Category Archives: News

Would a Nation of Renters Be Better for Our Economy

More people renting houses rather than owning them would be better for our economy In April, mortgage lending fell for the fourth month in a row. It seems that the British are so determined to get on top of their personal debt that repayments have exceeded borrowing for eight of the past 12 months. Since… Continue Reading

Discrimination in the Private Rented Sector

Emily Spaven, editor of Buytolet.com, recently asked us for our thoughts on discrimination by landlords, following a recent case in the Isle of Man. A landlord had refused to let his property to a gay couple as homosexuality is against his religious beliefs.  Unfortunately for the couple, the landlord was within his rights, according to… Continue Reading

Why Tenant Referencing is So Important

  Your property is probably one of the most expensive things you own, so you don’t want just any one moving in.   There have been numerous reports of cannabis farms in rental properties, and one of our tenants has first hand experience of this.  Whilst renting one of our properties, he let his own,… Continue Reading

London Renters 5 Core Demands

London Renters are a coalition of tenants calling for changes to the private rented sector (PRS). They have 5 core demands: 1. An end to fees for tenants (to bring English policy in line with Scotland) London Renters feel that the fees charge to tenants precludes a lot of low and middle income people from the PRS. 2. Proper… Continue Reading

Disputed Deposits are Just 1.3% of Total

The number of deposit disputes in England & Wales is extremely low, according to official figures released by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG). The Government figures show that of the Seven million deposits that have been protected since the launch of the legislation in 2007, only less than 92,000 have ended up… Continue Reading

High Courts to hear “Bedroom Tax” challenge

Today the High Court will begin hearing the legal challenges to the governments so called “bedroom tax”.   10 families, who each feel they have been discriminated against by the penalty for under-occupation of their social housing, have started legal  proceedings. The penalty came into force on 1st April.  Working age social tenants who are… Continue Reading

What Visa does your Migrant Tenant Need?

In the aftermath of the news that landlords will now be required to check that their migrant tenants have the right to be in the UK, there is a large amount of confusion over who needs a visa, what type etc. For more information about the type of visa your migrant tenant requires, please visit… Continue Reading

Landlords Told to Vet Migrant Tenants

Private landlords will be legally responsible for ensuring that they only let properties to people allowed to be in Britain under immigration laws to be announced in tomorrow’s Queen’s Speech. Almost two million buy-to-let property owners will be responsible for checking the immigration status of potential tenants, with fines running into thousands of pounds for… Continue Reading