Just over a year ago, I called for the Government to rethink its policy on Right to Rent checks. You can read my arguments here but in summary, I was concerned that landlords shouldn’t be put in the position of policing immigration and further that the checks would give rise to discrimination. Now, Mr Justice […]
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In this country, heading to court has long been considered the last resort, used only when other measures have failed. But it is often said that the UK is becoming more like the USA in its attitude to litigation. Landlords can – and do – find themselves facing legal actions brought by their tenants, […]
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In business, success requires a close eye to be kept on income and expenditure. It’s no different in property rental, and in a climate of tax changes, increasing regulation and the knock-on effects of the agency fees ban, cutting unnecessary expenditure makes sense. It is easy, therefore, to see why some landlords are choosing a […]
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Last week, London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, renewed his calls for rent controls to be implemented in the capital. Currently, that’s not something under mayoral control, but Khan wants the Government to make it possible that he, or indeed his successors, can impose rent controls. As rents seem to be steadying or even declining in some […]
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In less time than the duration of many tenancies, our industry faces a major change. In the House of Lords yesterday, on a day when eyes might have been focused on other political events, the Government’s housing spokesman named the date for the fees ban implementation. It’s June 1, 2019, and that date will […]
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Let’s assume you’re a landlord and that you haven’t spent years with your head in books, studying cases and rulings. You don’t handle legal matters in an office or a courtroom and you don’t have one of those horsehair wigs. That’s fine. Or at least it is until a court case throws our industry into […]
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Housing has always been a political issue, but as the levels of home ownership fall and concerns rise about Generation Rent, it’s become even more of a hot potato. Last week, on top of everything else that we’re facing, MPs called for the abolition of Section 21 evictions. The debate raised fair points but was […]
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Supermarkets know a thing or two about getting you to buy their products, including the things you don’t really need. They fill their shelves based on studied patterns of eye movements. They slow you down with relaxing music. They hide their bread and milk – the essentials – deep inside the store. They even have […]
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The buy-to-let business has definitely got harder. But – and this may appear controversial – before recent Government changes, it was perhaps a little too easy. With few barriers and high returns, the sector was attractive to some people who didn’t have the skills, the attitude or the responsible approach that being a landlord […]
Read MoreIn April, the system for fining landlords in breach of housing regulations changed. There’s now a maximum penalty of £30,000 which can be imposed without court proceedings. What’s more, local authorities have the right to recover up to 12 months’ rent from those landlords who have harassed their tenants or let properties which are in […]
Read MoreNow that the dust has settled over the introduction of Right to Rent checks, the smaller details of the rules are beginning to cause some concern. We’ve just about got to grips with the idea of the initial check and the documents we’re required to keep, but what happens where all the checks are fine […]
Read MoreWe feel like apologising for yet another increase in the standard rate of insurance premium tax (IPT) which will apply to policies with effect from 1st June 2017, but of course, we don’t have much say in Government policy. The Chancellor’s decision to increase the rate from 10% to 12% seems harsh. Only two years […]
Read MoreTax relief changes are in progress. Are you prepared? At the time of writing, it’s a week since the Government’s changes to mortgage tax relief allowances for landlords started to bite. Of course, you haven’t noticed the hit in your pocket yet. It’s when you do your tax return that the real costs will finally […]
Read MoreIf you’re old enough to remember Green Shield Stamps or used to collect ‘Tiger Tokens’ when you filled up your car, you’ll know all about incentive schemes where it took forever and cost a small fortune to earn a wine glass or a teapot. That’s not how we do things at LegalforLandlords. For a start, […]
Read MoreWe’ve mentioned it before and we’ll probably mention it again, but changes that have a long lead time are easily ignored until the last minute – then, there’s a panic. Think about the system crashes at HMRC when everyone tries to file self-assessment tax returns on the last day. We’re putting this in big letters […]
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