Haringey Council has so far issued fines totalling £108,000 to landlords and letting agents who have failed to license their houses in multiple occupation (HMO) this year. Landlords who rent out their properties to at least three tenants forming more than one household who share toilet, bathroom or kitchen facilities with other tenants are required to obtain a license in the North London area. An additional HMO licensing scheme has been in operation across Haringey since 2019. Eubert Malcolm, assistant director for stronger and safer communities, at Haringey Council, said: “Our priority is and always will be to protect our…

Shawbrook Bank has boosted its offering to professional landlords by expanding lending criteria for MUFBs, industrial properties and social housing. The bank now accepts first-time landlords seeking MUFBs up to 6 units. It increased its maximum LTV to 75% for industrial properties, where it offers loans on interest-only, part-capital, or full capital repayment. Rates start at 7.39%. Shawbrook’s complex buy-to-let products are now available on single let or HMO properties let to social housing or supported living operators. Daryl Norkett, head of proposition at Shawbrook, said: “These enhancements not only demonstrate our commitment to meeting the evolving needs of professional…

Just one in five UK residents is aware of the potential health risks of radon gas, a leading cause of lung cancer, research from Go.Compare Home Insurance shows. The gas comes from the breakdown of uranium in soil and rock, and can appear in homes across the nation. It can be detected with a test, though it’s invisible, odourless and tasteless. Rebecca Coates, head of radon projects at PropertECO Ltd, said: “As the detrimental health effects of radon exposure are not seen for many years, it is a risk that gets very little attention in the media. Carbon monoxide poisoning,…

UK house prices are currently 8% over-valued – but this phenomenon should be over by the end of 2024, Zoopla said in its house price index. This is because rising incomes and longer mortgage terms should aid affordability, which should drive sales volumes as well as single digit house price growth. As it stands house price inflation is flat at 0%, though it’s expected to rise to 1.5% by the end of the year. Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla, said: “The housing market continues to adjust to higher borrowing costs through modest house price falls and rising incomes. Buyers using mortgages…

Properties are changing hands more than last year, signalling that buyer appetite has stayed at a moderate level despite the upcoming General Election, HMRC data shows. There were 91,290 residential transactions in May 2024, 17% more than the same month last year, as well as 2% more than in April 2024. Crispin Harris, director at Jackson-Stops, said: “A confident 2% rise in property deals month-month, following five consecutive monthly rises since January, signals a market rooted in stability with hopes of further growth as we move into summer. “Whilst pricing remains sensitive, interest rates look compatible with modest capital gains…

Measures in the Leasehold Reform Act may not be operational until 2028, a property lawyer has warned. The law scraps leaseholds on new houses and extends the standard lease term to 990 years, up from 90. It was rushed through parliament before it was dissolved ahead of the General Election next month. Amber Krishnan-Bird, a specialist property solicitor from Osbornes Law, said: “A lot of homeowners who have heard the news about the new law have enquired about extending their lease, only to be disappointed that the law isn’t operational yet, meaning they would be extending under the old rules.…

A large number of landlords don’t think much to any party’s approach on housing, signalling that they might end up voting for parties on other issues, a poll by SpareRoom has revealed. On being asked which party has the best approach to housing, nearly a third (30%) answered ‘none of them’, followed by one in five (20%) that said they were unsure. Unsurprisingly four in five (83%) landlords said they’d vote for a party reinstating mortgage tax relief, but that’s not on the cards. The loss of mortgage income tax relief between 2017 and 2021, to be replaced by a…

The Short Term Accommodation Association has accused councils of cracking down on short-term rental stock rather than concentrating on bringing empty homes back into use. Some 58% of local authority areas have more long-term vacant homes than holiday lets, analysis from the association shows, despite holiday lets commonly being blamed for dwindling long-term rental stock. Andy Fenner, chief executive of the STAA, said: “Holiday lets are not to blame for the housing crisis, but rather the blame lies with councils allowing homes to sit idle. Holiday lets create much-needed jobs in communities up and down the country, empty homes produce…

The holiday let regime is being replaced on April 5 2025, as the UK government looks to put landlords who operate short-term rentals like Airbnbs on the same playing field as the long-term equivalent. The new rules will mean that mortgage interest will no longer be fully deductible when calculating taxable profits from a rental property. In addition various capital gains tax reliefs will no longer be available, including business asset disposal relief, business assets rollover relief, and gifts holdover relief – while profits from holiday lets will no longer count as ‘earnings’ for pension contribution purposes. The new rules…

The Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (IMLA) has called for regulators and the next government to review loan-to-income limits on mortgage lending. The Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC) restricts mortgage lending above 4.5 times income to 15% of a bank or building society’s mortgage book – which IMLA said is acting as a barrier for first-time buyers seeking mortgage finance. Kate Davies, executive director, said: “IMLA believes that government can help future first-time buyers by examining the regulatory barriers to ownership.  “We believe that it would be beneficial for consumers if government were to establish a framework for regulators…

By Jeremy Dharmasena, head of leasehold reform & litigation, Knight Frank, part of the Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners (ALEP) The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill has now been enacted, and its impact on local authorities is likely to be substantial when it comes into force. The legislation would impact on local authorities’ finances in at least three ways: changes to the length of residential property leases will reduce their value to local authorities as freeholders; income from lease extension, enfranchisements and ground rents will be reduced and the ability for leaseholders in mixed use buildings to take on the…

More than one in seven office landlords are at risk of closing in the next five years due to affordability concerns, research from infinitSpace has revealed. This comes as a quarter (25%) say their office buildings do not currently generate a profit and a third (31%) of office landlords report struggling with rising debt repayments. Wybo Wijnbergen, chief executive of infinitSpace, said: “Office landlords are facing a worrying array of financial challenges. “The high cost of borrowing has put immense pressure on the industry, only compounded by high inflation, which has made operational costs difficult to manage. “So, it’s no…

Think tank the Institute for Fiscal Studies has accused both Labour and the Conservatives of failing to acknowledge that either taxes need to raised or public services will continue to stagnate. The think tank said the UK is currently in a situation with a spiralling national debt, as debt interest is rising by £50 billion a year, while there is a growing welfare budget to deal with. Other challenges are a defence budget which likely needs to grow, the impact of demographic change and the need to transition to net zero. This is combined with low growth, the after-effects of…

Over half of private renters (55%) think the government should introduce rent controls, putting them at odds with the majority of landlords. The poll was conducted by campaign group Generation Rent, while it comes after more than half (55%) of tenants experienced rent increases in the past two years. Meanwhile some tenants have questioned the quality of their properties, with a third (34%) saying they’ve had maintenance issues that weren’t fixed, and 30% reporting mould in their home. Dan Wilson Craw, deputy chief executive of Generation Rent, said: “The election is a huge opportunity for renters to use our democratic…

The National Residential Landlords Association has accused the main political parties of failing to come up with solutions to the shortage of homes for private rent. The landlord group said this shortage was the main reason rents have continued to rise so sharply across the market. Rents increased by 6.6% in the year to April, Zoopla analysis shows, while there are 15 renters chasing each available property. Ben Beadle, chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, said: “Renters are being let down by a repeated failure to address the rental housing supply crisis. “The lack of choice serves only…

Yulia Barnes, the founder and managing partner of Barnes Law Land and property are among the few assets that typically appreciate in value, making them highly appealing to both individual and corporate investors. Even with recent interest rate increases, investing in land and property continues to be a significant way to achieve financial gains, especially when the land is acquired for development purposes. However, the process can be complicated and carry many potential risks, so it is crucial to conduct thorough due diligence. Set out below is a brief overview of the checks and considerations you should look out for…