Homesafe London Lettings

10/09/2024

The decline of office space

A new survey shows office landlords are looking at converting spaces from traditional office spaces, to flexible co-working spaces or hospitality and retail. Within the survey, a quarter of the landlords questioned have already converted traditional office space, and 1 in 5 are planning to do so in....

01/09/2024

Rent costs versus take home salary

The theory of how you should allocate your earnings is the golden rule of 50/30/20 which is based on the principle that you should allocate your take home pay to 50% for needs, 30% for wants and 20% for savings and additional debt payments. Of that 50%, 30 of it is towards rent and the

20/08/2024

Grants for Waltham Forest Council from Government Levelling Up Fund

At the beginning of 2023, Waltham Forest Council announced they were successful in their bid for 2 grants from the governments Levelling Up Fund. The funds will bring changes to Leyton Station, Walthamstow Town Centre, Chingford Mount and Highams Park. This means Waltham Forest are set to receive th...

09/08/2024

DLR Upgrades – great news if you live around Thamesmead

Dockland Light Railways (DLR) have finally published the public consultation on the proposed extension to Thamesmead in the South East of London. Built in the late 1960’s as one of the “towns of tomorrow” Thamesmead has suffered because of the lack of good public transport, and that looks abou...

01/08/2024

Renters Rights Bill

The new UK Labour government has released more information on their Renters Rights Bill, which is expected to be introduced to Parliament later this year. The change of title from the Conservatives “Renters Reform Bill” contains most of the same aims, but still no detail. During the King’s Spe...

20/07/2024

You be the Judge!

I am sure that you have been in a situation where you have heard the sentence for an offence and wondered how on earth the judge or magistrate came to that conclusion. Well now you have the chance to put yourself in the judge’s or magistrates’ seat and make decisions on real life cases. “You b...

10/07/2024

High Rise Blocks of Flats

While we are waiting for the new government to organise themselves and announce their housing priorities, new rules have arrived for buildings classed as high-rise blocks of flats. The definition of high rise is 18 metres or over, or 7+ storeys. On 14th June 2017 the 24-storey Grenfell Tower block o...

01/07/2024

Energy Performance Certificate

EPC’s otherwise known as Energy Performance Certificates are under scrutiny at the moment due to their inaccurate and expensive advice, leaving homeowners to ponder remedial works which could take decades to recoup the investment. EPC’s were first introduced in 2003, as a European Union directiv...

20/06/2024

Buy-to-Let in the UK

A recent statistic report states that just over 50% of adults in the UK own a property. The UK has a population of around 68 million, made up of 13 million children (those aged under 16 years). There are 42 million in the working age group (those aged 16 to 64 years) and 12.4 million

10/06/2024

Public loos – what is your verdict?

One of the government’s latest soap box stances is to make sure that there are separate male and female toilets in new builds, which are classed as non-domestic or public buildings. Over the last 10 years non designated toilets have become more common. Most people do not think about physical or me...

01/06/2024

UK House Prices

Statistics have been released regarding UK house prices which shows how they change at different rates throughout the regions at different times of the year. The UK House Price Index shows that throughout the UK prices increased by an average 1.8% for the year leading up to March 2024. According to....

20/05/2024

Is your cat microchipped?

10th June 2024 is the date that all UK cat owners are required to get their cats microchipped or face a £500 fine. Microchips will be required before kittens are 20 weeks old. As microchips are issued with a unique number, this needs to be registered on one of the 20 government standard databases. ...

10/05/2024

Fires in homes caused by hidden battery threat

Most of us are guilty of putting our phone or tablet onto charge overnight but most of us do not realise it can be a fire hazard. A recent survey from a UK Insurance company showed that common practices in the home can cause fatal consequences. We are talking lithium-ion batteries. These are found i...

01/05/2024

Tax exemption for “Rent a Room Scheme“

Since 1992 the UK has had a Rent a Room scheme which allows owners (or leaseholders with permission) to let out a furnished room in their own home. The tax year 2024 has a limit of earning £7,500 per person per year before it becomes eligible for tax purposes. This limit halves if the income

20/04/2024

Tall buildings

A recent article about the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur had me wondering what and where the tallest structures are in the world and when they were built. Out of the top 20 tallest in the world, 17 out of the 20 are located in Asia and 10 of those are in mainland China. Asia according

10/04/2024

Update on Renters Reform Bill

The government, who are on Easter recess at the moment until April 15, have mentioned their intent to bring the Renters Reform Bill back to the House of Commons as soon as parliament reconvenes. As of today’s date I cannot find any mention of the debate in the parliamentary calendar, although the ...

01/04/2024

Buying a house? How about a Shariah compliant mortgage?

The route to buying your own home is probably the biggest investment you will ever make. For the majority of us, using a comparison website or talking to our existing bank is the way forward when securing a mortgage. When looking for a mortgage most people consider the price; legal ramifications and...

20/03/2024

A Mighty Building!

We have all heard of 3D printed items in this technologically advancing world of ours, but a 3D printed building is something new. In Oakland, a city on the east side of San Francisco Bay, the company “Mighty Buildings” have created the world’s first zero net 3D printed community. Advertised a...

10/03/2024

Which UK mortgage lender is rated the best?
https://www.homesafelondonlettings.com/2024/03/which-uk-mortgage-lender-is-rated-the-best/

01/03/2024

Is your house too well insulted?

Conflicting warnings are appearing in the press asking people to be aware that well insulated homes may be at risk of condensation, mould and in extreme cases structural problems. Other articles are also appearing, stating that not having enough insulation is the cause for some children to have more...

20/02/2024

Protections to communities from short term rentals.

Yesterday, the government issued a press release entitled “Short-term lets rules to protect communities and keep homes available”. This is a notice of the government's intention to make changes in the planning regulations. The underlying principle is to protect local residents ability to stay in...

10/02/2024

Prolonged court delays for landlords as justice system in crisis

A year on from the announcement that inefficiencies within the court system would be tackled before the abolition of Section 21, the justice system is in an even worse situation. The excessive delay in regaining possessions, has increased over the last year, and even once the necessary steps have be...

01/02/2024

Do you pay the congestion charge?

In 2003 the Congestion Charge was introduced to London by the then Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, and the cost was £5 per day. Other cities around the world soon followed suit including Gothenburg; Stockholm; Singapore and Auckland. The cost today in London has doubled to £10.50 per day, and th...

20/01/2024

Fed up of the rain and cold? France could be your new home

Time for some sun? Next weekend (27 & 28 January) sees the French Property exhibition being held at The Champagne Suite of the Novotel London West in Hammersmith W6. Organised by the publisher of French Property News and lasting 2 days from 10am to 5pm, this exhibition contains everything you would....

10/01/2024

Transport in and around London

With the New year starting off with tube strikes, which caused problems for commuters earlier in the month, public transport for the rest of the year has a wide spectrum of things to look forward to and avoid in equal measure. March will see the price of journeys increase by an estimated 4% - this i...

31/12/2023

New Years Day in London

If you are at a loose end on January 1st, London has lots to offer you……… The London New Year’s Day parade commences at midday. The route starts from Piccadilly and runs through Regents Street, Pall Mall, Trafalgar Square and ends in Whitehall. First started in 1987 the parade has grown in p...

20/12/2023

Large scale 3D printed buildings have arrived in Europe

The largest 3D-printed building in Europe (600m2) is being constructed in Heidelberg, a town in the southwest of Germany; it is 11m wide x 55m long and 9m high (36ft x 180ft x 29ft in old money) and the construction was overseen by just 2 people. Heidelberg iT Management have stated that this will b...

10/12/2023

The argument over estate regeneration

Over the last 15 years, estates, well known for social housing areas, have been torn down in the name of regeneration. Thousands of people were dislodged from their homes and relocated to other areas, and even other counties in England. The new homes that are built in place of these estates are ofte...

01/12/2023

The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill

On Tuesday 28th November the government introduced reforms to the leasehold and freehold laws. These are meant to benefit leaseholders when they need to increase the extension to leases, and reduce the costs of the legal fees for such changes. The changes include altering the standard lease extensio...

20/11/2023

How new homes are planned

The second part of the governments new homes fact sheets explains how new homes are planned. There is a national policy and legal responsibilities of local planning authorities, which relate to the planning of new homes in their specific area. This is based on the needs of that community which inclu...