Category Archives: News

How To Deal With Troublesome Tenants

More and more people are struggling to sell their homes and an increasing number of sellers are opting to let their property out as a result. New research from Total Landlord Insurance has revealed that a staggering number of so-called “accidental landlords” are unwittingly opening themselves up to risk. Letyourproperty.tv is a new live and interactive webTV… Continue Reading

New Study Reveals BTL Boom is Set to Continue

New research has shown that the buy to let property boom is set to continue, and even more families will have to rent if the economy does not improve. In 1994, just 7% of the population were renting privately.  A study conducted by the Resolution Foundation for housing charity Shelter has suggested that the number… Continue Reading

Why is Landlord Insurance So Important

Tenants are typically viewed to be of higher risk than owner-occupiers, and for this reason regular homeowner insurance policies are often invalid for tenanted homes. Most mortgage lenders will require that you have buildings insurance in place.  Landlords building insurance will cover you against a number of eventualities, and is specifically tailored to offer a… Continue Reading

Council To End ALMO Deal 5 Years Early

Following a vote by it’s cabinet, Charnwood Council have decided to transfer the management of its 6,000 homes back to the council from it’s arm’s-length management organisation (ALMO), Charnwood Neighbourhood Housing. CNH was set up in 2007 with a 10-year-contract to manage the council stock.  The contract included a break clause in June 2012, which… Continue Reading

Base Rate To Remain at 0.5%

The Bank of England has announced that the base rate will be held at 0.5%, making this it’s 39th consecutive month at the historically low rate. The decision is good news for mortgage holders who have rates linked to the base rate.  Savers, however, will continue to suffer, with low returns on their money at… Continue Reading

Crackdown On Subletting Saves London Council £500k

Following a crackdown on the illegal subletting of council properties, the London Borough of Hillingdon has reclaimed 36 properties from people committing housing tenancy fraud. The 36 properties have been reclaimed following a crackdown which began just over a year ago in April 2011.  The properties were reclaimed from tenants who had been illegally sub-letting their… Continue Reading

Zoopla/DPG Merger Gets the OFT Green Light

The merger between Zoopla and Digital Property Group (DPG), which owns Primelocation and Findaproperty, has finally been cleared by the OFT today. DPG has been purchasing smaller property websites for the past few years, and their latest move is being seen as an effort to loosen rightmove’s firm grip on the online property advertising market.… Continue Reading

Government Pledges £85m For Empty Homes

There are currently 720,000 empty homes across England. The government have announced an allocation of £85 million of empty homes funding, which will be given to councils and community groups. Following a bidding round, twenty councils have each won a portion of a £60m funding pot, designed to target clusters of empty homes in low… Continue Reading