Taxman starts hunt for outstanding rent money

Residential landlords and accountants who look after their Buy to Let interests have been sent letters by HM Revenue & Customs asking for details of any tax that has not been paid on money made from letting or selling a property. Similar action has been taken in the past, but this latest move, which has been called ‘Property Campaign’ by the Revenue, is being seen as a major crackdown that some financial specialists are... MORE

Increase in council tax collection saves over £3.2bn

Residential landlords are being told their tenants will get more value for money from local public services due to an increase in the collection rate of council tax.Local Government Minister John Healey this week praised councils on improving the amount of council tax collected for the eighth successive year. MORE

As house prices fall rental yields go up

Rental yields in May were at their highest level since the start of 2006, states to the latest Paragon Mortgages' buy-to-let index. Landlords can now expect an average yield of 6.4 percent. In the last year rental incomes have increased by nearly 12 percent - 6 percent in the past six months. MORE

Calls for Scotland to back Tenancy Deposit Scheme

With the Scottish Parliament starting a debate on the Tenancy Deposit Scheme, ARLA, the Association of Residential Letting Agents, called for ministers to give it their backing without re-inventing the wheel. ARLA was behind the operation of the voluntary Tenancy Deposit Scheme in England and Wales before deposit protection became mandatory last year. MORE

Residential Landlord - In brief

Mortgage lenders wait for government to help ease logjamGross lending totalled an estimated £25.5 billion in May, down only 2 percent from £26.1 billion in April but 19 percent from the £31.5 billion high in May 2007, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). Monthly lending levels have continued well below their position last year but at good historic levels. MORE

Taxman starts hunt for outstanding rent money

Residential landlords and accountants who look after their Buy to Let interests have been sent letters by HM Revenue & Customs asking for details of any tax that has not been paid on money made from letting or selling a property. Similar action has been taken in the past, but this latest move, which has been called 'Property Campaign' by the Revenue, is being seen as a major crackdown that some financial specialists are... MORE

Increase in council tax collection saves over £3.2bn

Residential landlords are being told their tenants will get more value for money from local public services due to an increase in the collection rate of council tax.
Local Government Minister John Healey this week praised councils on improving the amount of council tax collected for the eighth successive year. MORE

As house prices fall rental yields go up

Rental yields in May were at their highest level since the start of 2006, states to the latest Paragon Mortgages' buy-to-let index. Landlords can now expect an average yield of 6.4 percent. In the last year rental incomes have increased by nearly 12 percent - 6 percent in the past six months. MORE

Residential Landlord - In brief

Mortgage lenders wait for government to help ease logjam
Gross lending totalled an estimated £25.5 billion in May, down only 2 percent from £26.1 billion in April but 19 percent from the £31.5 billion high in May 2007, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). Monthly lending levels have continued well below their position last year but at good historic levels. MORE

Calls for Scotland to back Tenancy Deposit Scheme

With the Scottish Parliament starting a debate on the Tenancy Deposit Scheme, ARLA, the Association of Residential Letting Agents, called for ministers to give it their backing without re-inventing the wheel. ARLA was behind the operation of the voluntary Tenancy Deposit Scheme in England and Wales before deposit protection became mandatory last year. MORE

Sustainable code creates higher costs for landlords

Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) are having to incur substantial extra costs to meet the stringent new CSH Code Level 3 standards, which came into force as part of the Code For Sustainable Homes - which seeks to achieve zero carbon new builds by 2016. The Government currently allocates little or no additional funding to newly built social housing. MORE

Soaring rent levels are just a myth says ARLA

Marginal falls in rental returns for houses and flats are reported in the latest quarterly survey of ARLA's member letting agents. This, ARLA believes, is due to the number of new developments coming on-stream. The Association also points out that this demolishes the myth that rent levels are soaring. MORE

Agents look to the future

The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) today welcomed the recommendations of the Carsberg Report into the future of the housing market in the UK.
The independent report, jointly sponsored by the NAEA, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA), pulls no punches in its assertion that the market for buying and selling homes in the UK is simply not working. MORE

House prices falling further than predicted

Residential landlords could see their property investments decline in value following predictions by Britain's biggest mortgage lender that house prices are likely to fall by 9 per cent this year. The Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) has reported that sales this year are down by 45 per cent compared with last year. MORE

Residential Landlord - In brief

Tenant filmed landlord having sex
A landlord threw a tenant out of his house and set fire to his clothes after discovering that he had used a mobile phone to film him having sex with his girlfriend.
The fire attracted the attentions of the police and fire brigade leading to the tenant, Scott Jones, being arrested and charged with two offences of voyeurism in Huntingdon. MORE

South East outperforms UK average

Residential landlords in the South East have been given a glimpse of how their property investments are performing following a research report on residential development by Knight Frank. It showed that the South East housing market averaged 7 percent capital growth in 2007, outperforming the UK average (5 percent) as well as Greater London (4 percent). MORE

Number of households in temporary accommodation falls

Mediation services to resolve family or relationship breakdowns or offering rent deposit to aid a family make a move into accommodation were just two of the methods that housing authorities and their partners have employed to prevent households from becoming homeless. Homelessness Minister Iain Wright... MORE

Rental is 'the' affordable housing market

An influential housing report published recently shows rental housing to be the only affordable section of the market claims the British Property Federation (BPF). At the launch for 'Can't Buy, Can't Supply' report, Hometrack's director of research, Richard Donnell, said that "the private rented sector is the affordable housing market". MORE

Could get harder to pave the way in your front garden

Residential Landlords who want to concrete over the front gardens of their properties to provide off street parking for their tenants may face tougher opposition in the future. The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) wants the Government to take immediate steps to mitigate the risk of flooding by preventing people from taking such action. MORE

Squatters' advice group defends its handbook

No one is saying all squatters are perfect, but neither are tenants. This is one of the responses from the Advisory Service for Squatters (A.S.S) following recent headlines criticising local councils who are referring homeless people to its Squatters' Handbook. Reports claim the handbook, which is now in its 12th edition and has been in print since 1974, allegedly gives advice on how to 'trick' your way into properties. MORE

BPF maintains pressure on housing minister over the future of renting

The country's biggest property developers and investors handed housing minister Caroline Flint a report called 'The Future of Renting' at the British Property Federation (BPF) annual conference. The report is a response to a government review of rental and calls for a radical reshaping of the housing market that would ease the burden by ensuring renewed investment to see new properties come forward, saving... MORE

UK rents increase by 13.8 percent

The National Landlords Association (NLA), which represents almost 14,000 landlords, has said that the fundamentals of UK buy to let remain strong.
Despite a reduction in available mortgage products, the organisation says its NLA Mortgages continue to offer landlords the chance to access mortgage finance and benefit from a guaranteed cashback sum. MORE

The secrets of renting revealed at seminars

Potential and existing landlords are being invited to receive expert guidance on how property investment can help secure their financial future at an event being held in Peterborough and Ipswich this month. The seminars on Tuesday 17th June 2008 at The Buckingham Suite, Holiday Inn Peterborough West, Thorpe Wood, Peterborough, PE3 6SG and... MORE

Falling rental supply presents buy to let investors with new opportunities

Strong rental growth, low voids and falling rental supply will, according to Savills, support income returns during this period of housing market uncertainty which also presents investors with new opportunities. Jacqui Daly, director of Savills research, believes that investors are showing continued interest in portfolios, where there is the opportunity to unlock additional value. MORE

House price balance improves slightly but still remains depressed

In a week dominated by headlines about the possibility of two million homeowners slipping into negative equity comes news from RICS that the balance of Chartered Surveyors have reported house price falls decreased slightly in May but the average number of transactions per surveyor fell further. MORE

MPC still stuck between rock and hard place over interest rates

Disappointing, unhelpful, but hardly a surprise was the general reaction of the property market to The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee decision to maintain the official Bank Rate at 5.0 percent. Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) director general, Michael Coogan said: "We expected the MPC to hold rates today as it wrestles to control rising inflation in a weaker economic outlook. MORE

Housing minister calls for tenants to join housing regulator board

Tenants will have the opportunity to reward good practice and take action against poor social landlords when the board of the new social housing regulator, the Tenant Services Authority when it opens for business at the end of this year. Housing Minister Caroline Flint has called for social housing tenants to come forward to apply for two of the four new positions on the board of the Authority... MORE

Direct access to finding out if your property is at risk

Over 13 million properties are at potential risk from subsidence in the UK, nine million homes have been built within 100m of potentially contaminated land, and two million homes are at potential risk from flooding. For the first time ever, Landmark Information Group, a provider of property and environmental risk... MORE

Shorthold tenancies now available in Winchester

Accommodation in Winchester is now available on standard Assured Shorthold Tenancies, or alternatively on a week by week basis. Dreweatt Neate is offering apartments in Bakhaty House, next to the newly-opened Discovery Centre in Jewry Street to tenants who want flexible periods. MORE

Residential Landlord - In brief

Modern homes have historic links with Scotland's past
Residential landlords and property investors interested in any of the new 47 detatched homes that have been added to the Dickie Homes development in Elderslie will be buying a 21st century home in a Scottish village steeped in history. MORE

Sale and rent back guide drawn up in advance of Code of Practice

The National Landlords Association (NLA) has developed guiding principles for its forthcoming Code of Practice for landlords involved in the sale and rent back market. Although sale and rent back will not stop repossessions, ethical sale and rent back could be a way for homeowners to remain in their properties but become tenants. MORE

Luxury apartments will benefit from city regeneration

Croydon is currently going through a £3.5 billion regeneration scheme intended to place it as London's third City with a number of major projects either underway or planned. At the heart of the scheme is the five hectare major mixed-use scheme on the Croydon Gateway site. Property investors and residential... MORE

Agent accused of 'anti-competitive practice'

Representatives from two estate agencies have been meeting this week in an effort to resolve a dispute over alleged anti competitive practices. Estate agency Homes Matter has made a formal complaint against Rightmove.co.uk to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) over the allegation that it refused to accept its advertising. MORE

NLA attacks 'money for nothing' fees

The National Landlords Association (NLA), which represents almost 14,000 landlords, has published research indicating that 73 per cent of landlords consider the renewal fee charged by their letting agent on a 'let only' basis as not reflective of the work actually undertaken. The survey of over 500 landlords has revealed that those landlords with properties outside London and the South East are far more likely to pay a fixed fee in the region of £50... MORE

Brown takes over as acting chairman at CML

Richard Brown has becomes acting chairman of the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), following the departure of the previous chairman, Steven Crawshaw from Bradford & Bingley plc, on health grounds. Brown, Managing Director Bank of Ireland Personal Lending, was previously one of the Deputy Chairmen of the CML. MORE

Railways improvements signal house price and rent rises down the line

Property investors and residential landlords who want to increase the size of their portfolios are always looking for areas where emerging factors point towards house prices and rents rising in the future. Many property experts say that Kent is one county on the move due to improvements being made to the railways. MORE

Sale and rent back code of conduct aims to regulate industry

A sale and rent back business claims it is taking steps to ensure those who wish to cash in on their property receive protection from unscrupulous companies. UK Housing Alliance, (UKHA) is working with the National Landlords Association (NLA) to develop an OFT approved code of conduct to help regulate the industry. MORE

Buy to let lender goes cap in hand to shareholders

High street banks are still feeling the knock on affects to their own businesses after Bradford & Bingley, the UK's largest buy to let mortgage lender, asked its shareholders for more cash after a weak trading statement announcement. Panic appeared to set in on the stock market on Monday causing... MORE

Councils accused of promoting squatters' rights charter

Town hall housing departments across the country are referring people without anywhere to live to a squatters' rights group according to a statement released by the Conservative Party. The Advisory Service for Squatters has produced a DIY guide on breaking into people's homes and how to occupy the property. MORE

 

Five years energy for free on eco-development

Residential landlords who invest in the low carbon Ecostessey Park development, near Norwich are being offered five years of free energy which will help attract tenants. Ecostessey Park is an eco-development of 3, 4 and 5 bedroom townhouses, set on a private estate on the edge of Old Costessey, near Norwich. Prices start at £249,950. MORE

Residential Landlord: In brief

Questions over immigration in private rented sector
Another question over what incentives have been offered to the private rented sector to assist with immigration housing issues was raised in the House of Commons recently. James Clappison (Shadow Minister, Work & Pensions; Hertsmere, Conservative) asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many... MORE

Confusion over landlord and tenant insurance claims

A recent survey estimated that almost a million private tenants have no home contents insurance, despite the fact that a third of private renters surveyed said that they estimate their possessions to be worth more than £10,000 in value, with some individual items worth over £1,500. Many tenants who do not have contents insurance believe that their residential landlord's insurance policy will cover their contents. MORE

House prices fall again - but it's not all bad news for residential landlords

It's swings and roundabouts for residential landlords as far as house prices are concerned in the current climate.
The recent Nationwide survey reported that house prices fell by 2.5 percent in May. They are also 4.4 percent lower than this time last year, but remain 5 percent higher than two years ago with the average price now £173,583 (£8,000 less than this time last year). MORE

Residential Landlord: In brief

Questions over immigration in private rented sector
Another question over what incentives have been offered to the private rented sector to assist with immigration housing issues was raised in the House of Commons recently. James Clappison (Shadow Minister, Work & Pensions; Hertsmere, Conservative) asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many... MORE

Keep control of tenants' deposits

Residential landlords don't have to lose control of their deposits even though they must now be protected throughout the course of the tenancy. This was a recent reminder from mydeposits.co.uk, a Government-authorised insurance-based tenancy deposit protection scheme protecting over £200 million of deposits. MORE