April 2016

The RLA has launched its new Inventory Plus app .
The new inventory and Right to Rent reporting service has been designed to help landlords create and manage inventories on the go, on any device.

Almost all landlords are considering increasing rents to pay for the higher taxes they now face.
In a survey the Residential Landlords Association found that 84% of private sector landlords are likely to consider increasing rents following the Chancellor’s recent tax assault on the buy-to-let sector.

The Home Builder’s Federation has backed the RLA call for the new London Mayor to recognise the importance of the Private Rented Sector when it comes to tackling the capital’s housing crisis.

ACTION is needed to tackle the scandal of ‘buy-to-leave’ investors who are denying Londoners the homes they need.

With almost 57,000 homes in the capital thought to be empty, the next Mayor of London needs to use the powers available to ensure such homes are being used either by landlords who want to offer properties to live in or are available to for purchase by would be home owners.

The Residential Landlords Association has launched its London Mayoral Manifesto.
The Landlords4London document outlines what the RLA believes should be priorities for the successful candidate in terms of supporting the Private Rented Sector, focusing on discouraging rent controls, encouraging better enforcement, boosting supply, introducing flexible tenancies and addressing ‘buy-to-leave’.

Tenants across Wales would be worse off under Plaid Cymru’s plans for rented housing published today.
Included in its manifesto for the forthcoming Welsh Assembly elections, the party has pledged to introduce rent controls and ban fees paid by tenants to letting agents.

The RLA’s Landlord Advice Team is on hand to offer free unlimited advice to members. Each week, we are featuring a call from one of our members outlining their problems and how the team helped them.
In the most recent budget, George Osborne announced £1,000 tax-free allowances for people making profits on short term lets. Unsurprisingly this has attracted the attention of a number of callers interested in Airbnb to the Landlord Advice Team.

New energy efficiency rules hitting the Private Rented Sector have come into force – but do you know your rights and responsibilities?
Tenants can now ask landlords for permission to carry out energy efficiency improvements to privately rented properties – with the landlord unable to unreasonably refuse consent after new legislation was introduced on April 1.

The government has published updates to Section 8 and 13 forms for use in England – which are due to come into force from April 6th.