This year will see over 409,000 students enter the next stage of their lives… university. This is a 3% rise on the previous year, with the number of 18 year old’s attempting degree courses rising by 5%. Therefore as expected the demand for student housing has also risen, meaning that (according to the Mistoria Group) there has never been a better time to invest in quality student property for landlords. Read More
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The rate at which rent rises has apparently slowed according to the latest results published in the Home Let Rental Index. According to the index (over the last three months) every region in the UK has been witness to a moderated pace of rent rises, this has slowed and has in fact retracted in some regions. Read More
With the Tenancy Deposit Protection scheme having been introduced in April 2007 to “enable landlords and agents to comply with the law”; new information has come to light demonstrating the benefits of greater communication between landlords and tenants.
The research presented by my|deposits (the company appointed by the government with the task of operating the Tenancy Deposit Protection scheme in ’07) have shown that due to greater communication between landlords and tenants fewer disputes have proceeded to a formal Alternative Dispute Resolution judgment by the scheme, in fact in the last year alone 30.1% of notified disputes did not lead to adjudication. Read More
New information has surfaced showing that landlords are increasingly being left with grimy properties at the end of their tenancies. The report conducted by propertyletbyus.com a leading online agent, has unveiled that nearly one third of landlords face filthy ovens upon departure, followed by stained carpets and floor coverings (22%). In addition to this, the study which included over 500 landlords has also highlighted how over 60% of landlords are left with heaps of garbage from the tenants in the sheds, garages even the lofts. Read More
This is usually the job for a property management company or a committee for the block. Dependent on the size of the block of flats it is crucial to find the right insurer who will cover all of your needs. Insuring a block of flats should be pretty straight forward, but there are a few minefields which certain brokers will leave out. Read More
A landlord in oxford has received fines of £4500 for renting out a House of Multiple Occupation (HMO) that was found to be in a state of disrepair and unlicensed.
After being prosecuted for running the HMO Jeffeth Junior Latchman appeared before the oxford magistrate’s court. Concerns over the living conditions at and the maintenance of the property were raised when one of the tenants contacted the city council which in turn became an official complaint. Read More
A judicial review called to by landlord constantinos regas, challenging Enfield borough councils planned selective licensing scheme, has been upheld, blocking the councils plan to roll out licensing in April 2015. The national landlord association welcomed the news slamming the councils approach as “blasé”. Read More
Demolition insurance is categorised under the header of high risk liability insurance. This is for the obvious reason that much of the works can cause damage to third party premises, to employees or members of the public. Not only this, but if you do not have the correct cover in place, or the right amount of cover it can cause huge losses for the insured.
Insurance for soft strip demolition is again thought of as high risk but not under the same category as full demolition. Soft strip usually entails just the internal strip out of a commercial premises or a residential unit. Read More
Many landlords are turning to HMO properties nowadays in order to maximize their return on their buy to let investments.
The reason is that many bog standard semi-detached properties you can turn into a 5 bed HMO with minimal fuss. This therefore means that instead of getting just one rental for the property you get 5 !!! Read More
Getting professional indemnity for your new accountancy firm is vital for you in order to actively trade, but it tends to be one of those tasks that gets left to last minute and turns into a mad rush to obtain the policy you require!
Standard procedure is to fill out a proposer form provided by the broker, then wait for terms/a quotation to be sent to you by return – but what happens when you’re still waiting, and waiting. If you’re in the boat, like many others (don’t worry!) where you have left it till late to get your professional indemnity, time becomes of the essence and if that’s been additionally consumed on waiting it can leave you hot under the collar. Read More