On 1st June this year, a new act came into force that has a profound effect on the rental market. It’s relevant not just for landlords and tenants, but for agencies that, to date, have made a very nice little living out of charging tenancy fees and administration costs for rentals. These fees have affected…
In 2018, there were 432,267 burglaries. And that’s only the ones that were formally reported to the police. This figure is up 2% on 2017 and is slowly creeping up year on year. It’s not just your television, jewellery and computers that burglars are after now, either. Most of us store a lot of personal information and…
By the end of 2021, a quarter of UK households will rent privately. That’s approximately 5.8 million households renting, due to the combination of soaring house prices and salaries remaining relatively static. Anyone who has been a serial renter will know that the state of privately rented housing can vary hugely. Some landlords take pride…
As if landlords didn’t have enough paperwork to worry about, as of the 1st April 2018, things got even more complicated. The minimum ratings for Energy Performance Certificates (which have been mandatory for some time) got a lot tougher, and now any rental property must achieve at least an ‘E’ rating for it to be…
The planning process is a long and complicated one, which may not always produce the result the client desires. If a planning application isn’t filed correctly, or there are objections to the plan then it can be thwarted at the first hurdle. So, if your planning application has been refused, how can you challenge that…
If you’re a property owner, one of the biggest worries is that ‘squatters’ will move into a vacant property and take up residency. If they are not removed quickly then there is the possibility that they can acquire the ownership of a property or a piece of land, simply by staying there for a long…
The price of properties, even so-called ‘first-time homes’ is completely out of proportion to the average income. To save for a deposit on your first home is now taking house-hunters (especially first-timers) years longer than before. The ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’ is an option if you’re struggling to get the funds together on your…
It’s every landlord’s nightmare. For whatever reason, your tenants have stopped paying and are in rent arrears. If you rely on their rent to cover the mortgage costs of the property, this can be a worrying time. Even if the property is bought and paid for, that drop in income can represent a very big…
If you’ve got the money to buy a holiday home, why have it sitting empty for much of the year? Unless you’re going to be popping down to your holiday home every weekend, you could earn a sizeable income letting it out for holidaymakers to enjoy. If you want any more financial incentive then consider…