Companies House has new and enhanced powers under The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCT Act) designed to help tackle economic crime and improve the quality and reliability of its data. Some measures came into effect earlier this month and landlords with limited companies should be aware of the new rules and requirements that may affect them in the coming months. 

The changes that came in on 4th March 2024 include:

Investors in UK property have for many years been attracted to holiday lets. This type of investment rose further in popularity during the pandemic when international flights were grounded and holidaymakers sought out alternative holiday accommodation in the UK. Many developers and landlords seized what they saw as potential investment opportunities, buying properties to turn into holiday lets and expanding tourism in the country’s hotspots as a result.

The downside of this for people living in the affected communities is how challenging it has become to get on to the housing ladder.

For many years in the UK, a gas or oil-fired boiler has been considered the standard form of heating for homes, however with new regulation on the way restricting their installation in new builds from next year and in all properties from 2035, what alternatives are there?

Electric boilers, heat pumps, biomass, solar thermal and Micro-CHP (Micro Combined Heat and Power) could all be options to consider, with some installations even using multiple technologies to give more flexibility to reduce energy costs depending on the time of year.

So which technologies are leading the race?

You call at 8am on the dot, as soon as they open, in the hope of getting ahead of the queue. The line connects, yet you still find yourself with 20 callers in front of you. So you wait on hold for an hour, only to be told to “try again later” or that “the next available appointment is in 4 weeks”!

Sound familiar?

Unfortunately this is something that too many of us are experiencing in the current climate. Following the disruption to GP services during the pandemic¹, appointments are hard to come by these days² with many GPs struggling under the weight of the increased demand and backlog.

But did you know your mortgage or income protection plan could help?

WAQAR KHAN, Lendinvest's BDM for the North West, shares his thoughts on last month's government announcement.

At the start of this year, I wrote about the opportunities for property investors in a regenerating North West, citing recent government announcements around the ‘levelling up’ agenda as cause for confidence in the region. 

A couple of weeks after the government cancelled the Manchester leg of HS2 however, how relevant does this remain, and what should property investors looking to the North West do in light of this sudden change in government policy? 

Private vs Public Investment

With the latest Bank of England base rate announcement behind us and no immediate change on the horizon, it will certainly be interesting to see how quickly lenders make rate adjustments in the coming weeks. This month has already seen many price reductions and the trend is likely to continue. It’s been positive to see lenders focusing on new options to support affordability, particularly with respect to the introduction of a variety of lower rate/higher fee products. Let’s kick off this month’s round-up with an example of just that.