Seething Landlord

The nrla are where they always are, doing their utmost in association with other representative bodies to protect the interests of their members.
Unfortunately the current government refuses to listen to any reasoned objections to their madcap schemes, not that the previous lot were much better.... Read More

We have normally adopted the same procedure but once the new rules are in place the holding deposit will have to be used as part of the tenancy deposit, otherwise it will be rent in advance of signing, which will be prohibited.... Read More

How did that affect your EPC rating?... Read More

Quite correct. In recent years all 5 new tenants of our one bedroom flats have been men moving out following the breakdown of a relationship.... Read More

I agree, but how do you resolve that problem without huge increases in the retail price of food and other essentials?... Read More

The trouble is that what you are advocating would require a total restructure of the benefit system and employment market, not to mention the abandonment of the concept of the welfare state.
The whole idea of in-work benefits linked to a low wage economy is bonkers but changes would be so far reaching that no government could be trusted to do it properly without causing economic chaos, even if they had the motivation and public support to do so.
I remember the days when employers would indeed provide housing, think of nurses homes in the grounds of the hospital and police houses, quite apart from factory owners who understood that their work force needed to be accommodated within easy travelling distance. One of the downsides is that individual choice and mobility of labour is restricted when your home is inextricably linked to your job.... Read More

The only growth in the next few years will be in the size of the State and the corresponding tax burden.... Read More

Yes, I believe that's right but the way in which it works in practice seems quite complex.... Read More

If contemplating gifting large amounts, be aware that anything more than £325,000 within a 7 year period will be a chargeable lifetime transfer and generate an immediate liability to IHT at the rate of 20% or 25%.... Read More

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"With no resistance." Have you forgotten the (unsuccessful) application for judicial review of S24 and the endless campaigns since then?

"What is the point of the NLA ?" You probably mean the NRLA. Your frustration would be better directed at Government.

The NRLA, with membership of only 100,000 out of 2.5 million landlords is punching above its weight but recognises that politics is the art of the possible and in the end the elected Government will have its way.... Read More

The taper only applies to gifts made in excess of the nil rate band, not to the whole amount, so is only of benefit if gifts of more than £325,000 have been made in the 7 years prior to death.... Read More

Absolutely, no point changing anything until we know the exact criteria by which properties will be assessed. The previous government seemed to have finally recognised this but with the new, blinkered ideologues in power we are back to square one.... Read More

Will they what?... Read More

Correct, which negates many of the points made. Tenants will have the whip hand when it comes to rent increases and delays in repairs. Faceless corporations will be under the same pressures and subject to the same sanctions as private landlords.... Read More

What's happened to the anticipated root and branch review of the EPC rating parameters? The system is no more fit for purpose now than when the previous government recognised its absurdities and kicked the plan into the long grass.... Read More

At the risk of massive oversimplification, it is my understanding that HMRC are not challenging the validity of incorporation per se but of the technicalities purporting to achieve:
1: incorporation relief from CGT
2: relief from SDLT
3: conversion of equity in the properties to a director's loan... Read More

Sorry, I am not familiar with the nuts and bolts of HMO management and tenancy agreements but in circumstances where it is not appropriate for the tenant to pay council tax direct to the billing authority I imagine that landlords should treat it in the same way as any other overhead cost and adjust the rent accordingly.... Read More

You have misread the Act. The schedule lists the categories of payment that a tenant can be required to make. If you read the whole of the schedule you will realise that your interpretation makes no sense. Paragraph 8 simply means that a requirement for the tenant to pay council tax to the billing authority (not to the landlord) is permitted.... Read More

In this case it is a payment to the landlord, not to the billing authority.... Read More