UK Mortgage & Property Related News
Our data reveals a striking trend: landlords buying property are getting younger.
The average age of landlords purchasing with a buy-to-let mortgage has plummeted from 46.4 in 2014 to 42.9 last year.
Our analysis of industry data shows that property is still attractive to younger investors. Landlords in their 30s have surged from 21% of mortgaged purchases to 31% in a decade, while those aged 18-29 now account for 10% of purchases.
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A Labour MP rents out flats with black mould and ant infestations, the BBC has discovered.
Jas Athwal, the newly-elected MP for Ilford South, owns 15 rental flats, making him the biggest landlord in the House of Commons.
In one block of seven flats owned by Mr Athwal nearly half the tenants said they had to regularly clean their bathroom ceilings to remove mould.
Mr Athwal has now also admitted his flats do not have the correct property licences required under a scheme he introduced as Redbridge Council leader.
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Landlords continue to flee the private rented sector with many actively looking to cut the size of their buy-to-let portfolios, leaving thousands of renters looking for somewhere new to live.
Analysis by TwentyEA had already revealed a substantial increase in landlords exiting the market or downsizing their portfolios.
Figures released last month showed that that the number of properties ‘for sale’ that were listed ‘to let’ in the past three years had risen dramatically.
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A new survey appears to lift the lid on why landlords remain in buy to let, despite the tax and regulatory controls now making the sector so challenging.
Paragon Bank surveyed 500 landlords with up to three properties and with declared ambitions to build larger portfolios.
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This is the message from mortgage lender Skipton Building Society which has reacted to the Labour announcement all landlords must meet an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of Band C by 2030.
The building society is offering and delivering free EPC Plus assessments to all of its members to help improve energy efficiency awareness.
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Three of the top five landlords in parliament are now Labour MPs, reflecting the shifting make-up of the ruling party ahead of major plans to tackle rental reform in government.
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AHMRC crackdown on buy-to-let tax scheme is panicking landlords, according to reports. Property 118 claimed to offer a way round stamp duty and capital gains tax amid a HMRC crackdown and clampdown, according to the I.
But it was served with a “stop notice” by the taxman last month, meaning it must immediately stop promoting its schemes. This follows a decision in February to issue what’s known as “reference numbers” to its arrangements, a signal that HMRC believes the schemes equate to tax avoidance.
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What if you own a property but want to let it out so you can buy another place to live? David Jackson discusses the pros and cons of ‘let-to-buy’ in his latest Q&A
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Landlords are not reaping as bigger benefit from recent mortgage rate cuts as those who live in their own homes, analysis shows.
The interest rates on fixed home loans have been dropping for weeks after falls in inflation and a cut in interest rates by the Bank of England.
Falls have been seen across all types of mortgage, but the more dramatic drops have been seen on residential deals.
Experts have said the trend is due to a combination of buy-to-let mortgages being seen as riskier for lenders, and greater competition in the residential market.
According to data from Moneyfacts analysed by i, at the start of July, the average five-year fixed residential mortgage at 75 per cent loan-to-value (LTV) – meaning a deposit or equity of 25 per cent – stood at 5.39 per cent. For the equivalent buy-to-let mortgage, the rate was 5.59 per cent.
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A prominent rental market analyst is warning that elements of the reform legislation proposed by Labour “are casting dark shadows” over the lettings sector, with few landlords likely to sleep easy at possible threats to their investments.
Doug Shephard, director of the Home website – a listings platform that also conducts respected monthly market analyses for the lettings and sales sectors – says the new government’s upcoming Renters Rights Bill may prove to be final straw for many landlords.
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