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Now there's no need to drag this conversation down into the gutter by using bad language such as the word 'Labour' ........😄 To respond to your point ......I think you are probably right but it's the degree of political distaste that they hold for landlords. I am under no illusions that in both cases some landlords will be disadvantaged. With Conservatives I can see a thunderstorm or two on the horizon. With Labour it's likely to be the end of the world as we know it.

It will be interesting to see if the 'Oxford Concise English Dictionary' redefines the meaning of Manifesto to mean :- lies or lying. 😕

However bad you think it might become under a Conservative Government think what the future might be....... Diane Abbott as Home Secretary ?......no thank you very much.......I don't think so. I'm actually beginning to get very, very, VERY, concerned that the Labour party have lost all sense of perspective. Life under Labour will be intolerable. I'm already loosing sleep. Next will come the nightmares of living under John Macdonalds ridiculous fiscal policy. Can you imagine the horror of waking up on December 13th to find these jokers in charge ? Start praying now......

That's extremely good news. Funnily enough I'm one of the few people around who has been hoping for colder weather and snow. One of our other small business interests involves selling heating and air con. So, for us, colder weather will definitely see sales pick up big time. My lawnmower sales business though has finally dried up ......I guess until next March/ April. People just don't want to mow their grass when there's snow & ice on the ground. Same with garden furniture......the market is dead until next spring when I can again charge exorbitant prices to the masses. However sales of suitcases & car roof boxes continues to trickle through probably because some mad fools go on holiday when the weather is freezing. I should have been a market trader........I might have been another Lord Sugar.

So what ? Do you think that you are going to be able to change it ? Relax......go worry about something important that you can actually do something about. Might I suggest that could be voting in the GE to keep Labour out of Downing Street ?

But they aren't asking for anything out of the ordinary......so why would supplying this information be a problem for a landlord .?......that's what the OP was asking in his initial post. If the agent has issues, let them sort out their own problems. I don't see as there is anything for a landlord to get upset about.

Firstly, let me say that I'm not affected because my tenants pay their rent direct to me. However, I'm not sure what's behind your question. The information that the bank requires seems entirely reasonable and probably driven by legal and taxation rules that they need to comply with. If your worried that you're giving to much information away, ask yourself if you are being a little to circumspect. I have an account at a Spanish bank and they require, from me, a lot more information than you are being asked to provide as do my accountants in Spain. Relax.

..........and there are so many additional factors that an experienced landlord would automatically take into account when making a judgement on the suitability of a project......which someone new to the business might overlook. Let's list just a few..... * Short length of remaining lease, increasing ground rents every x years, exorbitant service charges, freeholders managing agents not recommended, property not in a suitable area, limited parking available, poor exterior maintenance of flats. Then there are decisions on how you are going to manage the job..... * Use an agent or do it yourself, pick your own tenants or leave it up to the agent, do they hold an emergency fund to cover unexpected items, are they prepared for when things go wrong, do they know what expenses they can claim, do their own tax return or use an accountant etc. However, as I've said before, where else are you going to put your money to achieve a decent return ? It's no good sitting in a bank or savings account......that's not likely to keep pace with inflation. My agent is a wealthy guy with over 40 properties of his own and he and his family are still buying.

That's impossible to answer without a number of considerations...I think my advice would be...... * Providing you could find the right property, at the right price, in the right condition, in the right area. * Providing you didn't need to spend loads of money on it. * Providing you bought via a Limited Company. * Providing the service charges and ground rents were reasonable. * Providing you could get a mortgage with reasonable terms and conditions. * Providing you had the backing of a good agent or experienced landlord or were prepared to spend time researching and educating yourself thoroughly. * Providing you were prepared to spend time and effort getting it right. THEN........yes, I'd recommend you go ahead........but after December 12th. If Labour win the GE ignore all of the above and find somewhere else to put your money.

I wouldn't ! If it were mine then if one moves out that ends the tenancy as far as I'm concerned.Get new tenants. Otherwise it's going to get very messy.

My opinion would be do not replace the boiler. * You have access to a reliable family member for repairs and maintenance.....which is better than most of us. * You already replaced 1 major component & have available another major component should that part fail. * Most modern boilers have just a few major parts.....gas valve, fan, printed circuit board etc. Repairs normally cost around £200/£250 for each. * Your boiler is not on its last legs and will probably last many more years.......I've got one that's 30 years old with no plans to replace it. * Save your £1800 for something more worthwhile.

Let's be realistic.......whatever changes finally come into effect, they are extremely unlikely to be perfect. Provided there are improvements that benefit the tenant.......and there certainly will be improvements for tenants in this, because that is the driver for making the changes to the legislation in the first place......then the Gov' will be very happy. Our job is to try to ensure that at the very least, the landlord is not disadvantaged more than he/she is already. Until the proposals are published......and we will all have a chance to comment on them......it's not worth losing any sleep over what may or may not be. I doubt that there is a lot of time or effort currently being expended by civil servants on the subject. Given the upcoming GE and the on going business of Brexit I suspect this is way down the list of priorities.

You have my sympathy. It's amazing how heating goes wrong at the worst possible times......most of us have experienced it. It's perhaps opportunist for me to point out that those properties with electric storage heaters probably have an advantage in that any breakdown is likely to be just one of a number of storage heater units in a property which is far better than the whole system shutting down. Keeping a few spare back up heaters that can be used in emergencies is an excellent idea. One final point....touched on in your post.........many tenants expect their landlord to perform miracles when things go wrong but......tenants are not entitled to expect any better treatment because they are paying rent than an owner occupier could expect if their heating suddenly failed. They will be subject to the same reasonable delays in getting repairs carried out as the owner occupier. This extends to the tenant not being entitled to rent reduction or refund for the affected period. I've lost count of the number of times I've read posts from landlords where their tenants almost expect immediate repairs and/or rent reduction.

Let's hope the ' new set of rules' is both an improvement and a benefit for landlords as well as tenants. There is room for improvement in the s21 process as there is with all aspects of renting and letting. I have more confidence in the Conservatives coming up with a better system than the Labour Party.

What ? Are you serious ? Are you suggesting that youd rather not vote and end up with a Marxist Labour Government ? If like me you have spent a large part of your adult life taking risks to build up your wealth, the last thing on your mind will be hastening a Government that will be taking as much of your money as they can get their hands on. If you think you've had a hard time with the Conservatives over the last few years you might be in for a bigger shock when Labour are running the show. Alan Sugar has the right idea.......he's leaving the UK permanently if Corbyn wins the election.......I might just do the same.

I have no first hand experience of this as my rentals don't have fireplaces. However..... I have a fireplace at my own home that is used regularly during the winter months. If I didnt have the chimney swept annually and obtain a valid certificate and if there was a fire my insurance wouldn't cover any damage caused by the fire. Therefore as the insurance is the landlords responsibility it would seem a good idea for the landlord to arrange and pay for work to meet the insurers requirements. I guess it would be resonable/ acceptable to include an additional clause in the contract making the tenant responsible. BUT.....ask yourself.......with something as important as the need for having valid insurance cover and a chimney sweep that costs around £60 a year, is it not worth dealing with it yourself ?

But surely the court would require proof/ evidence that the tenant has caused the damage before ruling the tenant should pay. Can't you claim on your buildings insurance ? All you need is a police report number to validate the claim. Let the insurers sort out who they want to chase for the cost of repairs through the police......I suspect they wouldn't bother if it were less than £200. Isn't this what insurance is for ? We don't need to make it more complicated than it needs to be. Now if the tenant hasn't reported it to the police and obtained a police report number.........if be asking why !

The alternative view is that voting leave for Conservatives or the Brexit Party will split the leave vote and lead to a Labour win. Oh dear.....Please no. I better pack a suitcase so I can leave the country as soon as the result is announced

If I apply common sense......and I appreciate it doesn't always apply....... * I don't see how the tenant is at fault. * The tenant cannot arrange buildings insurance in their name. * The landlord has a responsibility to ensure the doors are secure. * It would be a foolish landlord that did not ensure buildings insurance was in place. It's one of the joys of landlording. Be carefull when selecting tenants and when buying property to ensure both are the best available to you within your budget.

I would expect my tenant to call the police and then their landlord in that order. They would then have a crime number which you could use on your buildings insurance claims form. This is clearly a police matter.......who is suspected of the crime is not relative to any claim.

Interestingly nobody so far has mentioned the obvious elephant in the room....... The Brexit Party. The Conservatives have this morning totally ruled out any deal between them and the Brexit Party. If the BP take a significant number of seats.......it's entirely possible in areas with a high leave vote of where their MP has seriously let them down......then there may be another hung parliament. My prediction in terms of result is 1. Conservative 2. Brexit Party 3. Lib dems 4 Labour. Labour will implode when the results are announced on December 13th.......which happens to be Friday 13th !

So, we will vote on 12th December. BUT.....who do we vote for if we want the best out come for landlords in the private sector ??????? Rumours of Boris Johnson having been found dead in a ditch in Westminster this morning along with the story that the police were questioning over 300 parliamentary suspects appears to be fake news. Also fake news was the story that some members had mud on their shoes from the very same ditch.....turns out it wasn't mud but bullshit. The story is that this came from a farm in the home counties named 'Cancel Brexit Farm' frequented by the Liberals & SNP and various other non descript rebels. You just can't believe everything you hear of read these days. Boris is alive and preparing to take us out of Europe. 3 cheers for Boris !

I've found that advertising early is nearly always a disadvantage. That's because prospective tenants want to view the property ASAP which means it's going to be presented to them when it's far from ready ie......existing tenants still in property, decorating/ building materials everywhere etc etc.

As a landlord I use MS Excel.

What parts of 'London' do to cover ? Central London, Greater London, Inside the M25, London Southend Airport area etc ?