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Unpacking Labour’s Autumn Budget: Landlords’ Key Takeaways

Gavin Richardson, Managing Director at Mortgage Finance Brokers (MFB), runs through the key announcements from the Budget and discusses how they will impact your property investments.

On Wednesday, 30th, October 30th, Rachel Reeves delivered her first Budget Statement, the biggest tax-raising budget since 1993.

The key change that property investors will be talking about is the surprise increase to the Stamp Duty Land Tax surcharge. 

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New Grants Available For Retrofit

Starting in April 2025, HM Government's Warm Homes: Local Grant (WH:LG) scheme, overseen by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), will offer low-carbon, energy-efficient retrofits to private-rented properties of all fuel types, including both off- and on-gas properties. Under this scheme, landlords can have one rental property fully funded, while subsequent properties will require a 50% contribution, with no cap on the number of properties that may be upgraded.

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Recommended Traders List Grows

Remember that members have access to and can update our recommended traders list - so if you come across a supplier or trader who you have used and would use again, do add them to our list and if you have feedback on anyone on the list, do please share - it helps everyone ensure they get a good job at a sensible price and avoid those nightmare experiences which we all seek to avoid.

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Moving On Project - Help Needed

We have supported the Moving On Project in the past and they are asking for furniture donations to help support vulnerable people who have managed to secure a property. - read on for details

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Have Your Say On EPC's

Do EPC's help? Could they be better? What should they focus upon / how could they be improved? 

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The Impossibility of Building Decent Affordable Homes

  ..and how attempts to do this naturally increase PRS profits.

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Government Decarbonisation Schemes

Utilita have published a useful (& brief) overview of the various grant schemes currently available and who each applies to. 

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The Changing Dynamics of Capital and Labour in Property Investment

In today's evolving property market, the role of capital and labour has taken on fresh significance, particularly in the Private Rental Sector (PRS). Once viewed primarily as assets that generated passive income, properties now demand active management and increasingly high levels of service to meet tenant expectations and navigate stringent regulations. As the property sector becomes more service-oriented, the skills, labour, and technologies required to manage it are also transforming. In this article, we'll explore the changing roles of capital and labour in the property sector, the influence of PropTech, the increasing demand for eco-efficiency, and the need for a forward-looking approach among property investors.

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Venture Tower To Become Student Hall

A planning application (24/01089) has been submitted to convert Venture Tower to a 97 room student hall.   We see this as a speculative application as Savills seek a buyer for the derelict property.

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PDPLA Landlord Insurance

There have been a couple of questions from members this month about our relationship with Alan Boswell Insurance Brokers – how much is the discount, why should we use, etc.The short answer is because the PDPLA depends on you doing so and, if you don't, we will need to charge membership fees but for the full detail, read on…  

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UK Renters’ Rights Bill: The Day The World Changed

Labour promised change - and the proposed Renters Rights bill will certainly change the private rental sector.

In 1989, the 'Buy to Let' market was created with the introduction of the AST (Assured Shorthold Tenancy) which gave mortgage companies the confidence to lend as possession could be easily regained and properties valued and sold empty. This was driven by the need to create a private rental sector to balance the falling investment in social housing alongside loss of stock.

The 2025 Renters, Rights Bill will have a similar and equally drastic impact as it seeks to swing the balance back toward the pre-1989 era where a rented property was a tenant's home for as long as the tenant wanted it to be. As a landlord, you will have to adapt or, if you choose not to – you need to sell before the Bill becomes law next summer.

Sarah Goodwin, property professional and PDPLA committee member has been through the small print of the bill and explains what it all means… 

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The Impact of the Renters’ Rights Bill on the Student Rental Market: Challenges and Potential Solutions

Given that the University of Portsmouth is almost wholly reliant on the local private rental sector for student accommodation in years 2 and beyond and knowing that Scots Universities were turning people away last year due to lack of accommodation after rental regulation changes, the introduction of the Renters' Rights Bill in the UK has sparked concerns, particularly for student landlords. This is highlighted in the discussion between 2 landlords and 2 letting agents summarised here. Their dialogue reflects the uncertainty and potential disruption that the bill might bring to the student housing market, especially concerning the removal of Section 21, Ground 4A provisions, and issues around fixed-term tenancies. This article examines several of these issues and proposes potential solutions to address them, focusing on how the bill might affect landlords and students in the private rented sector (PRS).

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5 Legal Implications from the Renters’ Rights Bill

 Labour plans to better protect tenants with its new Renters' Rights Bill, which includes key provisions like abolishing Section 21 evictions and extending the Decent Homes Standard to the PRS. A summary from Jeni at MFB..

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Is HHSRS Fit For Purpose?

We do love an abbreviation in the property world don't we, the most common ones I see on Socials are BRR, ROI, BMV and so on. Cool if you know what they mean, right? But what is the HHSRS? It's something I very rarely see mentioned on socials yet if you own or manage a licensable House in Multiple Occupation (that's an HMO of course), it is highly likely that the HMO has been subject to an HHSRS inspection at some point (or will be), and it's really important that anyone letting ANY type of property in the UK and Wales is aware of the 'system' and its purpose.

 

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Landlords Call For Plan For Existing Housing

In our response to the Portsmouth Local Plan, we highlighted the lack of a strategy to bring existing housing stock up to current standards and the high rents locally which can be attributed to local policies. We also worried that the support for co-living at the expense of HMOs was at best misguided and at worst, would have even more damaging effects on local rent levels. 

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