One of our members used our 'questions@' service to seek advice on insuring his leasehold flat in case, for example, there was a leak in the flat above.Read on to see the advice given by Steve Cox of insurers Boswells... 

So, you need a new boiler. It is a choice between £2-4k to replace the gas one or £4-8k for the much greener air source heat pump that you know will be your only option in 10 years time, but which looks too expensive now. Well – with RHI it is typically cheaper…  

This month we had the Solent Retrofit conference, a revealing report from the MCS organisation, the death of the Green Homes Grant Scheme and early warning that the days of EPC's may be numbered too – what is going on and how do you keep up? 

If you drive any vehicle with an internal combustion engine, whether it be petrol, diesel or one of those hybrids that pretends to be green but still hides an ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) under the bonnet - you really need to watch this... 

 It continues to amaze us when we see the vast gulf in the treatment of landlords between local authorities – where 13 sq m is enough in Southampton, expect to be asked for 25 sq m in Portsmouth. Leave rubbish out in Portsmouth get a £10,000 fine, want to be a rogue – go to Havant.

Normally our April issue contains an article that is perfectly credible but untrue. Our April Fool tradition goes back to at least 2010. However, as the last year has been unbelievable, it should come as no surprise that this 'April Fool' substitute is the reverse – it is totally incredible but true. Here it is: Anyone can create an HMO anywhere without worrying about planning permission, property standards, facilities or the need for a licence. 

 After the sad case of a landlord in Gosport who lost a great deal of money, we have asked local MP's to help us get the Universal Credit process improved.

PCC have a duty to operate a scheme to licence any property which is used as an HMO for 5 or more people, but they continue to add unnecessary and unrealistic requirements without any apparent justification, review, consultation or approval. Yes, this time we are talking about fire alarms AGAIN but that is not the only issue.

In 1989, inflation was running at 8-10% and was a concern to governments but it was not something central banks were interested in. Then the New Zealand government set an inflation target for its central bank, much to the horror of unions and businesses who feared it would kill jobs, and within 2 years inflation was down to 2%. The rest of the world soon followed. Now with New Zealand house prices rising at 19% last year, are they about to do the same for house prices? 

At our January meeting, Jonathan McDermott of TPX told us of the updates to permitted development which would, in the example I gave then, allow a property owner to add 2 storeys in the middle of a block however daft and incongruous it may look. My example was the block in Arundel Street, Portsmouth which had one 'mid-terrace' shop/office available which would have met the criteria. That one has not come to planning yet but just across the road, the site of the old U Need Us shop is to get the same treatment, with a conversion to residential and 2 stories added – we will watch with interest to...