Since George Osborne announced his plans for the housing industry in the budget last month there has been speculation from many members of the property industry as well as the private rented accommodation sector as to how his plans will work. The ‘Help to Buy’ scheme has been widely criticised as many feel that helping members of the public buy a property is not enough, and that the government should allow buy to let landlords to take advantage of the new scheme in order […]
The housing shortage across the UK is harming some of the most vulnerable families according to Judge Nicholas Crichton, who has also claimed that it is the children of most of these families that are the ones losing out. He went on to say that it is difficult for parents who are attempting to be reunited with their children who have been put into care, as there is very little safe and affordable housing, meaning that many are living in tower blocks with “drug […]
It’s the time of year that every self-employed person dreads – the end of the financial year and the time to calculate and pay your taxes. Landlords need to be especially careful this year when it comes to paying the right amount of tax as the HMRC have said that they are planning on cracking down on all buy-to-let landlords that do not declare all the money they receive in rent payments. Therefore, the Landlord Syndicate is now offering advice to all landlords […]
Due to the housing crisis, the economic climate and the introduction of the welfare reforms, many buy-to-let landlords are concerned that their tenants will soon start to struggle financially and end up falling into rent arrears. Banks across the country are also concerned by the expected increase in tenants falling into rent arrears, as if they do so it is likely that landlords will start defaulting on mortgage repayments, which is leading to banks becoming more discerning when it comes to lending new mortgages.
To […]
After months of landlords and MPs voicing their concerns over the new welfare reforms, this Monday they officially came into effect, meaning that those that receive benefits are now facing a myriad of changes in the way that they receive benefits, as well as how much they are entitled to. Landlords have been concerned that the introduction of a cap on benefits will lead to many of their tenants falling into rent arrears, and without a landlord insurance policy with rent guarantee included many […]
Due to the high demand for private rented accommodation the amount of rogue landlords across the UK has increased over the past year, with many now offering what has been named ‘beds in sheds’. This is where ‘landlords’ offer tenants rooms in sheds at the end of gardens, which are generally of appalling standards, however as some people have nowhere else to go they have little choice but to stay where they are.
In order to combat rogue landlords Newham Council introduced mandatory landlord registration […]
Posted on 28th March 2013
The reaction to the upcoming bedroom tax is becoming more and more extreme recently, as at first there were social landlords claiming that they thought it was unfair, but now there have been protests and MPs calling on social landlords to protect their tenants by any means possible. For instance, Frank Field, an MP for Birkenhead in Wirral has said that he wants councils and housing associations to take direct action to help their tenants and even ‘knock down walls’.
In a debate over the upcoming […]
Posted on 27th March 2013
According to a new report from Lloyds TSB, since 2008 buying a house and home affordability has improved by almost a quarter.
The report says that in 2008 a home in an urban area cost 22% more than it does now – it now costs approximately £34,831 less for a house. The report by Lloyds called the Lloyds Affordable Cities Review included 61 British cities and looked at the annual earnings and house prices in each area to quantify which are able to gain the correct […]
Posted on 26th March 2013
Immigration is quite a complex subject in England, especially as the housing crisis is leading to more and more people throughout the country struggling to find accommodation or even becoming homeless. The recent news that millions of people from Romania and Bulgaria will soon be legally allowed to immigrate to England has also raised even more concerns as some feel that public services in the country are already stretched beyond their means.
This is why David Cameron announced the other day that he plans to […]
Posted on 25th March 2013
Energy efficiency has been a hot topic in both the private and social housing sectors recently due to the fact that many energy companies have recently increased the cost of gas and electricity, leaving many families in the UK struggling to heat their properties. “Fuel poverty” is a massive problem in the UK, and there are concerns that some people are having to choose whether to stay warm or spend money on other necessities such as food or rent.
Many landlords are concerned that their […]
