George Osborne left several gifts for landlords before vacating the treasury. The first has already come into force which is the increase in stamp duty for the purchase of a buy to let property. The second is a reduction of tax relief that landlords can claim against mortgages. As it
In April this year, it came into law that tenants can request landlords carry out improvements to a property’s energy efficiency which a landlord must not unreasonably withhold. In the not too distant future, it is going to become law that properties with a low energy performance will not be
Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards Landlords to Provide Tenants As part of the Energy Efficiency Ratings Regulations of 2015, from 1st April 2016 tenants may request landlords carry out improvements to a property’s energy efficiency which a landlord must not unreasonably withhold. Tenants whose homes are an F or G rated
Landlords to Conduct Right to Rent Checks on New Tenants As part of the Immigration Bill of 2015/2016, from February 2016, landlords must ensure all new tenants have the right to reside in the UK before letting their properties to them. Evidence must be seen, copied and held for 12
The section 21 notice is a notice served on tenants requiring possession of your property back and gives no cause or reason as to why (such as for rent arrears or antisocial behaviour which is a section 8). A section 21 can lead to a mandatory order for possession and
“Holding onto anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned” – Buddha The fact that retaliatory evictions have been legislated on as part of the Deregulation Act (2015) shows that there are some landlords out
The government has introduced the Smoke Alarms and Carbon Monoxide Regulations (2015) to ensure that smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors are installed at the start of each new tenancy. This took effect as of 1st October 2015. The law applies to all landlords letting a property to a tenant
Below is an article from Jessica Alomankeh, LLAS/UKLAP Projects Coordinator, that will interest landlords: “HMRC is offering a range of support and advice for residential property landlords who want to bring their tax affairs up to date. Landlords are being offered online training in tax matters from HMRC. The computer-based
There are many unscrupulous agents and landlords out there and regulation to stop shady practices is always a good thing, but sometimes it can go too far and benefit unscrupulous tenants. A new bill is currently going through parliament aimed at preventing landlords evicting tenants who ask for essential repairs
There has been good news this month from the Office of National Statistics, average house prices have returned to 2008 levels which is about the time the property crunch happened. Even better news for Londoners, of the 6 regions that are above 2008 levels, London of course leads the way
You find a good tenant, receive the rent on time and hear nothing from them for a year until contract renewal which you happily do to as a paying and non-complaining tenant is worth their weight in gold. Do this two or three times in a row and you’re quite
I have blogged before about foreign investment into London but earlier this month I watched a BBC programme called Inside Out London, The Great Property Race. This programme put a human face to the Buy to Leave investment trend. A staggering £3.5 billion has flowed from China into the London
