Tag

The government has released details of the new tax allowance for landlords who furnish their residential properties. It replaces the old wear and tear allowance, but how does it differ and how should you plan for its introduction? Current wear and tear allowance If you’re a landlord of residential accommodation which you let furnished you’ll already know that you can claim a tax deduction for wear and tear of equipme

Consultation has just closed on proposals by the Communities and Local Government Secretary, Greg Clark, that add up to a double whammy for illegal immigrants and rogue landlords. The government wants private sector landlords to take on the responsibility of policing access to rented homes by checking the immigration status of prospective tenants. There’s quite a big stick to make sure they do the job properly, too.

Residential landlords have to check the immigration status of prospective tenants under a government pilot scheme that started in the West Midlands on 1 December. Failure to do so could result in a civil penalty of up to £3,000. Under the Immigration Act 2014, landlords and lettings agencies are required to establish if new tenants have a right to rent as a legal resident in the United Kingdom. The pilot scheme only

Lettings agents have taken the private rented sector a step along the road to regulation of the industry that many tenants and politicians have been demanding. Since 1 October it has been compulsory for letting agents in England to join one of three redress schemes designed to give tenants somewhere to complain about discrimination, unexpected fees, missing deposits and the myriad of other disputes that have been hur

  Landlords in the private rental sector will be watching closely the progress of Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Teather’s private member’s bill to ban retaliatory evictions. The bill follows claims by housing charity Shelter that there is a crisis in the sector because landlords have been evicting tenants who complain about the standards of their property. Launching her bill, Teather said: ‘All too often tenants out

The backlash from private landlords against selective licensing by local councils appears to be growing. The Daily Telegraph has reported that the National Landlords Association is gathering evidence for legal action against a number of local authorities. One objection is to the way the swelling numbers of buy-to-let landlords appear to be the target for ‘voluntary’ registers presented by councils as measures to tack

When a third of tenants have been evicted or threatened with eviction after complaining to their landlord about the condition of a property, according to research by online community Tenants’ Voice, it’s hardly a surprise that the issue of licensing landlords might be ‘flavour of the month’. Blogging for Landlord Today, Malcolm Harrison says knee-jerk legislation to implement licensing is being considered by ‘every v

The good news if you are thinking of renting out your home instead of selling, or dipping a toe into the buy-to-let market, is that there’s plenty of advice available to the newbie. The bad news is that there are plenty of pitfalls to trap the unwary private landlord, including tenants who won’t pay their rent or deliberately cause damage to the property or the fixtures and fittings. Here are my top tips for avoiding

Rent arrears are at their lowest since spring 2010, according to a survey by the National Landlords Association, with void periods in private residential property also falling. Last year nearly half of landlords said they had tenants in arrears but that figure had fallen by nine points to 41% in the most recent survey, published in March. Strong demand from tenants meant only a third of landlords said they had empty

When 500 landlords were asked about their concerns for 2013, 96% told the National Landlords Association they feared problems with the introduction of Universal Credit. Iain Duncan Smith’s attempt to limit the social security bill began in parts of Greater Manchester and Cheshire from April. It will be rolled out across the rest of the country between October 2013 and October 2017. Under the new system, most benefits