A mouldy and damp house in South Derbyshire was deemed “grossly unfit for human habitation” after children were forced to flush a broken toilet with a bucket of water. A single mother and her two children were living in the house since 2012. Southern Derbyshire Magistrates’ Court heard the property had no hot water, the toilet
The Ministry of Justice have released the 2019 Q2 report on mortgage and landlord possession claims. The report found that there has been an overall decrease in landlord possessions. The highest rate of landlord possession claims was found to be in London with the most seen in Newham. The majority of claims, 58% in total,
Lending to first time buyers is up in the first quarter of 2019, according to figures from UK Finance. In Scotland there were 6,760 new first-time buyer mortgages completed in Scotland, a 4.5% increase from the same quarter last year. Furthermore, there were 6,620 new home mover mortgages, an increase of 6.6%. The figures also
A letting agency has been accused of illegally evicting tenants and taking their belongings. According to the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme, three tenants, who rented rooms through Flintons, said they arrived home to find locks had been changed and rooms emptied. Some said their possessions had not yet been returned. Others said their belongings were
A woman has been awarded compensation after her landlord was taken to court. Andrew Watson, from Chapeltown, was fined £6,500 and ordered to pay victim compensation of £1,000 after he repeatedly ignored legal notices served by Leeds City Council regarding the condition of a house he was renting out in Chapeltown. A council officer likened
A landlady has been fined £24,000 after lying to her tenants and the local authorities. Diana Thompson was prosecuted by Brent Council and prosecuted for failure to licence a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) and failure to comply with fire safety regulations. Thompson convinced tenants living in her unlicensed, detached two-storey HMO property that she
A tenant caused over £7,000 worth of damage to a property before leaving the premises whilst still owing 11 months of rent. Landlord Michael Walker claimed his three-bedroom property was left in devastating condition with every room vandalised. Mould was found all over the ceiling, dirty dishes were piled on the kitchen counter and the living
Latest statistics from the UK House Price Index show properties in February had an average cost of £145,762 – a drop of 0.2% on the same month in 2018. This is the first annual decrease in Scotland since March 2016. House prices also fell by 3.1% between January and February this year. Janet Egdell, Registers of
No-fault evictions are now to be banned in England. This ruling means private landlords will no longer be able to evict tenants at short notice without good reason. The government says the new plans are in place to protect renters from “unethical” landlords and give them more long-term security. First Minister Mark Drakeford has
New research reveals the number of last-time buyers in the housing market has increased. The research found that one in three home moves are now made by last-time buyers aged 55 and over. The study from the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (IMLA) shows that the numbers have almost doubled in the last decade and many