Don’t Raid a Pension to Fund Buy to Let, Warns Provider
Cashing in retirement cash to fund buy to let investment is a risk that can cost landlords thousands of pounds in valuable savings, claims a pension provider. One in seven over 55s would trade their pensions for property to fund a better retirement, says research by...
New No Fault Eviction Rules on Way, Reveals Housing Minister
Housing minister Esther McVey has confirmed the scrapping of Section 21 repossessions in favour of a new set of rules. In a written answer to a question from Tory MP Steven Baker on the eve of the dissolution of Parliament in readiness for the General Election on...
Fewer Homes to Let and Fee Ban Trigger More Rent Rises
A shortage of homes to let and the tenants fee ban are still pushing up the cost of renting, according to letting agents. Rents increased for 58% of tenants in September, says new research by trade body the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA). That...
Rental Homes Turned Into Pop-Up Brothels
Police are warning sex traffickers and drugs gangs are setting up in buy to let homes rented from unwary landlords. Crooks offer false IDs and cash upfront to rent properties and turn them over to the gangs to use as brothels and cannabis farms, says National Crime...
Where Landlord Building Costs Go Through the Roof
Landlords looking for reliable tradesmen have scant pricing and rating information to work from - but a new service hopes to make sure building costs don’t go through the roof. And the research carried out by builder pricing site HaMuch.com reveals a massive cost gap...
Buy To Let Rents More Affordable in Many Cities
Buy to let rents are rising faster than wages in just three cities, an analysis by property portal Zoopla has revealed. Tenants in Nottingham saw the largest increase - up 5.4% in a year, says the online property site. Rents in Leeds and Bristol have also risen...
Stagnant Rents and House Prices Squeeze Landlord Profits
Low investment yields coming from stagnant rents and property prices are squeezing profits for landlords - with those in London suffering the worst. Although rents are still rising across the country, October’s report 1.3% increase means the figure has sat at the same...
Liverpool Is Tops for Landlords – but Where’s the Worst Place to Invest?
Liverpool may be the top place to look for property investors hunting the best yields, but where should they avoid? The Merseyside city clinched the title with the only double-digit rental yield in the country with a potential 10% return on investment. The figures...
Average Rent Data Conflicts Are Too Confusing
Conflicting data from a flurry of rent surveys sparks the question of who landlords should believe. The surveys are just three of an increasing number published each month by mortgage lenders, letting agents and trade bodies vying for space in a crowded media. The...
130,000 HMOs Breaking Licensing Laws
Landlords are breaking the law by renting out tens of thousands of shared homes without house in multiple occupation licences in London. New research suggests 310,000 shared homes in the capital should have a licence but only 58% of landlords have bothered to make an...
Courts Dish out Thousands in Fines to Rogue HMO Landlords
Courts have handed out fines of tens of thousands of pounds to landlords flouting housing law in recent weeks. Letting agent Orange Living Ltd, trading as Loc8me, in Loughborough was fined £80,000 and ordered to pay £3,690, at Leicester Magistrates Court. The firm...
Homes Worth £43 Billion Inherited Every Year
More people inherit residential property than any other asset, according to new research. But only the wealthiest families with estates of £2 million or more pass on residential property, which comprises an average fortune of £1.6 million. Every year, wealth of £80...
Judge Clears Up HMO Licensing Confusion
A judge has settled an argument about the date when a house in multiple occupation is defined as not having a licence. The question has dogged housing courts as the offence occurs sets the time limit for starting proceedings and serving court papers on landlords. Now,...
Rents Hit Record High as House Prices Slump
Rents are on the rise for thousands of private tenants as a change in the law begins to bite landlord finances. The tenant fees ban started in England in June and Wales in September and has triggered record rents every month since, says letting agent trade body ARLA....
Renters Don’t Want To Buy Their Own Homes
The future of buy to let is rosy, according to new research that suggests tenants don’t want to buy homes of their own. Only 42% of tenants say they would like to buy a home - meaning around six out of 10 intend to carry on renting. The most likely not to buy are...
Email Auto Signatures Can Make a Contract Binding
Electronic signatures automatically generated on emails have the same legally binding force of law as a handwritten signature, a judge has ruled. Sitting at Manchester Civil Justice Centre, Judge Pearce ruled signature blocks on email messages show the sender intends...
Landlords Urged to Sell Now to Beat Higher CGT Bills
Buy to let landlords who have rented out a home where they once lived are urged to sell up quickly to avoid higher tax bills. Capital gains tax rules are due to change from April 6, 2020 that will take a larger bite from their sell-on profits. CGT will impact...
Agents Must Have Client Money Protection From 1 April 2019
The Client Money Protection Schemes for Property Agents (Requirement to Belong to a Scheme etc.) Regulations 2019 have been approved and will commence from 1 April 2019. The regulations apply to property agents operating in the course of English letting agency or...
The Changes to HMOs You Need to Know About
From 1 October 2018, significant changes are being made to which HMOs are licensable and minimum room sizes in HMOs in England. Changes to mandatory licensing Currently, a property requires a mandatory licence if all of the following apply: the property is a House in...
Rent Rises Stuck in a Rut for Four Months in a Row
Buy to let rents are still rising - but worries the tenant fee ban would send them sky-rocketing seems unwarranted. The latest official data from the Office for National Statistics reveals rents increased an average 1.3% for the 12 months to the end of August - a...
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