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.

 With all the interest in the progress of the Renters Rights bill taking centre stage, it is perhaps easy to overlook the future of short term lets, where legislation is also proposed.

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." 

Across the country, we see increasing numbers of councils introducing Selective Licencing applicable to all houses & flats in a designated area. Some councils are imposing licence fees of £900 or more even for the smallest flats, such as in Havering and in North Lincolnshire. These schemes, especially those with higher fees, can be extremely heavy-handed, impacting on tenants' rights as much as on landlords' competitiveness. Some schemes lack respect for sensitivities in multi-ethnic communities, and might readily be viewed as facilitating 'gentrification' or gerrymandering at the expense of the most vulnerable in society. None of the councils in our area have introduced Selective licencing yet, but it is probably only a matter of time.  

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.  

As an association PDPLA field questions from landlords, both members and prospective members. Less often, we receive questions from members of the public. Much rarer still, an unprompted question from a local MPs office (although they do usually reply when we write to them on your behalf) and sometimes engage in response to our newsletters.

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.