Rogue Landlords, Dodgy Estate Agents and Vicious Tenants
Rogue landlords who flout shared house safety rules have picked up huge fines for letting tenants live in unsafe and filthy conditions. Landlord Zaheer Barbar faces selling his rental property to pay £50,500 owed to Northampton Council after losing an appeal, while...
HMRC Accepts COVID-19 Excuses For Late Filing
Landlords who can’t complete a self-assessment tax return by the deadline due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic can put forward COVID-19 as a reasonable excuse for late filing, says HM Revenue & Customs. HMRC will still issue an automatic £100 late-filing...
Landlords Confess Evading Tax Last Year
Buy to let landlords have confessed to evading tax on rental income by underpaying an average £4,480 each in the last tax year. That’s a massive 72% more than they admitted in dodging the year before, according to research by accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young....
Evictions Ban Extended
The government has announced that the evictions ban which was due to expire on 11 January 2021 has been extended for Both England and Wales. England For England, the evictions ban now ends on 21 February 2021 although could be extended further. The regulations...
Understanding Possession Action During Covid-19
As recently reported, overall arrangements for possession proceedings was published (the overall arrangements) which also referenced further guidance which was to follow. This included a “pre-action plan” to be complied with by landlords before serving a notice or...
Leasehold Reforms Benefit Millions of Homeowners
Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick is set to overhaul the controversial and expensive leasehold ownership system of flats and houses in England. Landlords are among the homeowners expected to benefit from the changes that affect around 4.5 million properties. Many faced...
500,000 Renters Fear Eviction as Bailiff Ban Ends
At least 500,000 private tenants fear they might lose their homes as the government’s COVID-19 eviction protection come to an end within a few days. Landlords have already threatened eviction against one in four buy to let tenants in rent arrears, according to new...
Lockdown 3.0 Rules for Landlords
The revised legislation for the latest lockdown in England is scheduled to go through Parliament today (6 January 2021). Similar to the November 2020 lockdown, for landlord’s work, most things are allowed (subject to the usual COVID-19 precautions). The guidance...
Coronavirus: Guidance for Landlords and Letting Agents
Stats above are for UK only and refreshed daily.Coronavirus COVID-19 Pandemic Hub for Landlords and Letting Agents For the latest #StayAlert guidance, please see the.gov coronavirus page here.Landlord Specific GuidanceHere we will look at: gas...
How to Sign Notices (and Other Section 8 Pitfalls)
This article has been updated to reflect Northwood Solihull Ltd v Fearn & Ors (2020) EWHC 3538 (QB) in respect of the section 8 notice signed by a company - see later.Ratcliffe & Ratcliffe v Patterson & Porter, County Court at Luton, 17 March 2020 has been...
Deposit Prescribed Information and Company Signing
An interesting case has been published on the Nearlylegal blog about tenancy deposit prescribed...
Guild of Landlords Rent Digest – December 2020
Buy to let rents are standing still across the country although there are some rental hotspots outperforming the rest. This is our rent digest for the final month of 2020. A deep look at the latest official rent data from the Office for National Statistics highlights...
Last Chance For Landlords To Grab Stamp Duty Savings
Time is running out for landlords taking advantage of the stamp duty holiday to purchase new buy to let homes. The government has dashed any hopes of extending the tax relief by announcing the holiday will end as planned on March 31, 2021. The statement was in...
Guild of Landlords House Price Digest – December 2020
House prices are booming or on the brink of a plunge into the abyss depending on who you want to take notice of. While the Halifax and Nationwide are trumpeting about the fastest rise in prices for years, economists at the Office of Budget Responsibility predict a...
HMRC Guidance Error Triggers Landlord Stamp Duty Tax Refunds
Landlords can make stamp duty savings worth tens of thousands of pounds after HMRC has had a change of mind about charging enhanced rates to property investors. HM Revenue & Customs has confessed that ‘incorrect guidance online’ has led to wrongly charging homes...
Webinar Christmas Quiz Announced
Training for Professionals have announced a Christmas Quiz webinar described as “festive fun”. The webinar will look at past helpline questions and the answers given. The webinar will be run as quiz and will be useful for both landlords and agents alike. What’s more,...
New How to Rent Guide to Be Published
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) have informed us that they are to publish an update to...
Dodgy Letting Agents Under Fire From All Sides
Letting agents are under fire from all sides due to a lack of standards in the private rental market. The litany of wrongdoing and bad practise includes one crooked letting agent who diverted cash from collected as deposits from tenants to stave off a financial crisis...
House Prices Winners And Losers
Homeowners keep their properties for an average 23 years and new research shows a lot can change with house prices across two decades. New research shows how much homes have risen in value since 2000 – and highlight the house price hotspots where homeowners have...
Flipping Great Profits for Home Doer Uppers
Property professionals have turned their hand to flipping homes for profit during the coronavirus lockdown with a sharp rise in the number of refurbished houses hitting the market. Flipping is buying, renovating and selling a home in a short time. New data shows...
Coronavirus Guidance
Landlords Building Insurance
Guild subscribers can get preferential rates for landlords buildings insurance especially designed for landlords
