Richlist

Presumably you are doing this yourself ? Are you aware of all the other revenue & capital expenses you can claim ?

Well, for a start, claiming expenses is voluntary, you aren't 'supposed' to claim, it's entirely up to you. Landlords would normally offset the cost of service charges & ground rents on their Self Assessment Form for the period the property was let & any void periods between tenancies. So, from the day you start letting the property to the end of that tax year you would claim the expenses on a pro rata basis. You would then continue to claim expenses for the whole of the time the property was let or was available to let.

I read it somewhat differently. In the past other ways of housing refugees has been tried but it's vastly expensive. It's usually been in hotels at around £200 a night. That comes with all the problems of finding them more permanent accomodation. I'd like to think we, the Country, have learned from that experience, taken on board what doesn't work well and taken a different approach. The Offer of £350pcm is cheaper for the taxpayer, gives the Ukrainians a comfortable home environment, & gets the approval of the public. I'd say Gove deserves at least a pat on the back for coming up with a very creative lower cost alternative. Let's also not lose sight of the fact that virtually every Ukrainian that comes here will want to return to their country as soon as possible......that's why they have been granted permission to stay for just 3 years initially, in the hope return to Ukraine may then be an option. Now what about the USA, Africa, India, Far East, Middle East, Australia etc and all stops in between . We dont hear much about what they are offering. .......and whilst we are at it.......I don't recall Ukraine offering any help to Afgan, Syrian or Iraqi refugees when help was needed.

Why is it that if you or I are unlucky enough to find squatters have moved into one of our properties we need a court order & bailiffs but when Russian oligarch Deripaska's place is overrun by squatters the police immediately send in the riot squad to evict them ??? This sort of double standard really annoys me.

Yesterday we were told there was a visa application centre in Calais for Ukrainian refugees.....today we learn it doesn't exist. Today we were told there is a visa application centre for Ukrainians in Lille.......guess what, it doesn't exist and the Gov have no plans to open one. I still wouldn't vote for a Labour Gov' though.

I think the UK should take refugees, certainly more than the 300 reportedly taken so far. But what always annoys me are all those other countries around the world who don't do anything to offer help or assitance. It's not only a European problem. 144 countries condemned the Russian invasion only 5 did not object. I doubt all 144 are offering help & assistance. Why not? Why all the pressure on the UK ?

I had a chuckle over this post. To balance the last sentence, I guess we could say that half the population of the UK spend their lives avoiding paying taxes, whenever they can, but as soon as there's trouble and they have time off work during a pandemic or are hit with big energy bills they have the audacity to ask the Gov' for help.😕😕

I've never heard of anyone doing this but I suspect the question is because the landlord wants to change the rent. Shorthand tenancy agreements for new tenants are usually for a 6 or 12 month period during which time a tenants payment record/ performance is monitored and both tenant and landlord can decide whether they want to continue with arrangements or not. A tenancy can be terminated by mutual agreement at any time. Setting up a new tenancy is quite a lot of work with all the documentation required.......especially if the landlord doesn't have a letting agent to handle all that stuff.

I'm struggling to get past your first sentence. Was the rent set to high initially e.g above the market rent or has the landlord decided to operate a charitable operation ? Most of us on this web site, no, probably all of us are in the property lettings business to make a profit. Making small concessions to existing tenants such as minimal annual rent increases, sending a Christmas card and providing the occasional bottle of wine when they have been particularly helpful is probably the limit for the vast majority of landlords. Why plant the idea or opportunity of a rent reduction in a tenants mind ?........when the same opportunity of a mortgage lender offering a reduction in the landlords monthly payments are absolutely NIL. Why do you think tenants should be treated any more favourably than other members of society ?

Hello, If you are talking about the private rented sector (instead of the public rented sector) forms aren't necessary. Any reduction in rent payment can just be mutually agreed between landlord & tenant. Most landlords don't usually accept reductions for obvious reasons. Instead some tenants just stop paying some or all of the rent leading ultimately to their eviction. Bad payers usually end up with bad references and this results in them only being offered bad property.

Yes, the idea is horrific. I have never known anywhere to be more unfriendly towards people who arent residents. Like most people I love everything about Wales but in this case I wish them only destruction & total failure. Just wait until some Welsh person asks a favour of me.......I'm gonna get so much enjoyment hiking the cost/ charges by 300%. If it's good enough for them, then it's good enough for me.

Did you take a deposit ? Was it protected in one of the deposit schemes ? Did you issue the prescribed information ? If you don't have a lettings agent or anyone who can help you with the forms then I'd suggest you get help from one of the specialist firms who deal with this e.g. Landlord Action. You can find them on the internet.

I don't understand what a new born baby has to do with your problem. Do you have a letting agent, a guarantor or rent guarantee insurance ?

That's a very short sighted view of freehold investments in my opinion. It gives the impression that you know little about this asset class and the various opportunities the freeholds provide to investors. Ground rent is only one current source of income for owners of freeholds. Depending on the lease, the ground rent may represent only a tiny proportion of the opportunity the lease contains. Freeholders are often able to charge for: * Any physical changes made to the exterior of the property. * Permission to let to third parties. * Keeping animals at the property. * Annual management fees. * Charges for arranging buildings insurance. * Etc, etc, etc When ground rents are as little as £10 per annum I don t think the loss of that revenue is going to be any concern compared to the potential thousands of £s that can be made from the other opportunities in the lease.

Patrick, this is the landlords forum for......landlords. If you are a tenant you need the tenant forum. A landlord is not responsible if a tenant locks themselves out of the property but can often help in order to save the tenant the cost of the locksmith.

I also set my rents slightly below the average in order to attract tenants. I always increase rents annually so it's never a very large increase. I've never had any problem increasing rents but this year is different. I appreciate that people are being faced with increases in gas/electric, council tax, NI, petrol/diesel, food and virtually everything else so I recognise that perhaps this year needs to be handled a little differently as some people will be very short of spare money. Those tenants who look like they will stay another year or more will get a small increase. Those who are likely to leave in a few months wont......because I can increase the rents for the new tenants that will replace them. Really long term tenants are handled very differently, especially ones I don't want to loose. In the past I have increased their rents but compensated in other ways eg.......refunded some of their deposit or offered them a free week in my place in Spain.

I think smoke alarms are the least of our worries today.......the storms are upon us with giant waves, high winds, and idiots wanting to buy lawnmowers off of me. There is nowt as strange as folk. 😃😃

Surely pushing the test button on a smoke alarm just identifies wether it makes a noise or not. I don't see how it can provide confirmation that the smoke sensor is functional. An analogy might be your car......you turn on the ignition and all the warning lights light up. That's just telling you that the bulb is working not wether the sensors are doing their job. If you need a professional/ expert answer why not call your local fire department. Didn't they used to fit smoke alarms for people ? They should be able to help.

My understanding with regard to non wired, battery operated smoke alarms is that they usually carry a 10 year shelf life because of the sensor built into the alarm. In fact, I've bought quite a few battery operated one's over the years all of which have had a 10 year limit. There is no reason to suppose that the sensor in a hard wired smoke alarm is any different and consequenty it would also carry a 10 year maximum use. Replacing the battery or having an electrical test is, I suggest, unlikely to identify wether the sensor is still operating correctly.

The battery powered alarms do usually have a 10 year shelf life. * Presumably you could replace any battery back up ? * As they are hard wired, don't they get checked during the electrical safety certification ? * You could call your local fire depot for advice. * You could ask the agent to provide the rules that say they are out of date after 10 years. * You could get them checked to make sure they are functioning. * Or you could just ignore them and carry on as normal.

Looks like I'm probably ok. Obviously I know their names & their address is one of my properties but everything else is dealt with by my agents. I probably know more about my neighbours than my tenants.

I've always been very flexible with notices. I'm happy to take a phone call giving notice providing its followed up in writing. Notice can be any day provided its a full months notice. They can move out earlier provided rent is paid for the full months notice. There is sometimes an issue with council tax if they move out early and are paying c/tax in their new property. I find being flexible works to my advantage 99% of the time as the tenants keep me informed of their situation and allow viewings. As rent is paid in advance I usually have to refund overpayment. I realise non of this is any real help to you in your situation.

As potential tenants they presumably are not resident yet. I believe it's fairly common for tenants to ask for changes in homes valued around £3 million + in London and some expensive areas of Surrey & the home counties but I don't think it's acceptable in normal flats or semi's unless repairs are required. I tend to be quite open minded toward these sorts of requests. For example, if the request involves a change that will enhance the value or desirability of a property then it's worth consideration......but only if the tenant pays a significant portion of the cost. If the change doesn't add value or desirability......ask yourself what's in it for you. Remember, there is a massive shortage of good quality rental property........It's a landlords market, not a potential tenant market. If you turn them down and they go elsewhere then another applicant will be along very quickly. First time landlords often think the biggest problem they are going to get is being able to find a tenant......believe me it isnt. We could provide you with a very long list of potential problems that you will encounter and I can guarantee finding a tenant wouldn't make it onto that list.

It will be interesting to know how this loan will work for rental properties. I can't see a first time buyer or a new tenant moving in after October, who doesn't receive the loan, being happy to pay a £40pa surcharge for the next 5 years.

Whilst £88 million is an enormous sum to us as individuals it's a miniscule amount in terms of Government expenditure. To put it into perspective Covid-related emergency funding is £22 billion......& the health & social care budget is another £159 billion. I'm as keen to pay less tax as everyone else but believe if you can afford it you should pay it. I've paid very large CGT bills for the last few years.