Author: Coast to Country Lettings
Starting April 1st, 2018, landlords in England and Wales who rent out poor energy-efficient properties will be banned. The new regulations come as the need for reduced energy bills and carbon emissions are important topics in the UK. Currently, about a million tenants are paying £1,000 a year more than £1,265- the annual average bill- due to poorly insulated buildings. Proponents of energy efficient homes welcomed the decision as a positive one. Particularly since it will improve the environmental quality of several buildings in England and Wales. The country is believed to have some of the oldest and leakiest properties…
You are required to select a solicitor or conveyancer to shift the legal ownership of the asset from the dealer to yourself once an agreement is reached by you on a proposal. This process is called conveyancing. However, which legal professional must be selected by you? What is the difference between a solicitor and conveyancer? Solicitors are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and Licensed Conveyancers are regulated by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers; both are completely regulated and insured. They will function to almost similar conveyancing practices and procedures, in terms of dealing with your assets transaction. Yet it…
Winter is coming and Britain is set to see quite a few storms this season. After the 80mph winds brought on by storms Ophelia and Brian, you can expect to see similar blasts sweep across the country soon enough, but you don’t have to be caught unawares or ill-prepared. Unfortunately, there are methods that some people deploy to protect their homes from storms that don’t really work. In this article, we’ll let you know some of the storm proofing myths around and what really works. What doesn’t work Taping your windows Taping your windows may actually increase danger rather than…
When you’re a landlord there’s a lot of things that you have to consider, from insurance to décor, maintenance to letting fees.. but have you ever considered the flooring in your rental property? The answer most times to this question is no. But flooring in a rental property is something that needs to be up high on any landlords agenda, whether you’ve just purchased a property that you’re looking to renovate and rent out in the future or you’re considering revamping a current property. One of the most important features that you need to think about is the floor. There…
Unhappy with the tax changes that have been set rolling since the start of the year, most UK landlords who own rental properties have urged the government to overturn these changes, even as they have called for better stability of the market. In 2015, the government announced a new tax change that would prevent higher earners from being able to determine the taxable income from their rental properties while taking into account the interest on their buy-to-to-let mortgages. These mortgage tax changes started to take effect in April this year as the government implemented them. Since mortgage interest is being…
For the first time in eight years, rents in the post-Brexit UK property market are on a decline. This is according to new figures from many sources in the property market. The numbers show that the renting costs for people living in the capital city have fallen by 1.2%, to a level last seen in 2009 with rental inflation across the UK at its lowest since 2010. According to the new data, the average cost of new tenancies in the Capital signed in April 2017 was £1,519 per month. This is a £27 drop in comparison to an average of…
Securing your home comprehensively is no longer an option, it’s a necessity. But, securing your home does not have to involve state-of-the-art security systems that cost a fortune. You can make simple, practical changes to your home to enjoy comprehensive security. Understand your neighbourhood This is not an addition, but it is the first and most important step in devising security measures for your home. Some areas are known for their high crime rates, others rarely record-breaking and entering cases. If you are moving into a new location, even if it’s only a few blocks away, find out what the…
A newly enforced legislation has provided local authorities in England the right to use necessary force to stop crooked landlords and agents. It is a new opportunity for local housing authorities to charge up to £30,000 for failure of housing operators to comply with the stipulated guiding rules for housing. For the first time, civil penalty will be imposed for the following housing offences: Ignoring a housing improvement or overcrowding notice Inability to produce the appropriate licence for a property needing a compulsory HMO, additional or selective licence Lack of compliance with the HMO management regulations. Compliance checks count more…
In spite of tax hikes in recent times, it is safe to say that there is money to be made from property in the coming years. Based on a recent report from Allsop, if you are looking to beat savings rates in the long-term, then you should look to buy-to-let investments. According to the survey, 37% of landlords expect rents to increase over the next six months. 44% of them expressed a positive outlook in relation to their letting portfolio over the next three months, as data from the report indicated that their expectations were ‘good’ or ‘very good.’ Buy…
The private rented sector of the housing market caters for a large number of people in the UK. Indeed, there are said to be about two million private landlords and about four million tenants. At the heart of all of the contracts, underpinning the housing services being provided in this sector, are human relationships – the interaction between the landlord who provides the service and the tenant who pays for it. In an ideal world this relationship would be professional and cordial. You don’t have to be friends with the person who is letting your property, indeed this could even…