We have long bemoaned the 'HMO Bad, Family House Good' Animal Farm style mantra that permeates meetings of the planning committee. The good news is that the tide might be turning but the past year has been bad for Portsmouth at the taxpayers expense. 

 With just six months to go before many landlords must adopt Making Tax Digital (MTD), confusion still reigns. Few landlords are ready, and HMRC hasn't yet clarified all the details. So what does this mean for you—and what should you do now?

It used to be that the law defined the way we operated. Landlords built a business knowing what the rules were and PCC enforced based on those rules and where there was a dispute about interpretation of those rules, either side would go to the First Tier Tribunal, plead their case and then whatever the Tribunal decided became the new, clearer definition of the rules and both sides would change their operation accordingly. 

Sadly, those days have passed and PCC appear emboldened enough to tell the experienced surveyors on the Tribunal when they think they are wrong and to enlist expensive Gray's Inn barristers to plead their case on appeal at higher courts, sadly this behaviour has forced local landlords to do the same (without the high cost of London barristers) in order not to be beaten into submission.

OK - that is MFB's heading, not ours but they have been good to us over the past few years - providing updates and advice over Zoom during the Covid period and regular news updates since.  Their full press release follows. 

As mentioned last month, AdvoCATS representing a host of organisations including the PDPLA sent a letter to the Secretary of State, Angela Rayner, asking her to re-instate a landlords requirement for pet damage insurance in the Renters Rights Bill (the government having removed it in the last draft). See the full letter below along with the accompanying briefing paper here and the parallel press release here.

We will publish a guide explaining what you need to do to prepare for Making Tax Digital (MTD) in the next few days, but first you need to know when you need to switch. The easiest way to find out is to attend the HMRC Webinar this month. Details here... 

 Last month Portsmouth City Council's (PCC) Cabinet reviewed and agreed a document which summarised the effectiveness of the Additional Licensing scheme after criticism from us. Although it was independently created and funded by central government, we argued that the document and its presentation in the press was grossly misleading and failed to recognise the failings of the scheme. Read on to see why.

We have seen multiple queries from landlords being charged for anti-money laundering (AML) checks by letting agents and we know others do not realise that every landlord MUST now perform an anti-money laundering check on every tenant. Where is the line between something you MUST do and something where someone is just using it as an excuse to bill you for something?We try to explain.  

As mentioned last month (see it here) there is a new, much updated database of HMOs in Portsmouth.  We would really like to help the Council get it as accurate as possible so do check any of your properties against the list and any HMOs that you know of (or properties that were but are not anymore). 

AdvoCATS officially relaunched its Heads for Tails! campaign on Monday 11th August, with the aim of sending an open letter & briefing paper to The Secretary of State for Housing and the Housing Minister on 1st September asking for tenants rights to have pets and for landlords to be able to charge for insurance - exactly 4 years since the original campaign went live, and 1 week before the "ping-pong" process between the House of Commons and House of Lords begins.

Have you heard the one about the Chancellor strapped for cash, who thought private landlords would be good for it? 

If it were a joke, I would be looking forward to the punchline but sadly, it would appear that someone in the treasury thinks a few words in the coming Autumn statement  announcing charging National Insurance on rental income would plug a big hole….

The Base Rate has been cut for the 3rd time this year. What does this mean for mortgage rates, and why do we not expect further Base Rate reductions this year?

Last month our local MP's, Stephen Morgan and Amanda Martin, hosted a forum focussed on issues with HMOs and PCC's perceived inability to enforce against them (we think 'enforcement' is completely the wrong term here but ..).  As one member who attended described it, "it was a NIMBY fest full of false info and misinformation ".  Not the fault of the MPs but anyway, read on for our summary...

Portsmouth City Council's long-standing estimate of 6,000 Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) in the city has been turned on its head by the council's own licensing records. Latest figures show less than half the 4,309 HMOs recorded five years ago and far fewer than the oft-quoted figure of 6,000. Personally, I had 4 small student HMOs in the south of the city 3 years ago, now I have none. I am not alone, every landlord I meet tells a similar tale – yet until today, this anecdotal evidence was completely at odds with the rhetoric of councillors, coverage in the press and figures from the council. What has happened, why and what does it say about supply, demand and the future shape of shared housing in Portsmouth?

PCC's own data shows: Since 2018, the net number of large HMOs has increased by about 80 (from ~1200) that is an average of just +1% per year. At the same time, more than 10 times that number of small HMOs have been taken out of HMO use.

This has implications – all flexibility to support the student market has been removed from the south of the city which will seriously impact the University and the councils own policies and regulations are causing the PO2 area particularly to feel as though it is being cluster bombed with large HMOs occupied by dubious tenants.

 Southampton City Council has approved the designation of an Additional HMO licensing scheme to take effect from September 2025 for five years in 8 council wards.

If you missed it - we had our 40th birthday celebration this month, a garden party at the Queens Hotel in Southsea, we were joined by many members including 3 former chair persons and a couple of founder members plus the Lord Mayor, several councillors and many friends from both the council and some of the many organisations we have worked with over recent years.

And apart from having a very pleasant evening, we managed to raise £1,000 for the Lord Mayors charity, so thank you to everyone for their support. 

Another excellent thought leadership piece on the role of the PRS copied from LinkedIn and written by legal expert, David Smith asking what is the role of the PRS / where does it fit / is the law appropriate to manage it followed by my own thoughts on how to answer some of these questions. 

Portsmouth has long faced challenges in balancing housing affordability, community cohesion, and regulatory oversight. Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs)—where multiple, unrelated individuals share living spaces—have emerged as a significant part of the city's housing landscape. While their presence has sparked debate among councillors, planning officials, and residents, their value as an accessible housing solution remains undeniable.

 With Parliament's summer break looming, pressure is mounting to pass the Renters' Rights Bill—a sweeping reform that will reshape the lettings landscape. Whether you're a landlord or a policymaker, now is the time to understand what's at stake.

 Why are Portsmouth landlords being billed thousands for empty properties that aren't empty? Because, as ever, the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing.

David Smith, legal guru and friend of the PDPLA writes on LinkedIn, "A recent decision in the Technology and Construction Court has held that an exchange of WhatsApp messages is sufficient to create a contract. This is likely to have far-reaching consequences." 

For those who missed our AGM (our 40^th anniversary AGM), all is not lost, we have everything you need to know including all of the big announcements .  

We have been talking about the forthcoming introduction of 'Making Tax Digital' for 7 or 8 years now, and sadly, for most of us it is now less than 1 year away and everyone will have to change how they operate which will add more cost to your business. Are you ready?

For landlords renting properties to student tenants, council tax responsibilities can sometimes become a point of confusion, particularly when tenants cease to be students partway through their tenancy. This article explores the key considerations landlords should keep in mind when dealing with council tax liability.  

After 25 years dominating the UK house sales and letting listing market, the writing may be on the wall for Rightmove as new AI entrants seek to shake up the marketplace.  

The valuation of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) in the UK is a nuanced process that balances local authority licensing standards, planning considerations, lender policies, and market dynamics. For investors and buyers—especially in cities like Portsmouth where housing standards and market demand intersect sharply—understanding how these forces interact is essential. 

We had a copyright issue, now resolved but the way we handle old articles has changed. We had a plan for questions@pdpla and 'recommended suppliers' but that may not work. And we had a glowing appraisal of several members. Read on for a brief explanation.  

Companies and countries have been using carbon credits to offset their  carbon usage and meet regulatory or other requirements for years. Tesla made $2.76Bn in 2024 selling credits earned by their vehicles. Until now, most have focussed on forestry to meet their carbon usage targets but a new initiative will allow property owners to use their retrofit projects to generate credits which are then sold in the offset market, potentially earning the owner several thousand pounds for nothing.

This month marks an incredible milestone: 40 years since the formation of the Portsmouth & District Private Landlords Association (PDPLA). Reflecting on the journey, members may be surprised to learn that being a landlord today is far simpler than it was back then. While we often lament the regulations introduced over the years, many have actually made letting safer for landlords—though they've undeniably made life tougher for tenants. Add to that the ban on student lets, broken meters and the infamous tenant blacklist, and it's clear how much the landscape has shifted. 

No,  not an April Fool, but a story of a landlord going against all those nasty things you hear about landlords and doing something good that benefits others....

Long term member and treasurer of the PDPLA, Malcolm Drew has organised a charity 'All Stars' football match to be played at Fratton Park on Monday May 5th to raise funds for various prostate cancer charities and to help ex-Pompey goalkeeper Alan Knight who was diagnosed with prostate cancer last October. 

Buy a ticket - even if you don't go!  (But if you do go, get a free prostate test!)

Anyone with a portfolio of HMOs across the region might reasonably expect a mandatory HMO licence renewal to be as simple and quick in Portsmouth as it is in other local authority areas, but sadly it is not.

Wendy bought her property with a tenant in situ in 2013 and has only once increased the rent and then only by £20 per month. This is not uncommon and landlords who have kept rents low for long-term tenants, often grapple with the challenge of balancing rising costs and maintaining a positive tenant relationship. If you're in this situation, here's how you can approach a rent increase.  

A member faced a daunting situation when tenants left his property in disrepair, with damages and mess far exceeding the amount covered by their deposit. The tenant's unlawful activities, which included hoarding over seven and a half tons of undelivered catalogues, added to the challenges. Faced with this predicament, the landlord turned to fellow members of the PDPLA for advice. Here's how the community offered their insights:  

Legal expert and occasional PDPLA contributor. David Smith discussed on LinkedIn the Debt Respite Scheme and how the moratorium on debt recovery applies when mental health is involved.  Knowing that many members do not have access, but that this could potentially be of interest to all, it is reproduced here...

Have your say  on the proposal to create a 'Mayoral Authority' covering Hampshire and the Isle of Wight (this is different to the parallel initiative which may create a 'Greater Portsmouth Council' encompassing Portsmouth, Gosport, Fareham, Havant & Waterlooville (& Hayling) and East Hants.

After the tribunal overturned PCC's decision to reduce a Binsteed Rd HMO from 4-beds to 3-beds and remove an inside loo to make space for 1 kitchen cupboard, we thought it only right to create a ballad to be sung by all at future PDPLA meetings. 

We have long argued that if a Local Authority (LA) wants to increase the standard of the worst rental properties, they should focus on those occupied by tenants on housing benefit or one of its equivalents.  LA's shy away from this because they struggle enough with homelessness without doing anything which would immediately make the problem worse - now the Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Raynor has said rogue landlords in England will face curbs on how much housing benefit they can receive if their properties are substandard.

At this month's Housing Cabinet meeting, PCC agreed to raise HMO licence fees by 11% starting in April, so if you have one coming up for renewal, make sure you apply in March to get the current price.

Last month we reported that Portsmouth City Council admitted over 1,000 fire safety issues in its property portfolio and major issues with it's EICR policies, see it here. We raised some of our concerns at the February 'Housing Cabinet Meeting' but were assured (or were we admonished) that our concerns were unfounded and PCC are doing a great job.

Hypothesis: We need to make cities denser if we are to meet green targets 

Portsmouth City Council have been admonished by the Social Housing Regulator for 'serious failings' after admitting over 1,000 outstanding fire safety remedial actions and not having current EICRs on over 85% of them (that is about 13,260 homes).

We reported the case of the landlord who let his property to a Rent-2-Rent operator (R2RO) on a contract that assigned all management responsibility to the R2RO, where the landlord was fined £7,500 by PCC when the R2RO was found to have overcrowded the property.See it here.

The good news is that PCC then went after the R2RO who was found guilty in court of multiple misdemeanours and sentenced accordingly. 

After our discussions about 'Making Tax Digital' at the November and January member meetings, we have some comments on what it means for us all from accountant, Sam Stapleton of SJS Advisory who was with us last month. 

In a bizarre decision at the January Planning Committee, Councillors may have bulldozed their own regulations and opened the way for HMO developments without the need for planning approval.

Carianne Wells of Applecore commented, "Anyone looking to increase their existing C4 HMO by 1 or 2 persons into Sui Generis use, has traditionally applied to the LPA (Local Planning Authority) for permission, at that point all the room size standards etc are assessed against policy. After yesterday it seems that both planning officers and committee members are in agreement for the first time that the increase is not a material change, and does not require planning." 

Obviously every house is different, but this one cost £23,000 to retrofit including solar,  batteries and heat pump, it reduced energy usage by 75% and added £90,000 to the property value even though the rooms were smaller - don't believe me, have a look.... 

 iHowz Landlord Association submit this paper with their views on the proposed Renters Right Bill

Halifax, Lloyds and Bank of Scotland will be using properties' EPC ratings when they calculate mortgage affordability, it has been announced. 

The PDPLA is a trade association – you may not think of it that way, but it is a group owned and run by its members for the benefit of its members. With that, come some challenges and responsibilities – we hope we are always doing what is best for most members but that does mean that at times some individual members may be worse off as a result. A couple of examples..  

PDPLA Vice Chair, Alwin Oliver, made a deputation at the December 2024 Full Council meeting to express our dismay at the Portsmouth Independence Party motion to publicise the addresses of the 40+ PCC owned HMOs in the city.  We need not have bothered as every other councillor was equally aghast and the motion was defeated.   That said, we are always keen to get our members perspective across and challenge anti HMO (and anti landlord) rhetoric where we find it.

Following Portsmouth City Councils decision to become an inclusive recovery city, we wrote the following letter of support which was published in The News.

(An inclusive recovery city is a community that aims to create a supportive environment for people affected by addiction.These cities work to:

• Remove barriers: Create spaces where people can access help and advice without facing barriers
• Raise awareness: Promote understanding and challenge the stigma and shame associated with addiction
• Celebrate recovery: Recognize the strength and resilience of people in recovery
• Champion multiple pathways: Support a variety of paths to addiction recovery
• Benefit the whole city: Believe that the city will grow and benefit from these efforts)