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RENTAL MARKET UPDATE - 1 Jul 10
In our last newsletter we made the point that rental prices had ended the year very much in line with the values achieved 12 months before. However, the rental price increases apparent in the last few months can leave us in no doubt that rental prices... Click here for full article |
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GOVERNMENT U-TURN ON HMO POLICY - 25 May 10
Housing minister Grant Shapps is to amend Labour's highly controversial change of
planning rules for Houses in Multiple Occupation
The legislation created just before the election, introduced a new planning class to record whether a... Click here for full article |
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AST CHANGE MEANS ALL DEPOSITS UNDER £100K MUST BE REGISTERED - 14 May 10
As many readers will be aware, the rental value of the property determines what type of tenancy agreement needs to be used for any given dwelling. For many years now, properties with annual rent under £25k have required the use of an Assured Shorthold... Click here for full article |
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CAPITAL GAINS TAX HIKE LIKELY TO PUSH UP RENTS - 30 Apr 10
Whilst the recently announced changes in capital gains rules may mean that a higher rate of tax applies on any capital appreciation, the good news for existing landlords is that several observers are predicting that rents will increase substantially as... Click here for full article |
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BOILER SCRAPPAGE SCHEME - SAVING THE PLANET AND YOUR WALLET AT THE SAME TIME? - 26 Feb 10
One of the few good things to come out of Alistair Darling's pre-budget report was the £400 per household encouragement to replace our old boilers.
In a scheme limited to England, 125,000 vouchers have been made available to help fund the cost... Click here for full article |
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ARE YOU CLAIMING ALL YOU COULD? - 24 Jan 10
As a Landlord there are plenty of expenses that you incur that are tax
deductible. Examples include: Council tax, insurance, utility bills,
warranties and service agreements, inventory costs, gardening costs,
service charges, ground rent,mortgage interest,... Click here for full article |
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RENTAL PRICES END THE YEAR 2% DOWN - 10 Jan 10
There's no doubt that 2009 has been a
difficult year for both the housing sector
and the economy as whole. Against this
backdrop, London's rental sector has held up remarkably well, with average rental prices ending the year only 2% below their starting... Click here for full article |
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LESA MEANS MORE? - 15 Dec 09
As part of its climate change strategy, the government has introduced the Landlord's Energy Saving Allowance
(LESA) to improve the energy efficiency of residential let property. Landlords can claim a £1,500 allowance per
dwelling towards the cost of... Click here for full article |
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£5 MILLION BILL FOR EMPTY PROPERTIES? - 20 Nov 09
Plans are to be put forward later this month for a controversial new 'empty property tax' for landlords whose properties remain vacant for extended periods. The General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has raised proposals to the Chancellor... Click here for full article |
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COMPLAINTS AGAINST UNREGULATED LETTINGS AGENTS AT ALL TIME HIGH - 13 Nov 09
According to a report released this week, the number of complaints against unregulated agents is up a staggering 26% from this time last year. Analysts suggest that this has been caused by an influx of sales agents re-focussing their attention on the... Click here for full article |
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PRIVATE LANDLORDS IGNORING TENANCY DEPOSIT LAWS - 3 Nov 09
Since April 2007, all deposits taken by landlords and agents under Assured Shorthold Tenancies (ASTs) must be protected under a tenancy deposit protection scheme, such as the Deposit Protection Service (DPS). Surprisingly, a recent survey by the DPS has... Click here for full article |
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RENTAL PRICES RISE OVER SUMMER - 29 Oct 09
UK rental prices throughout September and early October have remained relatively steady, with a solid increase in rental prices of approximately 1.2% since April 2009, particularly for flats. Although the increase is slightly lower than the previous 3... Click here for full article |
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TENANT REGISTRATIONS AT RECORD LEVELS - 15 Sep 09
In both June and July this year, rental prices increased across
the country for the first time since summer last year, showing
growth of 0.5% and 0.2% respectively. With the substantial
increase in supply of property,... Click here for full article |
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UK RENTAL MARKET PICKS UP - 1 Sep 09
Unlike the sales market, the rental market
has historically shown remarkable resilience
to economic instability and even positive
price growth during the last downturn in the
early 90s.
... Click here for full article |
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EPCS: IGNORE AT YOUR PERIL - 15 Oct 08
It may come in as a surprise that nearly half of the carbon emissions in the UK come from domestic homes, that's even more than cars and planes! In a country where tackling climate change is becoming increasingly important, steps are being taken to become... Click here for full article |
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