Archive

Around half of first-time buyers say their prospects of owning a home are further away than ever due to the ongoing...

Twenty twenty-four is a pivotal year for landlords in the Private Rented Sector (PRS). It is still the Government’s aim that...

The average water bill has risen by 6% in England and Wales in recent days, which could see households having to...

An analysis of over 600,000 tenancy applications has found that fraudulent applications rose by 140% last year.  The analysis, carried out by...

Phase two of the Home Upgrade Grant (HUG2) is a UK Government-funded scheme for properties in England that are not connected...

New data sourced from millions of Barclays current accounts reveals growing stability in UK housing costs, which saw their lowest uplift...

Activists are beginning to pile pressure on London Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan, claiming the public will be disappointed if he toes...

Tenant referencing provider Canopy has released data from a  rental affordability index, which claims most tenants are at the very limit...

Burnley council says it’s considered the findings of a six-week public consultation and is set to increase planning controls over the...

UK house prices fell by 0.2% in March. Nevertheless, the annual rate of house price growth edged higher to 1.6% in...

The popular narrative may have been that first time buyers have been priced out of the market, partly by landlords: but...

The UK government's long awaited Spring Budget announced some key changes for the property market in an effort to stimulate activity...

Changes to empty home council tax rates could generate an additional £540m from Monday, a lettings agency claims. Since April 2013, billing...

A south coast council is set to clampdown on HMOs after a report highlighted alleged issues with the likes of bins,...

The average house prices in England was £290,000 last year, some 8.3 times average annual earnings. This was actually down from 8.5...

Members of the union UNISON who participate in round-table discussions with activist group Generation Rents are to receive gift vouchers for...

Britain’s housing stock offers the worst value for money of any advanced economy, according new analysis published by the Resolution Foundation. The...

It’s all change at the start of the new tax year, and with so many tweaks to so many rules, it’s...

The Property Redress Scheme, one of two approved ombudsman-style schemes for the private rental sector, has published the findings from a...

The tax reliefs enjoyed by landlords running Furnished Holiday Lets (FHL) were cut by the Chancellor this month. Some say the...

A charity representing older people has taken up almost all of the key demands of activist group Generation Rent. Independent Age says...

Landlords who paid Capital Gains Tax at 28% - before the Chancellor reduced it to 24% in this month’s Budget -...

A think tank is urging the UK government to consider tax perks for private renters to help them save faster for...

An all-party House of Commons committee is calling on Local Housing Allowance to be updated automatically and annually. LHA rates have been...

Insurance experts claim there are new issues facing short-let landlords following Airbnb's worldwide ban on the use of security cameras inside...

Latest inflation figures are announced on Wednesday and the Bank of England makes its next base rate decision on Thursday. The Office...

Renting affects the resilience of all age groups.  Only one fifth of Millennial/Gen Z households who rent are on track for a...

The management of BTL properties, whether it's a modest collection of three units or a more sizable portfolio of fifteen, can...

A prominent agent who advises many landlord clients says the Capital Gains Tax cuts announced in the Budget are too small...

A string of debt advice charities want Housing Secretary Michael Gove to go well beyond merely banning Section 21 in a...

If interest rate rises weren’t enough to drive landlords out the market, mounting maintenance costs could be. Various studies and surveys have...

In September the Prime Minister announced that landlords will no longer be required to meet the minimum EPC minimum energy rating...

A legal firm says Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has effectively slashed the value of holiday homes which are sold from April 2025...

One piece of good news to come out of the small print documents accompanying the Budget concerns capital appreciation. The Office for...

In a final call on the Chancellor to help the private rental sector in today’s Budget, the National Residential Landlords Association...

A controversial proposal for a £300m tax grab on landlords appears to closely follow a policy suggestion put forward by activists...

A leader of the Renters Reform Coalition activist lobby has made a specific targeted attack on the motives and honesty of...

The Budget on Wednesday will contain a £300m tax raid on the private rental sector according to a report this morning...

Like a parent whose kids expected half term in Disneyland, Jeremy Hunt is spending the week managing expectations – and crushing...

Landlords play a crucial role in providing safe and comfortable housing for tenants while also managing rental properties effectively. Staying informed...

Millennials, long seen as a financially disadvantaged generation, are on the brink of becoming the wealthiest generation in history thanks to...

Rightmove is calling on Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to use next week’s Budget as an opportunity to incentivise landlords to make properties...

Rental sector and property industry views are split over the controversial idea of allowing first time buyers to put down a...

One of the biggest parts of buying a holiday home is securing a holiday let mortgage which can differ substantially to...

The government has confirmed that Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment (MTD for ITSA) will cost landlords both extra money...

Airbnb has released new figures showing that the typical host landlord makes a modest £5,500 a year by sharing their space...

Generation Rent has yet again come out for rent control over the private sector - and wants it to be an...

Speculation continues apace over the likely measures in next month’s Budget, especially after what is seen by political analysts as a...

A bid to make three Northumberland holiday cottages available as permanent private residences has been rejected by planners. At a time when...

Tenants faced with eviction must have legal aid, the Law Society of England and Wales claims. Recently published statistics from the Ministry...

Two thirds of landlords say the demand for private rented housing is continuing to increase, according to new research commissioned by...

Although SDLT receipts have been volatile in recent years, the property tax’s effectiveness as a revenue-raiser for the Government is not...

The government has issued a lengthy statement claiming more home owners, including landlords, are fitting heat pumps - yet at the...

A wealthy landlord, who also ran a fake lettings agency, has been jailed for 11 years for allowing ‘ghost tenants’ to...

One might immediately answer 'no' to this question, but does the HMO property industry possess adequate understanding of this delicate subject...

Research by Zero Deposit, a deposit alternative service, claims that under-30s face an almost impossible task when it comes to current...

UK house prices rose by 0.7 per cent in January, resulting in an improvement in the annual rate of house prices...

The government may be keen on scrapping Section 21 powers for private landlords but it’s getting much tougher on social housing...

Mohammed Sharaz, a landlord from Bradford, recently seized an opportunity to enhance his property portfolio after Wildstone acquired the gable end...

Increasing the supply of homes for private rent would boost government finances by £10 billion, says the National Residential Landlords Association. The...

Airbnb says it will continue to share hosting data with HMRC because its landlord hosts want to pay their fair share...

Painful tax traps have been set for millions of people this year. Your pay may not even have kept pace with...

If you're thinking of investing in a holiday home this year, there can be a lot to consider. From gathering insight to...

Paul Johnson - a director of the Institute of Fiscal Studies since 2011 and a visiting economics professor at University College...

A range of specialist buy to let mortgage products covering multi-occupancy properties, mixed-use or part-commercial properties, and expat investors, has been...

Labour-controlled Haringey Council in London says the owners of short lets and furnished holiday homes will be forced to pay double...

The Scottish Government has launched a consultation on migrating away from the emergency rent controls introduced in September 2022 and extended...

The capital gains tax allowance will be cut on April 6 from £6,000 to £3,000, so more people will pay CGT. The...

The Suffolk Building Society has launched new mortgage products aimed at private landlords who are planning refurbishments, such as a new...

A new analysis of the private rental sector suggests that between 800,000 and one million more homes are required to meet...

An insurance firm claims landlords shopping for a new mortgage deal may be expected by lenders to prepare personal guarantees. Purbeck claims...

Airbnb has taken further steps to get in the good books of HMRC by issuing a guide on tax for its...

A merger of two of the biggest names in the lettings agency world will mean the combined group managing 152,000 rental...

A building society says it is considering ending its policy of lending to buyers of holiday lets. Martese Carton, the director of...

The chief executive of Generation Rent has slammed the chair of the NatWest Bank for comments over first time buyers. At the...

Analysts have warned landlords and others interested in the housing market from celebrating too much following the latest Halifax index figures. The...

The Treasury has announced March 6 as the date for the Spring Budget and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has commissioned the Office...

Renters and landlords of properties without gas central heating can now get energy saving green measures installed free of charge or...

Escalating rents have led many first time buyers to adjust their property expectations and accept smaller homes when they purchase, a...

UK Finance has published its housing and mortgage market forecasts for 2024 and 2025 together with projections for 2023 full year numbers. Key figures for 2023 -...

Both sides of the rental divide have criticised Conservative proposals to boost housing demand while doing nothing about supply. Over the New...

There’s no prospect of a rapid recovery for the housing market in 2024 despite some green shoots appearing. The warning comes from...

UK house prices ended 2023 down 1.8 per cent compared with December 2022, leaving them almost 4.5 per cent below the...

There are now fewer than 35 days until self employed workers - including many landlords - will need to submit their...

Many landlords say they’re set to expand investments in 2024 despite facing up to 80 per cent higher costs in the...

Thousands of Britons earning from letting their spare room or using parts of their home on platforms like Airbnb could be...

Repairs and maintenance supplier Fixflo is warning landlords of a surge in demand for Electrical Installation Condition Reports in the short...

Almost two thirds of private landlords expect to see their mortgage payments increase over the next 12 months with warnings that...

A business consultancy claims the HMNRC Self-Assessment helpline - set up to assist those compiling and filing tax returns as the...

The Nationwide says 2023 has seen a surprisingly-resilient housing market but there will be no full scale recovery in 2024 -...

Former housing minister Rachel Maclean - the victim of a shock sacking by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak last month - has...

The chief executive of the Generation Rent ginger group has called on his former employer to make a case against landlords,...

Generation Rent says it’s worked out what rent levels will be in two years’ time. The activists say rents will rise 14...

A prominent tax consultancy says landlords who transferred their rental properties in a company in 2017/18 are being targeted by HMRC. It’s...

After the Autumn Statement unveiled a major tax cut for January, you’d be forgiven for thinking you’ll pay less tax in...

Britain’s top 100,000 taxpayers footed an average income and capital gains tax bill of £559,000 each in 2021/22. That’s up by 18...

Plans for leasehold reform face a major early stumbling block as analysis shows plans to retrospectively introduce a cap on ground...

A respected financial body is warning that landlords face rising costs of up to 80 per cent in the next two...

I recently attended the NRLA’s annual conference in Birmingham and a theme that still dominates discussion in the industry is the...

Property investment is a dynamic and diverse field, offering numerous opportunities for investors to grow their wealth. At Mortgage Scout, we...