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As cost-of-living pressures ease and mortgage rates start to fall, landlords may be tempted back to the Buy to Let market, but they should be wary of the myth that earning a passive income from property is easy, writes Charlie Davidson, a residential property expert with London law firm Bishop & Sewell. Buy to Let mortgage statistics from the ONS suggest there are around 2.74 million landlords in the UK, although the sector has shrunk in recent years as landlords have faced higher mortgage costs and in

Carbon-intensive homes in the north of England may be holding the UK back from net zero progress, according to new research from the Powering Net Zero (PNZ) Group. Domestic carbon emissions from the least green homes in the North East, the North West, and Yorkshire and the Humber have remained stubbornly high since 2010. Homes account for almost a quarter of the UK’s total carbon emissions, and represent the biggest barrier to reaching net zero by 2050 without retrofit intervention. Nearly 700,000 homes i

An impressive Victorian house dating back to The Crimean War and located in a prestigious Birmingham suburb is coming up for sale in Bond Wolfe’s next auction. The Grade II-listed three-storey building at 111 Gough Road in Edgbaston will appear in the livestreamed auction on Wednesday 27 March with a guide price* of £680,000+. The Historic England listing for the property was granted in 1985 and describes the red brick façade with Italianate stucco trim and Greek style frieze. Gurpreet Bassi, chief execut

LRG - a team of over 3,000 individuals encompassing a range of brands, branches and departments across the country - already prides itself on its diverse workforce: no fewer than 63% of its staff are female, and it offers some unique benefits to attract women. However, acknowledging that women can still face additional pressures in the workplace, it has implemented several further initiatives as part of a programme named EmpowerHER, which launches today. EmpowerHER will offer: Events: curated gatherings

Adam Sanders, Technical Director at RiskBase talks about what property managers responsible for HRBs should focus on when supporting their PAPs. New Year's resolutions are now long forgotten, and reverting to old habits is as easy as giving up on Dry January – but the Building Safety Act has no intention of letting anyone go ‘back to old ways. Those that try, will double-down on effort, spend a fortune and achieve very little.  Most of us are aware that a Safety Case Report (SCR) is mandatory for

An innovative partnership between BD Reside and EVO, has been awarded the 'Best Repairs and Maintenance Innovation' accolade at the Housing Digital awards 2024. BD Reside, a housing company wholly owned by Barking and Dagenham Council, partnered with EVO, a digital repairs, maintenance and compliance platform in 2023 as an initial pilot, with a view to transform its property management and maintenance service. In the first three months of the pilot being launched, the partnership has seen stellar result

Brendan Geraghty, CEO of the UKAA (UK Apartment Association), the membership association and representative body for the Build to Rent sector, incorporating urban and suburban Build to Rent, comments: “The Spring Budget provided the Government with a perfect opportunity to put housing front and centre, to invest in, and simplify, the planning system to deliver the new homes that the country is crying out for – but they did not take it. “We welcome today’s announcement of £242m of investment in Barking Riv

Over the last 12 months Cardinus Risk Management has identified a worrying trend in how people own and insure their properties. Having surveyed more than 30,000 commercial and residential properties last year, they have witnessed widespread underinsurance among UK properties, putting owners at significant financial risk. This article explains the underinsurance trends identified by Cardinus, the impact of rising prices and potential solutions for property owners. Underinsurance trends Cardinus has found t

A devastating fire engulfed a 24-storey block of flats near Benidorm, claiming the lives of three individuals, including a child, in the early hours of the morning.  In a haunting echo of the Grenfell Tower catastrophe, a devastating inferno ripped through an apartment block in Valencia, Spain, leaving behind a scene of horror and despair. The blaze erupted around 2:15 am on the 11th floor of the residential building, shattering the tranquility of the night with chilling cries for help echoing amidst t

In a move to further simplify the homebuying process, OneDome, the homebuying platform, is expanding its flagship product HomeBuyer Service to include surveying services. This enhancement ensures that OneDome now provides a full suite of services to homebuyers—including mortgages, conveyancing, and surveys - all bundled into one convenient package at a fixed price. Buyers benefit from a dedicated property moving assistant who manages the entire transaction from start to finish. This service is powered by

As a property manager or owner of a residential block, it's important to have a system in place for collecting and managing service charge funds. One of the most effective ways to do this is by using a ring-fenced designated bank account. What is a ring-fenced designated bank account? A ring-fenced designated bank account is a separate bank account that is specifically set up to hold service charge funds for a residential block. The funds in this account are kept separate from the property manager's or ow

Warm, wetter weather is providing a rich environment for Japanese knotweed to thrive across the UK. Reports have been coming in to the Property Care Association of early growth of the plants’ distinctive red stems in February, well ahead of its usual growing season. According to Daniel Docking, the PCA’s Invasive Weed Control Group technical manager, the current climate conditions could have a detrimental impact on native plant species. Daniel said: “We can still expect late season frosts and dry weather