Posts Tagged ‘Landlords’
Rent controls..good or bad?
Private rents are becoming increasingly more expensive across the UK, that is a statement of fact, would the introduction of rent controls solve the problem though? Figures recently released by the Office for National Statistics suggest that rents paid to private landlords in the UK have increased by 2.5 per cent over the last year, …
Read MorePrivate sector rent controls in Scotland
Nicola Sturgeon is an advocate of rent controls, she has outlined plans in the Scottish Parliament to introduce them through a Private Tenancies Bill, personally I have always thought some form of rent control would be the most sensible way of keeping a cap on private sector rents, however this method of controlling rents should…
Read MoreNLA response to DCLG’s new regulations
The National Landlords Association (NLA) responded yesterday to the Department of Communities and Local Government’s (DCLG) new regulations, which are due to come into force on 1 October, they will introduce new obligations on landlords to provide specific information to their tenants, and restrictions on the use of the section 21 notice no fault possession…
Read MoreGreater powers when tackling rogue landlords
The London Mayor wants greater powers to deal with so called rogue landlords who rent out property to tenants in the capital, Richard Blakeway the lead for housing to the Mayor is calling for additional powers for local authorities when dealing with these rogue landlords, including the ability to impose minimum fines. These demands made…
Read MoreCharity report on suffering tenants
Shelter the Housing Charity has reported that in the past year over 17,000 tenants have contacted them complaining about landlords who have abused, threatened, assaulted and harrassed them. In a survey by the charity, of 3800 adults questioned 60 claimed their landlords had been abusive to them or another tenant over the last 12 months.…
Read MoreSeeking new landlords? Look at both ends of the spectrum.
You’ll all be familiar with the phrase ‘generation rent’ but a new report from economists at accountancy firm PwC suggests that the rental market is set to thrive and actually grow over the next 25 years. The research even goes as far as suggesting that over half of under 40s will be living in properties…
Read MoreBetter returns with HMO buy-to-let
When it comes to calculating the return on a BTL investment, the HMO buy-to-let far outweighs that of the standard buy-to-let, analysis from Platinum Property Partners suggests that even if the interest rate were to increase by 3% a HMO investment would still be profitable. Steve Bolton, Chairman of Platinum Property Partners, reportedly said: “Not…
Read MoreLicensing Welsh landlords and letting agents
Wales certainly appears to be leading the way when it comes to improving letting and management standards for those who rent private accomodation, this autumn the Welsh government will introduce a new law affecting all landlords and letting agents. A new registration and licensing scheme, a key part of The Housing (Wales) Act 2014 will…
Read MoreLandlords need to take notice.
In an effort to emphasise the importance of Landlords providing safe and comfortable accomodation for their tenants we are highlighting what can be the end result for a Landlord who does not conform. An article in the Newham Recorder explains how council officers visited a 3 bedroomed maisonette in Forest Gate in July2012 after receiving…
Read MoreLegionella and HSE Guidance – Why ignorance is not always bliss…
The HSE recently published its guidance document on Legionella risk assessment and control and more specifically the required response from landlords and managing agents (known affectionally as ‘ the duty holder ‘). Wonder if that title comes with an Oscar styled trophy? Love a bit of bling….. 🙂 Anyway; there are many, many, many discussions…
Read MoreHousing becomes a complex challenge
The housing crisis in Britain is a massively complex challenge for the government who quite honestly appear to be finding it difficult to cope with, none of the proposals put forward so far offer any hope of improvement in the near future. Government plans to extend the right-to-buy to housing association tenants is hitting an…
Read MoreRight-to-Rent pilot scheme
A report out yesterday from the Express and Star, publication covering towns throughout the “Black Country” highlights how the scheme to prosecute landlords for letting to illegal immigrants is working or maybe “not working that well”. The scheme was introduced in the towns of Wolverhampton, Sandwell, Dudley, Walsall and Birmingham by the government as a…
Read MorePoorest priced out of Oxford.
The National Landlords Association (NLA) is requesting that Oxford City council changes its homes in multiple occupancy licensing scheme (HMOs) and make it easier for landlords to operate them, this comes on the back of claims that strict rules for renting out shared houses is pricing some of the poorest tenants out of Oxford. NLA…
Read MoreCouncil clampdown on renting out unsafe buildings
Landlords who rent out unsafe outbuildings in the Borough of Redbridge are being given a strong message that it will not be tolerated, Redbridge Council has taken action to close 93 outbuildings which have been illegally rented out as accommodation. The authority said many of the outbuildings did not comply with housing safety standards or…
Read MorePrivate rent rises cause concern
Official figures show that private rents have risen across England by an average of 2.5% in the last year, this has caused a reaction by Housing campaigners to push the government to act to stem such rises. The Office for National Statistics index of private housing rental prices show the biggest rise was in London…
Read More