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HMO Licensing Fees

Landlord Peter Gaskin has challenged House in Multiple Occupation licensing costs which were imposed on him by Richmond Council in London.  When he applied to renew his license on a shared house, the council asked for two fees.  One fee was the application fee, the other fee was a contribution to the costs of running the council's HMO licensing scheme which amounted to £1,799.  Peter Gaskin paid the processing fee but refused the additional cost and was then prosecuted for runnin...

New Rules for HMOs

New rules are being introduced later this year for Houses in Multiple Occupation - HMOs.Landlords who rent out houses to five or more tenants, from two or more separate households, must have a local authority licence, from 1st October.These new rules include minimum bedroom sizes in shared houses.  The rules also require Landlords to take responsibility for their tenant's rubbish.The Government says this to protect tenants from poor living standards in homes owned by a small number of landl...

Rent a Room Relief

If you rent a room out in your only or main residence, you can claim upto £7,500 per year tax free income, known as Rent a Room Relief. A new "shared occupancy clause" is to be introduced which specifies that the owner be resident in the property, and physically present, for at least some part of the letting period.  This new clause should ensure that the relief is returned to it's original purpose.  This was to incentivise the letting of spare rooms and to ease the housing crisis. Th...

Councils Cannot Impose Selective Licence Condtions

In a recent Court Case, involving Landlord Paul Brown, the Court of Appeal has ruled that Councils are not allowed to use selective licensing conditions to impose conditions on rented homes. Hyndburn Council tried to make landlords carry out electrical safety checks and force the installation of carbon monoxide detectors. The landlord was supported by the Residential Landlords Association and, although he carried out the Council requirements, he argued that the imposition of these conditions wen...

Are carpets, curtains and washing machines tax deductible?

Make sure you know the tax implications before you purchase items such as fridges, carpets and curtains for your rental property. The rules have been changing and this has caused some confusion for some landlords. At present you cannot reclaim the cost of these items using what was called the renewals basis because the government withdrew this allowance as of April 2013. At the moment the only relief available is the wear and tear allowance. This is 10% for a fully furnished rental property. ...

Should a Landlord do Repair Work Themselves ?

This may seem like a great idea - especially if you are good at DIY. Why not repaint that house which is coming empty yourself, calculate the cost of the work you have done, and reduce your profits accordingly. Unfortunately it doesn't work quite like that. Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs rule that a landlord can't deduct anything for the time they spend themselves working in their own rental business. They can however make a deduction for any materials which they have purchased. So before...