Latest articles from The Landlord Blog

The majority of affordable homes built between now and 2015 will be for rent.

In a House of Lords debate surrounding the shortage of rental properties in the UK, Baroness Hanham claimed that those looking for affordable rental properties would be prioritised in the next few years.

A new accreditation scheme for tenant scrutiny has been launched by The Tenant Participation Advisory Service (TPAS).

In conjunction with Housemark and the Chartered Institute of Housing, the TPAS has drawn up the Quality Assured Scrutiny (QAS) scheme.

Both landlords and tenants have a responsibility to winter-proof their home, claim the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA).

The organisation has provided a guide for tenants who are worried about the cold weather affecting their home, which could well be made available via local letting agents. letting agents.

New proposals from Brighton and Hove City Council may have to force landlords to apply for planning permission "to create houses of multiple occupancy (HMO) in areas where students live in more than one in ten properties".

Homes to let may soon have to prove they are energy efficient or risk being taken off letting agents' letting agents books, decc.gov.uk reports reports. to modernise their energy efficiency credentials this winter.

There has been a two-fold rise in the number of home insurance claims being filed as a result of winter-related property damage.

According to M&S Money, there has been a 200 per cent increase in claim numbers; hopefully encouraging landlords with properties to rent to ensure they are in tip-top shape before the weather turns.

The National Landlords Association (NLA) is urging those with properties to rent to modernise their energy efficiency credentials this winter.

NLA chairman David Salusbury says that properties that demonstrate high levels of efficiency will appeal to tenants seeking lower heating bills.

Landlords may also be able to seek government funding for green projects as part of the national Green Deal too - set to go live in Autumn next year.

Demand for rental properties has become so high in recent times that there can sometimes be tens of people competing for the same home or apartment. This can make it incredibly difficult for the landlord to separate the wheat from the chaff. How on earth are you meant to decide which of the 20 applicants you've had is the right one?

Just how do you find a tenant that you can trust to take care of your precious buy-to-let investment?

Within the next 15 years, over half of respondents to a housing survey expect people to be living in properties to rent.

The Public Attitudes Housing Survey - undertaken by the residential property group Grainger PLC - found that 67 per cent of Britons believe long-term rentals will overtake the popularity of home ownership.

Landlords should take care only to work with letting agents that have been fully checked and verified by the appropriate industry bodies.

That's according to advice issued by the Tenancy Deposit Scheme, whose spokesperson, Malcolm Harrison, spoke to Rman.co.uk.

Harrison said that ensuring letting agents are verified by bodies like the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) or the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is crucial. It will means landlords are afforded "client money protection, will be up to speed with best professional practices and will automatically register a tenancy with the Tenancy Deposit Scheme."