Money Laundering Regulations Apply to Some Agents From January 2020
The The Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) Regulations 2019 are to commence on 10 January 2020 and amend the The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017. Before the 10 January 2020, the...
Don’t Deal With Rogue Letting Agents, Warns Watchdog
Housing watchdogs have warned landlords not to deal with rogue letting agents who are not signed up with a government redress scheme. Trading rules demand letting agents belong to an independent scheme that deals with customer complaints. The warning comes as The...
Cost of Living on Britain’s Most Expensive Street
Property investors looking for London streets paved with gold should look no further than Ilchester Place in the capital’s plush Holland Park neighbourhood. While the average house changes hands for £275,000, a home on the country’s most expensive street sells for...
What Does Boris Johnson’s Election Victory Mean for Landlords?
A glance through the Conservative manifesto reveals the plans Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his new government have in store for landlords. Near the top of the list is banning Section 21 no fault evictions. The process lets a landlord in England or Wales regain...
Ground Rent Landlords Urged to Take Misselling Action
Landlords saddled with hefty ground rent charges on homes they rent out are urged to sue their conveyancing landlords for giving poor advice. Around 100,000 new build homes - many owned by buy to let investors - are thought to be affected. In many cases, landlords may...
UK’s Top 25 Buy to Let Hot Spots
Property investment is all about location, location, location according to the experts. That’s why picking the right place to buy a home to rent out is so important. Specialist analysts at Aldermore Bank, a buy to let lender, have compiled a list of the places where...
Council’s £31,500 HMO Fine Slashed by Tribunal
A shared house landlord who was wrongly fined £31,500 by a council over alleged fire safety breaches putting tenants at risk has won a legal challenge to reduce the penalty to just £3,300. Tan Sandhu appealed the penalties to the First Tier Tribunal Property Chamber...
Delayed Commencement of Specified Information Regulations in Wales
We previously reported some regulations that had been laid in the National Assembly for Wales in relation to specified information requirements for holding deposits in Wales. The proposed commencement was 13 December 2019. It has just been announced that those...
Wales Holding Deposit Specified Information Requirements Announced
The Renting Homes (Fees etc.) (Holding Deposit) (Specified Information) (Wales) Regulations 2019 have been laid...
Now Landlords Have to Tackle Dirty Air for Tenants
The pollution levels in the air tenants breathe is the latest check landlords must carry out on a buy to let home. From next year, landlords must include details of high pollution levels on letting particulars for tenants to read before signing up to move in a...
Half of Landlords Put Up Buy to Let Rents
Renters paid less to their landlords for the first time in October since the tenant fee ban came into force across England in June. The number of tenants who saw their rent rise dropped by 8% to 50% compared to September, says letting agent trade body the Association...
Smoke Alarm Failings Leave Tenants in Danger
Buy to let tenants are in danger from smoke alarms that fail to go off in an emergency, according to new research. Although landlords must fit smoke alarms in private rented homes, most opt for cheaper battery-powered models instead of mains-powered devices. But...
Cash Home Sales Drop to Record Low
Fewer buyers are purchasing homes with cash, according to new data. As house prices have risen in recent years, the number of cash sales has dropped to a record low in the first half of 2019. In the first six months of 2009, 36% of purchases were in cash, but this has...
Unfair Buy to Let Pet Rents Set for Ban
Pet rents look like the next tenant fee for the chop as trading standards bosses take legal advice on if landlords can charge tenants who keep cats or dogs. Many landlords charge renters up to £50 a month on top of their regular monthly payment to counter any extra...
Smart Contracts Could Be the End of Conveyancing
Buying a house is likely to become cheaper and easier as the government agrees granting smart contracts valid in law. The move signals the end to the stranglehold lawyers and other legal professionals have over drafting contracts - with conveyancing the most likely...
House Prices and Buy to Let Rents Still Rising
House prices have dropped by a moderate 0.2% month-on-month, according to the latest data. Despite the fall, homes across the country are still worth a little more now than a year ago, says the Office for National Statistics. The latest monthly house price report -...
Don’t Miss Out on a Once in a Lifetime Tax Saving Chance
Landlords are a money conscious group always looking to minimise the amount of tax they pay - but along with one in four aged 55 or over, they have missed the obvious tax saver, according to wealth managers. Making a will is inexpensive and lays the foundation for...
Tories Ignore Call for Landlord Register
The Tory government has no plans to introduce a national landlords register for England if they win the next election. Viscount Younger of Leckie, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for housing, disclosed the information in a reply to a written question from Labour’s...
New Welsh Tenant Fees Ban Rules in Pipeline
Landlords renting out homes in Wales are still no nearer finding out which default costs they can charge renters under the Welsh tenant fees ban. The Welsh Government has announced new regulations are on the way next year but has not indicated which fees will be...
Extra Cash to Fund Fight Against Rogue Landlords
Councils have a chance to grab a stake in £4 million of extra government funding to fight rogue landlords. Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick wants councils to spend the cash on catching private landlords who are breaking the law by providing unsafe homes. He released...
Coronavirus Guidance
Landlords Building Insurance
Guild subscribers can get preferential rates for landlords buildings insurance especially designed for landlords
