Wednesday September 4, 2019

The law of unintended consequences has long been familiar to economists and is rapidly becoming a fixture here in the private rental sector. Well meaning legislation where the intent is wholly good, but somebody really hasn’t thought it through. The most obvious example was the scrapping of letting agency fees, greeted with glee by tenants […]

Tuesday August 6, 2019

Another month picking my way carefully through the forest of legislation that has sprung up around the rental property sector. The latest wheeze from the Powers that Be was to introduce new legislation that effects all our contracts and many of our systems, then to release prescribed documents at one minute to midnight the day […]

Saturday July 6, 2019

Anyone following the property letting sector will be well aware that the first half of this year was pretty dreadful. Well-meaning but flawed legislation and a raft of new red tape means one in four landlords plans to sell up this year and letting agencies are also faring badly. Many large agencies are closing branches […]

Saturday June 1, 2019

Half way through 2019 and it seems every month I rail against tenant protection legislation that turns out badly when put into practice. Cynics in the lettings sector suggest this is a cunning plot to free up rental properties for the hard-pressed first-time buyer. But a three-storey mid terrace in Heaton is beyond the means […]

Tuesday May 7, 2019

In 1959, American academic William Foster-Harris postulated that there are three plots for a novel or movie. ‘Happy Ending’, ‘Unhappy Ending’ and ‘Tragedy’. In 1977 Meatloaf reached number 32 in the UK charts with ‘Two out of three ain’t bad’. Which, in the private rental sector is what Governments have achieved so far. I look […]