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A new report has found that in the last two years within the private rented sector, the average length of tenancy has increased by 300%, from 16 months in 2014 to four years in 2016. The Residential Landlords Association are currently trying to persuade the Government to remove barriers to longer term tenancies, for example… Continue Reading
Category Archives: News
Universal Credit – A Guide for Landlords
What is Universal Credit? Universal credit supports people who receive a low income or are unemployed. Universal credit is a monthly payment that replaces: Housing Benefit Working Tax Credit Income Support Child Tax Credit Jobseeker’s Allowance Employment and Support Allowance Universal credit is intended to be simpler than the current system of benefits and tax… Continue Reading
New Landlord Tax Guide
The RLA, in conjunction with RITA4RENT, have composed a guide to provide a summary of the changes affecting UK residential landlords in 2016 Click here to read the guide. Continue Reading
Immigration Checks to Become a Requirement across England
The Home Office has announced that the Right to Rent scheme will be extended across England from February 1, 2016. All private landlords, or their agents, in England, including those subletting or taking in lodgers, will have to check new tenants have the right to be in the UK before renting out their property. A pilot… Continue Reading
New Smoke Detector and Carbon Monoxide Detector Legislation for Rented Properties
From 1st October 2015 ALL rental properties must have at least one working smoke detector on each floor. This applies to ALL tenancies, whether new or existing. A property with a solid fuel appliance must also have a working carbon monoxide detector. These must be tested on the first day of the tenancy. NOTE: While… Continue Reading
Ban on Landlord Renting Properties with Poor EPC Ratings
Landlords will be banned from renting out England and Wales’ draughtiest homes from 2018 in a bid to cut energy bills and carbon emissions. The new regulations are expected to help around a million tenants who are paying as much as £1,000 a year more than the average annual bill of £1,265 because of poorly… Continue Reading
Buy To Let Mortgages up Nearly 10%
According to the latest official figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), buy to let mortgage lending continues to rise. The CML are the trade body for most banks and building societies lending to landlords . The CML have reported that property investors borrowed £2.4 billion in November 2014. Lending was split roughly 50:50 between… Continue Reading
Rents Hit All Time High
According to the latest statistics by LSL, average rents in England and Wales hit an all time high last month, averaging £768, 1.5% higher than the same time last year. Across England and Wales, there is a mix of results, with the West Midlands 2.4% lower than a year ago, and a drop of 2.3%… Continue Reading
Why Online Letting Agent Reviews Are So Important
In an online world where there are many Online Letting Agents to choose from, it’s hard to decide which one to pick. The services offered by each differ slightly, but all basically do the same thing; get your property out there! But that’s not the whole story. It’s not just about getting your property out… Continue Reading
Ghost Tenants Put Landlords and Agents at Risk
Buy-to-let landlords have millions of ‘ghost tenants’ secretly living in their rented properties and The Online Letting Agents is urging landlords and agents to check their properties, to avoid the possibility of hefty fines resulting from the new immigration legislation. According to recent research*, at least 3 million ghost tenants live in the UK’s 4.5… Continue Reading