How to Understand Rent Repayment Orders – Housing and Planning Act
The Housing and Planning Act 2016 received Royal Assent in May 2016 and is gradually being commenced. A number of items affecting the private rented sector in England will - over time - be introduced through the Act including: banning orders database of rogue...
HMRC Plans New Tax Burden for Landlords With Licences
Landlords face a new regulation threat as anyone letting a property with a local authority licence may have to prove they file tax returns before moving in a tenant. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is moving forward with efforts to tackle the black economy with a new...
Landlords Lose Mortgage Interest Tax Relief From Now
Landlords lose the right to claim full tax relief for mortgage interest payments from today (April 5, 2017). Many landlords will pay more tax as the way property business profits also changes. Despite a year of protests and a High Court legal challenge, the government...
How to Apply CGT to Off-Plan Home Purchases
A judge has finally come up with some good tax news for home owners over how to apply principle residence relief to off-plan property purchases. First-Tier Tax Tribunal Judge Heather Gething ruled that a taxpayer can apply the relief from the date of exchange of...
City of Lincoln Council Recognises Trusted Landlords
Following a crackdown on rogue landlords last year, City of Lincoln Council has launched a Trusted Landlord Scheme. The scheme aims to advise and support landlords to provide good quality, well managed private rented accommodation. It will encourage tenants to choose...
Cheap Homes and High Yields Mask Property Price Gap
With almost endless choices, where to invest is often the toughest decision a buy to let landlord must make. The latest property insight from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) reveals some interesting facts and figures that might help landlords decide where to...
Stagnant Buy to Let Rents Predicted to Keep Rising
Average buy to let rents were up in 2016 – but the rate of increase has slowed to just 1.12%. Renters are paying an average £1,188 a month to let their homes, up from £1,177 at the start of the year, adding an extra £11 a month or £132 a year to their payments to...
Housing Part of UC Not to Be Available to Many 18 – 21 Year Olds
Quietly under the radar, the government has issued new regulations which remove the entitlement to the housing element of Universal Credit for certain 18 - 21 year olds. The Universal Credit (Housing Costs Element for claimants aged 18 to 21) (Amendment) Regulations...
One in Five Homes Are Now Buy to Lets, Says Government
Buy to let has mushroomed from 10% of homes in the 1990’s to grab a 20% share in the latest English Housing Survey from the government’s Office of National Statistics. Essentially, the report reveals the number of buy to let homes has doubled since 2003. The latest...
Buy to Let Property Companies and Fake News
Thousands of buy to let landlords have set up property companies to sidestep the mortgage interest tax relief measures starting in April, according to commentators. But is this fake news? The starting point is talking to Companies House, the agency responsible for...
Letting Agent Must Pay Up or Face 30 More Months in Jail
Fraudster Chandra Patel who was jailed for 10 months for taking thousands of pounds in deposits handed over by tenants faces more time in prison if he does not repay the cash. Patel ran Giraffe Residential, in New Malden, Surrey, when he started dipping into cash he...
Landlord Tax Changes ‘Perverse’ Argues Academic
Landlords trapped in to paying more tax by finance interest relief changes coming into force in April need to raise rents by up to 30% to offset the extra cash they hand to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), according to an independent expert. David Miles, Professor of...
Buy to Let Mortgage Crunch Bites for Landlords
Forget worries about finance interest tax relief, the mortgage crunch is inflicting the real damage. The true scale of the problem is revealed in the lending figures of Britain’s biggest building society and second largest landlord lender, the Nationwide. Branded The...
Gas Safety Is A Hot Topic For Landlords
Gas safety is always a hot topic for landlords – especially the rogues who cut corners by failing to look after renters. Landlord Pritpall Singh, 44, was handed 26-week jail sentence suspended for a year and ordered to pay £1,000 costs. She pleaded guilty to failing...
HMO Failures Lead To £250,000 In Fines And Landlord Jail Term
Landlords and letting agents have been handed suspended jail sentences and almost £250,000 in fines and costs for failing to manage rented properties in recent weeks. In Luton, Bedfordshire, a landlord and letting agents were fined over £26,000 for a string of housing...
How To Ensure Electrical Appliances In Rented Property Are Safe And Compliant
Electrical safety regulations The Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016 commenced on 8 December 20161 and apply to any electrical equipment first placed on the market on or after commencement2. Any electrical equipment first placed on the market before 8...
HMRC Loses Property CGT Appeal Over Lack Of Evidence
A claim from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) demanding tax on a property sold for a gain of £730,000 was thrown out by a tribunal. HMRC argued that property seller Paul Munford owed almost £190,000 in CGT and penalties because he deliberately avoided the tax by claiming...
Buy To Let Returns Better Away From London
The focus of buy to let hot spots is continuing to move away from London, says new research. The capital has fallen from grace as yields decline and has no mention in the UK top 10 of best places for buy to let. Instead, the favoured places for the best buy to let...
Landlords Fined For Right To Rent Failures
Right to Rent netted 75 landlords who failed to carry out residence checks on tenants last year. Each landlord was issued a civil penalty, Home Office minister Baroness Williams of Trafford told Baroness Lister of Burtersett in response to a written question asking...
Legionella Deaths Slump To Lowest Level For 10 Years
Deaths from the deadly Legionella disease have dropped to the lowest level for a decade. According to the latest data from public health England, 26 people died from the disease in 2015 from a reported 382 cases. Three times as many men (287/75%) contracted the...
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