Over half of mortgage brokers say they have been approached by buy to let investors seeking to diversify their portfolios within the last six months, according to OneSavings Bank. Of those brokers who had been approached by landlords about diversifying, 56 per cent of enquiries were about diversifying into Houses with...

Small-scale landlords and those with the very largest portfolios appear to be ‘resizing’ - selling off some units to cope with the increased tax burdens on the sector. That’s the verdict of Paragon Mortgages’ latest survey of the buy to let sector, involving interviews with 203 long-standing investors. Paragon says that landlords...

The Citizens Advice consumer charity claims that 28 per cent of private tenants who have experienced problems while renting have not reported them for fear of being evicted.  The charity says that based on its experiences advising private renters, more than two in five of its staff said people “worrying about...

Belvoir has published what it calls ‘a decade of data’ tracking the changes in the private rental sector since 2008, when buy to let was booming. “Landlords were seeing 10 per cent increases in rents, which were averaging around £678 per month. The situation changed dramatically during the third quarter of...

High house prices and years without real-terms wages growth have prompted a growing number of young people to abandon the idea of ever owning their own property. Earlier this week a report by the Resolution Foundation revealed that up to a third of ‘millennials’ face living in private rented accommodation all...

There has been an improvement in the letting market, according to board company Agency Express. The number of new rental property listings increased by 13.16% during February compared to the previous month, while the volume of properties ‘let’ was up 4.8% during the same period, fresh data from the Agency Express...

Low levels of activity in the sluggish housing market are forcing many homeowners to accept offers well below asking price, making now a potentially good time for buy-to-let landlords to consider adding to their property portfolio.  The latest figures from property portal Zoopla reveal that 32% of properties on the market...

New buy-to-let regulations are making it harder for landlords to keep up to speed with complex compliance responsibilities, as the government drives to improve standards in the private rented sector, according to a new survey. There are now no fewer than 145 individual laws and more than 400 regulations to follow,...

Foundation Home Loans has launched a new five-year fixed rate deal for a limited time only, which is aimed at primarily at portfolio and non-portfolio landlords. The new buy-to-let product, called Standard Plus, offers a rate at 3.54%, fixed until 31 July 2023, up to 75% loan-to-value with a 2% arrangement...

MPs want a review of laws surrounding private rental standards, including councils having the right to confiscate buy to let properties from the worst offending landlords. The demands come in the report issued today by the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee, which over recent months has held a series...