Lettings

For those living in a rental property with an ever growing collection of items, storage can become an issue. On inspection, most tenancy agreements prohibit renters from drilling holes in walls, altering the layout in a property or installing fitted furniture, so adding extra storage will need more creative thinking.

National Empty Homes Weeks 2024 runs from 4th to 10th March this year and while the thrust of the event is to shine a light on bringing vacant dwellings back into use, the organisers offer support to all those who may have an empty property.

Buy-to-let has always been seen as a safe long-term investment strategy but over the last few years, the landscape has changed dramatically. As we move our way through 2024, however, the buy-to-let benefits are once again aligning. Here are five reasons property investment should be on your radar this year.

On the outside, selecting a good tenant may feel as simple as accepting the person who makes the highest offer, especially if the most recent news is to be believed. A survey undertaken for the New Economics Foundation found tenants were willing to go to extreme financial lengths to secure a rental property. As a result, landlords have had the luxury of waiting for the ‘highest bidder’ to emerge.

Rental demand still outstrips supply in the UK, and your property is unique, which is why it’s important to understand its true rental value. Average rents for new lets increased by 12.2% in the year to September 2023, and are expected to increase by 5–6% in 2024

When you have found the perfect rental property for you, it can be very tempting to sign on that dotted line in a hurry..

The rental market in the UK is going from strength to strength. Despite the negative news stories in the press, there is much to look forward to and celebrate as we enter another new year.

The safety of tenants has become of paramount importance in the private rental sector, and rightly so. One of the areas that has been improved immeasurably is electrical safety and now new guidelines have been issued to provide greater consistency when it comes to checks.

On 7th November 2023, the King’s Speech marked the opening of a new session of Parliament. In his first address of this nature, King Charles III announced the Government’s key priorities for the year ahead and with a General Election expected within the next 12 months, the contents were hotly anticipated.

The landlord-tenant relationship in the UK is often portrayed as strained in the media. Seen as one-sided often in favour of the landlord it’s sometimes justified. However, it’s always a few bad landlords who tarnish the reputation of many. The reality is that there are many great landlords letting beautiful properties, managed by reputable agents, who are changing the rental landscape for the better in the UK.

We have been charting the progress of the Renters’ Reform Bill since it was announced in 2019 during Theresa May’s tenure as Prime Minister. In late October 2023, a little more progress was made and the Bill had its second reading in the House of Commons.

The features we assume tenants are looking for and what actually ticks their boxes can be two very different things. To establish the most in-demand aspects, Rightmove examined more than 600,000  property listings, looking at what was mentioned in the property description in relation to the homes with the highest number of enquiries.