4th June 2019
There’s no getting away from the fact that there have been a lot of changes in legislation in the lettings industry over the past year, not least updates in the law surrounding energy efficiency. This has been quite a big one, because there is currently a huge buzz around the need for us all to be more aware of our environmental impact, from the materials we use every day, to how we reduce the amount of energy in our businesses and in our households. So let’s take a look at what’s changed, and how we as landlords and agents need to look at energy efficiency within the properties that we rent out, along with the potential hurdles that might present.
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3rd June 2019
If you are a landlord or have a portfolio of properties, you can claim ‘wholly incurred’ expenses against your property income. Expenses must follow the standard HMRC guidance and the expenses must be exclusively for the purpose of renting out the property. HMRC provide a number of examples of allowable expenses including: If you buy a new vacuum cleaner for your own home, and also use it to clean your rental property between tenants, you can’t claim the cost of the vacuum cleaner as an expense against your rental income. However, you could claim the cost of any cleaning products you bought specifically for cleaning the rental property. Where costs are incurred partly for your rental business and partly for some other purpose you may be able to claim a proportion of that cost if that part can be separately identified as being incurred wholly and exclusively for the purposes of the property rental business.
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20th May 2019
On the 20th March 2019, we saw quite a significant change passed through law, called the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act. Due to the fact that the law was raised and passed within an unusually short timescale of just three months, it has caused some landlords confusion over what exactly it means, and what action they need to take to comply. Here we will talk about the legislation, how it has changed, and what you need to do next.
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15th May 2019
Being a self-managing landlord isn’t as easy as people might think. Over the past few years, it has become even more of a challenge – there are many legislations you need to know about, and those are constantly evolving and being changed and updated. If you are not completely savvy with all of the legislation that you need to comply with, you could be facing some pretty hefty fines. But there are two in particular that are causing confusion with landlords currently, and those are the ones we will focus on here, because both of them will affect you as a self-managing landlord.
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1st May 2019
The new Tenant Fees Act comes into force on the 1st June 2019. So what is it? And how will it affect landlords and tenants?
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2nd April 2019
Want to extend your home, or a property that you are planning to buy? Here's how to do it without having to submit a planning application. Permitted development rights enable homeowners to make certain building works on a property without planning permission from the local council and without approval from a neighbour.
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29th March 2019
From 1st April 2019, it has become mandatory that all property agents hold a registered membership with a certified money protection scheme. This is by way of insurance for landlords and tenants, to prevent rogue agents from keeping back money from deposits and rents if something goes wrong. Let’s look at what this means for landlords, and what you should be looking out for when you employ an agent to manage your properties.
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15th March 2019
Since April 2018, it has been possible to be banned from being a landlord. Not unlike facing a 12 month ban from driving if you break the law, as a landlord, you could now be stopped from letting out or managing properties for being found guilty of housing offences. It’s a pretty radical, although arguably necessary move, brought into play to crack down on rouge landlords and agents. So what does it mean, exactly, and how could it affect you?
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13th March 2019
That's one of the key takeaway messages in the Chancellor's Spring Statement this week. As the government introduces its Future Homes Standard, requiring that all new-build properties use low-carbon heating and become more energy efficient. Other headlines included the expansion of the Affordable Homes Guarantee Scheme by up to £3 billion. Which will enable housing associations to build an extra 30,000 new homes through the scheme.
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11th March 2019
In simple terms, Article 4’s were put in place a few years ago to manage the growth of HMO units in certain areas, and have been rolled out by councils across the country recently. If a proposed HMO is to be in an Article 4 designated area, then any would be HMO landlords would have to seek planning consent under Article 4 in order to be able to set up and operate a HMO in that area, but your HMO may also NOW need a license too...
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