News

Rental prices continued to rise in August, albeit marginally, new figures show.
The average rent agreed on a new tenancy signed last month was £947 per calendar month (pcm), up from £937 a month earlier, the data from the insurance firm reveals.
Rents increased in August by an average of 0.9%......

The UK rental market is in recession for the first time since the global financial crisis, according to The Deposit Protection Service (The DPS).
The latest figures from The DPS Rent Index reveal that during the second quarter of 2018, average monthly UK rent decreased for a second consecutive quarter......

A high number of private tenants do not know how to claim their deposit back, a new survey has revealed.
Research by SafeDeposits Scotland found that 36.4% of tenants do not know how to claim their deposit back after moving out of privately rented accommodation, with more than half -......

Citylets has adopted blockchain technology to help track and store rental data in Scotland.  
The Scottish property rental portal has teamed up with blockchain technology specialists Wallet.Services to offer what is thought to be the first blockchain-enabled private rented sector (PRS) database.
Letting agents and local authorities north of the......

Retired homeowners have gained £9,744 each on average in property wealth over the past 12 month despite uncertainty in the property market, analysis from over-55s financial specialist Key Retirement reveals.
New data from the independent equity release advisor shows that the average retired homeowner gained £812 a month as pensioner property......

There has been a significant increase in the number of landlords and letting agents joining Scotland’s largest membership organisation for landlords.
The Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL) said membership numbers have increased by almost 20% in the last 12 months among private landlords, letting agents and businesses, with the organisation......

Landlords and tenants across Scotland will be consulted over plans to impose rent restrictions north of the border.
Scottish Labour wants to introduce new legislation linking rents to average wages, with tenants given the power to challenge unfair charges.
Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard has made no secret of his desire......

There was a drop in the number of properties ‘let’ last month, while there was also a decline in the number of new rental property listings ‘to let’, as slowing momentum and stagnant demand from tenants results in a relatively flat summer for the market, according to the latest......

Buy-to-let landlords are leaving the private rented sector north of the border in their droves as a direct result of Scottish rental reforms.
 
Fresh findings from the National Landlords Association (NLA) reveal that almost a quarter - 24% - of landlords with property in Scotland have sold over the last......

The proportion of let properties in the UK that are owned by overseas landlords has dropped dramatically, according to new figures.
The proportion of homes let by an international landlord in Great Britain has halved from 13% in the first half of 2010 to 6% in H1 2018, according to......

Rental prices in Greater London have surpassed the £1,600 per calendar month (pcm) mark for the very first time, according to the latest HomeLet Rental Index.
The data shows that rents in the capital have increased by an average of 3.3% year-on-year to hit an average of £1,615pcm.
The latest rise in......

A Lanarkshire-based letting firm has been told to stump up almost £1,000 in compensation to a disgruntled landlord after breaching the recently-introduced code of practice for letting agents in Scotland.
The new First Tier Tribunal for Scotland upheld the complaint by Greg Hanley and ordered Location to pay the compensation......

Buy-to-let has recently taken a bit of a bashing with some landlords forced to exit the market as profits drop amid a tax squeeze - but it is still possible to make a healthy return from the PRS. 
Landbay has identified the top 10 best performing local authorities for rental......

Rental prices in Scotland continued to edge upwards in the second quarter of the year, the latest figures reveal.
The Scottish national average increased to a record high of £799 per month, up a modest 1.3% year-on-year, amid high demand for rental accommodation, especially larger properties, as reflected by a......

Glasgow or Edinburgh? Glasgow is a lot like Edinburgh, only more affordable. Obviously don’t make that comment if you’re actually talking to a Glaswegian since there is a heady rivalry between the two cities, but from an investment perspective, there’s a lot of truth in it. There are also......

3mc has joined forces with Paragon Bank to launch some new exclusive portfolio buy-to-let products.
The products, which increase the maximum available loan size at 75% loan-to-value to £750,000, which is £250,000 more than the existing maximum loan size on the Paragon Bank’s core range, are available to limited companies......

Plans to introduce new tougher electrical safety standards in the private rented sector aimed at protecting tenants by reducing the risk of fires caused by electrical faults has been warmly welcomed by Electrical Safety First
The government wants to introduce regular electrical checks in the sector, following recommendations made by......

Students may work hard, but many also party hard, which is largely why they have a reputation for being bad tenants.
Binge-drinking students are not renowned for being the most house proud but, for the first time, it has been revealed which Scottish universities have the most responsible student tenants,......

Paragon has expanded its buy-to-let mortgage offering in Scotland to include products for portfolio landlords.
The new mortgage range is designed for landlords with at least four mortgaged properties, as well as those operating in limited companies and limited liability partnerships.
The portfolio range can be used to finance single self-contained units,......

Property investment is not a quick fix, but rather a long-term financial solution to building wealth, as any good buy-to-let landlord will know.
While rental yields are important to some landlords, others are more focused on capital growth in order to build wealth, particularly those investing in property in London and......