NEWS AND MEDIA

Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) assessment changes have been much talked about recently, with large-scale changes planned by government which mean landlords may wish to have their properties re-evaluated.

The UK property investment landscape is undergoing a significant transformation, the Renters Rights Bill remains top of mind, creating a growing need for agility amongst professional landlords and property investors to navigate market changes.

Whilst parts of the Renters Rights Bill may not be implemented until next year, there’s been much debate about the changes the Bill will enforce and even more so following its clearance from the committee stage in the House of Lords in April.

Recently, I was asked by leading land and property data experts, Landmark Information Group, to contribute my views towards their report on property sector sustainability: Reflections and Predictions for Sustainability in the Property Sector in 2025.

It’s a story most people are brought up with, and one which becomes imprinted in people’s hopes and dreams as they tread towards homeownership; ‘you should put your money into bricks and mortar’ is a story often told, reinforced by the horror stories we’ve all heard, of ‘bad landlords’ serving good tenants.

In the summer of 2024, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Ed Miliband announced new interest in Energy Performance Certificates (often referred to as EPCs), stating that landlords would need their properties to meet a minimum EPC rating of C by 2030.

You’ll surely have come across them in one place or another. Broker support badged as ‘education sessions’ or ‘masterclasses’ is something I roll my eyes at each time I see it - I can’t be alone!

The tax landscape for UK landlords is complex and ever-changing. As such, understanding and planning for tax implications for a property portfolio could mean the difference between a profitable investment and one that underperforms due to unexpected costs.

At the moment, newsfeeds are filled with reference to the Renters Reform Bill, including how it’s beginning to reshape the rental market for landlords and tenants, and making now a good opportunity to understand more about changing relationships between landlords and tenants.

As part of our continued mission to foster a more sustainable and thriving private rented sector (PRS), we at OSB Group have embarked on a journey to deepen our understanding of tenants' needs, behaviours, and aspirations.

On Wednesday, 20 November, members of the Landlord Leaders Community gathered to explore a question deeply rooted in the British psyche: Why do we aspire to own our homes? The event highlighted findings from new Bricks to Belonging psychological research commissioned by OSB Group, uncovering the motivations behind the nation’s homeownership dreams and the implications for the private rented sector (PRS).

The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, delivered her first budget of the new Labour Government with a number of measures that directly affects landlords. Whilst we await the full Budget Report there were a number of headline announcements. Here, we provide a summary of these and our view on the impact on landlords.

The size and role of the private rented sector (PRS) has increased exponentially over the past 30 years; there are currently 11m private renters and 2.3m landlords in England alone. In September 2024, the new Labour government announced the introduction of the new Renters’ Rights Bill into Parliament, aimed at reforming the private rented sector and strengthening renters' rights.

The nation finds itself at a critical moment, with signs of change ushered in by a newly elected government. This moment brims with promise, yet it also calls for swift action to resolve the policy uncertainties that loom over the private rented sector.

Landlords play a vital role in society, providing homes for almost 20% of the UK’s households – more than the social rented sector. And we all know that the heady combination of a punitive tax regime, tightening regulation and higher interest rates have made running a buy-to-let business more challenging than ever in recent years.

Despite the often negative headlines, landlords are doing it for themselves - and their tenants - with new research from Pegasus showing landlords are making more and investing more in 2024.

Leadership, energy, engagement, and connection are what is needed in Private Rented Sector (PRS) political leadership, according to our latest community event.

Home is where the heart is for tenants, with 78% of renters saying the property they let feels like home. Yet despite seeming rental satisfaction, the Private Rented Sector (PRS) is often spoken about in a negative vein - but why?

In May, 35 members of the Landlord Leaders Community met at the Covent Garden Hotel, London, to look back on the past decade of policy in relation to the PRS and hear from policy influencers on what they want to see in the next political era.

The 2024 Spring Budget on 6 March held some major changes that will affect all landlords in general and owners of Furnished Holiday Lets in particular. We asked Pavandeep Mandir of UK Landlord Tax what the budget means for landlords.

If we’re known by the company that we keep, then I couldn’t be prouder to be part of the Landlord Leaders Community. Our Spring LLC event focussed on what’s next for the Private Rented Sector.

With the changing shape of the private rented sector in mind, OSB Group revisited its Landlord Leaders research for 2024, one year on, with a view to understand the changing views of landlords as well as the actions they intend to take for the benefit of the PRS as well as the tenants they house.

Last week, OSB Group distributed a press release driven by research and sharing information about how landlords are taking action to invest for the long term.

In a housing landscape marked by uncertainty and change, OSB Group reveals that landlords are taking action and continuing to invest in the future of the Private Rented Sector (PRS) and the tenants they serve.

Tenants value location, flexibility and direct landlord relationships according to new research launched today from specialist lending bank OSB Group.

The founding members of the Landlord Leaders community, convened by OSB Group, has today launched its mission statement outlining its aims to drive positive change for a sustainable and thriving Private Rented Sector.

While the Government consults on the private rented sector’s decarbonisation, many landlords, 68% according to our own Landlord Leaders research last year, are already acting - or getting ready to act - to get ahead of legislation,

Recent headlines have declared the demise of the ‘dinner party landlord’. This has always struck me as a strange term, though not as odd as the ‘accidental landlord’, referring either to a person who has inherited a property

Investing in buy to let property is not for those looking to make a fast buck. Most buy to let landlords these days view their investment as a project with potential to generate both income and capital gains, but over the long term.

I can’t remember the last time there was an official Budget delivered that contained good news for buy to let landlords, and this year’s was no exception.

Leading specialist lender OSB Group is today announcing a package of targeted measures to support buy-to-let landlords seeking to improve the sustainability of their investment properties.

Once the Christmas carols have faded away, the mood music in the UK mortgage market is likely to be pretty subdued. Business levels in 2023 will certainly be lower than this year,

Let’s face it, there will be some hard yards to cover in 2023. The cost of living challenges and higher interest rates mean a contraction in the total size of the mortgage market is probable,

The founding members of the Landlord Leaders community, convened by OSB Group, has today launched its mission statement outlining its aims to drive positive change for a sustainable and thriving Private Rented Sector.

Private landlords play a key role in the UK, providing homes for around 20% of all households, many of which are financed by a buy-to-let mortgage.

If you’ve opened a fuel bill, filled up your car or listened to the news recently, you’ll be only too aware of the energy cost crisis gripping the nation.

As a broker, what might you find if you looked inside the mind of one of your buy to let landlord clients? Concern about rising interest rates and tenant affordability?