I was astounded this week to hear that the figure for tenants at risk of a gas leak is as high as one in three. After all the publicity that we have had regarding the safety requirements for gas appliances it is almost beyond belief that this number is correct. However, according to a recent survey 36% of tenants are in properties with expired gas safety certificates and even more worryingly 26% inhabit a property that has never been checked for safety.

This is mind boggling to me. As we all know it is now a legal requirement that every rental property is checked for gas safety annually and the certificate provided to the tenant. Ignorance of this particular law is no longer any excuse either legally of morally as it has been in place long enough now for all landlords to be aware of it existence.

The figures from UK health and safety serve to emphasise the importance of following the regulations. In the last twelve months 18 people have died as the result of gas leaks and 310 more ere injured.  The idea of being the landlord responsible for one of these accidents is enough to chill the blood and personally I do everything I can to try and prevent that occurring.

Please join me in being responsible in regards gas safety. You owe it to your tenants and to the greater reputation of the private rented sector.

94% of residential landlords are certain that there will be significant interest rate rises but not until the beginning of 2011. This is in spite of the fact that the Bank Of England recently decided not to shift on its record breaking low rate of 0.5%.

In landlord circles the prediction is that there may be small rises in rates before the turn of the year but it is likely to be 2011 before we see anything that is really worth talking about. They are also putting a figure on things and coming in slightly higher that the average economic expert with a predicted rise of 1.25%. Others have been forecasting more like 1.1%.

Some landlords are displaying somewhat pessimistic tendencies with 10% predicting the rise to reach 2%. Only one in a hundred are pessimistic enough to predict anything as dire as a 3% rise though, so that is some comfort.

With all this in mind it seems that some landlords are still content to start looking for properties to expand their portfolios especially in the London area. Just under half of London landlords are looking to buy up. the rest of the country is slightly more reticent with the figure being more like a fifth.

A recently released report has finally acknowledged the serious contribution to the housing market made by the residential landlord. We have been going on about it for ages but it is nice to see the government catching on and giving praise where it is due. The most important factor in the government report is that the economic good being done by the private rent sector has also been noted.

This has lead to the treasury stating that it is considering making to the form of buy-to-let regulation it originally envisaged. This is great news. As we have said all along fair regulation is not an issue but there is no need for the everyone to be regulated as strongly. Some parts just do not need to have someone constantly looking over their shoulder.

It seems now that the treasury is leaning a little more towards our view which is that the residential BTL sector should be treated the same as the commercial one but with a few more safeguards in place. Well, at least we are hoping that is what all this means.

At the same time though some parts of society are trying to lay the blame for fewer first time buyers at the feet of landlords, but more about that tomorrow. 

Many people, rightly or wrongly, are now starting to believe that the residential property market is well on its way to recovery. That is great news in itself but even better is the fact that history shows us that once recovery starts it is unlikely we will take another spill for quite some time.

The last property market crisis was around twenty years ago. Therefore, those people who are now looking to get into property right now can consider themselves to be in a fairly strong position for the near future if they do buy. Experts predict that we can safely assume a decade of relative growth.

This is especially true of the rental sector as this change in attitude towards renting we have been discussing kicks in. Buy To Let looks like becoming a particularly exciting investment opportunity in the near future.

Everything is looking fairly rosy in our sector then, right at present. The only word of warning being sounded by some is for people getting involved in Buy To Let for the first time. Experts talk of the stability of having a fixed rate loan to set your self off so that you have consistency in your repayments.

If you are able to find one that suits you this does not sound like bad advice. It is always comforting to know exactly how much you are paying. 

Statistics from the Auction Results and Analysis System (ARAS) reveal that a new wave of wealthy private investor is rising in numbers in the property investment market.

James Cannon, of newly-launched Mayfair–based auctions firm Cannon Capital, has said: “I’ve noticed there are a lot more women in sales rooms nowadays. In residential auctions, buyers have always been mixed and you get a lot of owner-occupiers, but in the commercial market this is a new trend.”

It appears that these female investors have often made their money in other sectors but are keen to get involved in the property market with their investment money. Some experts are putting the trend down to popularity of property TV shows such as Homes Under The Hammer, Property ladder and Location, Location, Location. These shows have bought property investment into the mainstream and exposed it to a wider audience, including women from other work sectors who may never have considered its benefits.

It is important though,  whether you are male or female, you make sure that you are suited to the property market before you get involved. A lot of people took the leap during the last property boom only to find it was certainly not something they enjoyed. 

There was a modest rise in the residential rent prices in the UK over the past month. The figure of 0.7% is nothing to be excited about by itself but it does continue a reasonably consistent trend for growth that is hopeful.

There was one month where things dropped but overall there appears to be an upward trend in what we are earning from our rental properties. In the main the experts are putting this trend down to a decrease in the availability of rental properties, there have not been fewer on the market since October 2008. This allows landlords to charge a fair rent instead of the cut price one some of them had resorted to.

Observers of the national trends are quick to point out, interestingly, that only looking at the figures for the whole country actually gives you a warped view of what is happening in the regional areas. South East England is seeing the rental market go ahead in leaps and bounds for example with a rise of around 2.3 % whereas those in the North East are suffering the opposite effects with the rental yield dropping by nearly 2.3%

From these figures it would seem that it has never been more important to do your geographical homework before adding a new property to your portfolio.

There was a modest rise in the residential rent prices in the UK over the past month. The figure of 0.7% is nothing to be excited about by itself but it does continue a reasonably consistent trend for growth that is hopeful.

There was one month where things dropped but overall there appears to be an upward trend in what we are earning from our rental properties. In the main the experts are putting this trend down to a decrease in the availability of rental properties, there have not been fewer on the market since October 2008. This allows landlords to charge a fair rent instead of the cut price one some of them had resorted to.

Observers of the national trends are quick to point out, interestingly, that only looking at the figures for the whole country actually gives you a warped view of what is happening in the regional areas. South East England is seeing the rental market go ahead in leaps and bounds for example with a rise of around 2.3 % whereas those in the North East are suffering the opposite effects with the rental yield dropping by nearly 2.3%

From these figures it would seem that it has never been more important to do your geographical homework before adding a new property to your portfolio.

I don’t think anyone was really expecting it to happen but their were still those who were disappointed this week when landlords were left out of the stamp duty reforms outlined in the budget. First time buyers were the recipients of a stamp duty break on properties up to £250 000 (lucky first time buyers if they can afford to spend that on their first property) but despite strong reasons why he should the Chancellor firmly refused to change anything where BTL was concerned.

David Brown, commercial director of LAL properties made this important point.

“Removal of stamp duty tax for first-time buyers is positive news for the housing market, but the unsung cornerstone – the private rental sector – has once again been overlooked.”

It is the very fact that the private rental sector is the the cornerstone of the British property market that the government keep ignoring, and I truly believe it will come back to bite them somewhere quite sensitive in the not too distant future.

I am not the only one who believes that the chancellors refusal to budge on stamp duty for landlords could leave the labour party with egg on its face when the country experiences a huge housing shortage. Many experts with far more impressive credentials than I are predicting doom and gloom unless the government wakes up to itself on this issue. 

There was a very interesting article on the RLA (Residential Landlord’s Association) website this week regarding the effect that the upcoming election is likely to have on the property market. They were not talking about the possible effect of a new government or an old one with a new mandate either. They were simply discussing the effect of the actual election itself. Something, I admit I had not considered.

According to article the lead up to the election is likely to have a decelerating effect on the market as people sit back and wait to see what is going to occur. Many will want to see a new government formed and settled before they speculate on a huge investment.

It is not unusual for this kind of uncertainty to cause a downturn apparently and given the difficulty of the times it is probably inevitable. The specter of a hung parliament will do nothing to convince people to leap into spending money on their portfolio either. The good news is that figures show that after the election there is nearly always a decent upswing to even things out.

In other words patterns show that things come out fairly equal in the end. No comfort, I suppose, if you were hoping to get you property on the market for a quick sale but from an economic point of view unlikely to make any huge differences. 

Mark Garner is the managing director of LettingZone and he has made a statement this week that will gladden the hearts of a lot of landlords who invested in property over three years ago.

He points out that the current situation for landlords who invested three years ago  is a positive one.

“For existing professional landlords, it has never been better because interest rates are at an all-time low so with the property you bought a while ago, the cash flow is looking really good.” He says.

He does have some bad news though for those that jumped on the bandwagon a little late and a little short. If you bough within the last three years and did not have the capital to fund your investment he predicts that you are now likely to be experiencing desperate problems.

He also address the issue of tenant default and the fact that high unemployment is likely to make this problem even worse in the near future, his recommendation is that landlords take out full insurance policies that protect them against void periods. 

It is clearly the sensible solution though it can be hard to be sensible when the idea of another monthly cost fills you with dread as you are barely making the payments as it is. The best advice i can give is to try and take out this kind of insurance if there is anyway you an afford it. It is a very good step towards a more stable future.