stop the exodus from long to short-term, letting drive home...
Is Your Home Earning More Than You?
Homes are earning more than their owners as double-digit price rises grip the market amid fears of a slowdown as the cost of living crisis bites. The average salary at the start of the year was £24,600, according to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) - a 6.3 per cent...
Renting Homes Amending Regulations (Wales)
The Welsh government has announced that four other amending regulations relating to the Renting Homes Act ("the Act") have been laid, scheduled for a plenary debate on 12 July 2022. Of particular note are some new announcements concerning the new rules from the...
No Gas Safety Record Before Occupation and Section 21
To serve a section 21 notice, specific "prescribed requirements" must have been complied with first. One of those is under gas safety rules: the landlord must give a copy of the last record made to any new tenant of premises before that tenant occupies those premises....
Renters’ Reform Bill – White Paper
This article looks at the recently announced white paper for the Renters' Reform Bill, which includes the proposal to abolish section 21 notices. Its broad scope is apparent, and several other proposals are included. You can read the white paper here. Safe and Decent...
How Much Has Your Home Earned in 50 Years?
Landlords follow investment advice advocated by author Mark Twain - that’s ‘buy land, they’re not making it anymore'. And a shortage of land for new homes countered by growing demand pushes up property prices. By how much was worked out by number crunchers at...
Gove’s New Deal for Renters Lands
The new Renters Reform Bill is a crackdown on private lettings and contains little to appease landlords. Details of the bill were released in a White Paper to be quickly followed by a draft bill expected to become law by March 2023. After years of speculation within...
Double Council Tax Is on the Way for Second Homes
Ministers want to double the council tax charge for empty second homes and holiday lets under the powers of a new bill. The government also wants to give councils extra powers to force the landlords of empty shops to rent them out. The measures are part of the...
Minister Says No to Rent Controls and Other News
Minister Says No To Rent Controls Ministers are fighting calls to impose rent controls from housing charities backed by Labour. The latest skirmish was between Shadow Culture Secretary Rachael Maskell, who asked if the government would assess the merits of imposing...
Buy to Let Rent Growth Soars to Six-Year Record
Rent rises for new tenants are accelerating as inflation stokes the economy. Tenants are paying more across the country as the cost of housing increases at the steepest rate since January 2016. In April, rents were up 2.7 per cent year-on-year and added an extra 0.3...
Renting Homes (Wales) Act Delayed Until December 2022
Julie James MS, Minister for Climate Change, has today (30 May 2022) announced that implementation of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 is to be delayed until 1 December 2022. It was scheduled to commence on 15 July 2022. The written statement says: ... I have over...
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