Hot on the tails of Keir Starmer's controversial assertion that landlords aren't "working people", as it's passive income, like income from shares, Suzanne Smith and Richard Jackson discuss objectively the extent to whether income from residential rental properties can be considered "passive". Stepping back from the political debate, they examine "passive income" means, and contrast it to what landlords need to do to earn money from their rental properties. Although property "gurus"...

This week, Suzanne Smith and Richard Jackson talk about a subject that causes a mixture of angst and even anger among landlords, and that's EPCs, or Energy Performance Certificates. EPCs are very important for landlords, as the government announced in September that they'll be consulting on proposals for private and social rented houses in England to achieve EPC rating C by 2030. They start with a recap on what EPCs are and the current minimum EPC for private landlords, before...

How can landlords intervene to break the cycle of damp and mould in their rental properties? No-one likes living in a property with black mould, and the death of toddler Awaab Ishak in 2020 after developing breathing problems because of the black mould in the flat his parents rented from a housing association show just how important it is for landlords to take damp and mould seriously.  There's often more than one cause of black mould, and it's important for landlords to get to...

Following the publication of the Renters' Rights Bill a little under a month ago, and in honour of the Second Reading of the Bill in the House of Commons today, Suzanne Smith and Richard Jackson answer some of the many questions they've received from listeners of Good Landlording about different aspects of the Bill. The episode is full of practical advice, and explains the areas where things aren't yet clear. On that note, it's of course course subject to the usual disclaimer that the...

Good tenants are precious, and landlords should do all they can (within reason!) to keep them happy and encourage them to stay. In this episode of Good Landlording, Suzanne Smith and Richard Jackson talk about how to keep tenants happy. Starting off on the right foot even at the viewing stage, so it creates a positive impression for new tenants, and keeping them happy once they've moved in. They borrow some ideas from the management of employees, and apply them to the...

The Renters' Rights Bill makes significant changes to the rules about rent for landlords and tenants in England. In this podcast episode, Richard Jackson and Suzanne Smith discuss the proposed restrictions on landlords when accepting offers from tenants, the new process that landlords will need to follow to increase rents, the new powerful rights for tenants to challenge and delay even reasonable rent increases, and what's happening with advance lump sum rent payments. They...

In this week's episode, Suzanne Smith and Richard Jackson discuss the practicalities of what will happen when the Renters' Rights Bill will abolish Section 21 "no fault" evictions for landlords in England. They cover: what is Section 21, how Section 8 will replace Section 21, the key new and changed grounds for possession, when it's going to come into effect, and what landlords will need to do to adapt to the new regime. They also share their reflections on this new Bill. As...

Suzanne Smith and Richard Jackson discuss their first impressions of Labour's new Renters' Rights Bill in this special episode of Good Landlording, shortly after Bill was published. They go through the big ticket items in the new Bill, how it compares to the old Renters (Reform) Bill, and what landlords should do to prepare for the new Bill. They'll be discussing the Renters' Rights Bill in more detail in the coming weeks and months, but this episode provides a useful overview...

Almost 40% of the properties in the PRS in England are leasehold, so the chances are that if you're a private landlord listening to this podcast, you'll have at least one leasehold property in your portfolio.  If you do own a flat in England or Wales, or are thinking of buying one, you need to listen to this episode of the Good Landlording podcast. This is because the government plans to "take steps to bring the feudal leasehold system to an end", by "reinvigorating commonhold...

In this summer special episode of Good Landlording, Richard Jackson and Suzanne Smith pick the brain of Wendy Whittaker-Large about what makes a successful, systemised HMO business. The episode a fantastic source of information for anyone who has HMOs, is thinking of converting a property into an HMO or is just "HMO-curious". Wendy gives an insider's view of how to make HMOs a success, and build an efficient systemised HMO business. >> Ask a question: Click...

In the third of four summer special episodes, Richard Jackson and Suzanne Smith speak to Lisa Brown, nurse turned property developer, who explains how landlords can make a success of leasing their properties to providers of supported living housing. In this episode, Lisa explains what supported living is, how it works, what type of properties are suitable, adaptations, choosing a provider and the advantages and risks for the landlord. You can also connect with Lisa...

In the second of four summer special episodes, Richard Jackson and Suzanne Smith speak to Bushra Mohammed, who guides us through how to buy and sell properties successfully at auction. Not only is Bushra a property solicitor with particular expertise advising clients who buy and sell at auction, but she is also a property developer and landlord. This enables her to understand the perspective of property investors, and what the key issues are to look out for. Suzanne first met...

For our first summer special episode of Good Landlording, Richard Jackson and Suzanne Smith pick the brain of landlord and interior designer, Charlotte Richardson, about how good interior design can benefit both landlords and renters alike. As always, it's a practical episode, with lots of actionable tips to help landlords use interior design to help them attract and keep good tenants. >> Ask a question: Click here for question form What we cover in...

This episode of Good Landlording is the rental market update for mid-2024, and has the latest Q2 data for rent in England in the 12 months to June 2024. Richard and Suzanne also discuss inflation, the likely impact of population growth on demand, and prospects for future growth. As well as referring to data from ONS and Rightmove, they also talk about the findings in recent reports by Paragon Bank's Next Generation Landlord Report 2024 and Savills' UK Build to Rent Market...

This episode is on the hot and controversial topic of tenants' rights to have pets in rental properties, which is on the horizon again with Labour's new Renters' Rights Bill. Richard Jackson and Suzanne Smith discuss what this right to request a pet is likely to look like, specific examples of when it might be reasonable to refuse for both single lets and HMOs, flats and houses. They also coverthe steps that landlords can take to reduce the risk of damage and being left out of pocket...

In this episode of Good Landlording, Suzanne Smith and Richard Jackson discuss what the King's Speech said today about the contents of the new Renters' Rights Bill, which will apply to the private rented sector in England. The discussion includes the key provisions, the extent to which it differs from the Renters Reform Bill, what doesn't appear to be in the Renters' Rights Bill and the situation with EPCs. >> Ask a question: Click here for question form...

Now that the new Prime Minister has appointed his front bench team and made clear his priorities, Richard Jackson and Suzanne Smith discuss what the Labour government has in store for landlords in England in the 16th episode of Good Landlording. They include answers to lots of questions from listeners, and go through what we know about leasehold reform, energy efficiency and leasehold reform. They also discuss Labour's plans to build 1.5 million homes in the next five...

In this episode of Good Landlording recorded in the week of the General Election on 4 July 2024, Richard Jackson and Suzanne Smith discuss whether buy to let properties in England are still good investments in 2024. They analyse what make buy to lets so popular, what has changed, and what makes a successful buy to let in 2024. After going through the pros and cons of other investment strategies, they close with reasons to be positive about the future of the private rented sector....

For this special election episode of Good Landlording, Richard Jackson and Suzanne Smith pick apart the pledges that the political parties make in their general election manifestos for leasehold reform in England and Wales. (This episode does not apply to Scotland or Northern Ireland, where the law is different). This episode is useful for all leaseholders, not just landlords who own leasehold flats and houses. Suzanne and Richard explain what ground rent is, why it's become...

What might a new government have in store for landlords in England? In this week's episode of Good Landlording, Richard Jackson and Suzanne Smith discuss what the 2024 election manifestos actually say about landlords, rental reform and energy efficiency. As with everything on this podcast, our analysis is practical, measured and objective, to help landlords understand what a new government may bring. In this episode, we look at each of the key policies that matter to landlords,...

In this episode of Good Landlording, Richard Jackson and Suzanne Smith share lots of practical tips to help landlords manage their buy to lets successfully themselves, without using letting agents. Richard and Suzanne are both very well qualified to talk about this subject. Suzanne has always self-managed her properties, even with her first as an accidental landlord, and Richard self manages many of his properties. They discuss what self-managing involves, whether landlords need...

This week's episode of Good Landlording discusses one of the first questions that landlords ask themselves when they're looking for a buy to let: should they buy a flat or a house? Richard and Suzanne go through the pros and cons of both flats and houses, drawing on their own experiences as landlords, with Suzanne only now investing in houses, and Richard having only ever bought flats as rental investments.  Suzanne explains the difference between "leasehold" and "freehold",...

With the fall of the Renters Reform Bill, and the upcoming general election, Richard Jackson and Suzanne Smith pick the brain of leading solicitor David Smith from JMW to explore what the election is likely to mean for landlords in England. In this episode we discuss what happens to the Renters Reform Bill now, and analyse what a new Labour or Conservative government might bring for landlords. We step away from the hyperbole and catastrophising, and take an objective look at what we...

In this week's episode of Good Landlording, we discuss one of the most difficult aspects of our jobs as landlords, and that's handling rent arrears. Rent arrears are challenging, even if landlords use an agent. The essence of the agreement between a landlord and a tenant is that the landlord provides a well maintained and legally compliant property to live in. In return, the tenant pays rent. If tenants don't pay the rent when it's due, they are in what's called rent...