Insights
Property, plainly explained.
A quiet resource for anyone making property decisions — landlords, homeowners, renters, insurers, contractors and accommodation professionals. What the rules say, what the numbers mean, and what is actually worth knowing.
The hidden cost of hotel stays in long-running claims
The nightly rate is the smallest part of it. On any claim running past a few weeks, hotel accommodation costs more than the invoice shows — and the extra lands in places the reserve rarely anticipates.
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What "like-for-like" actually means in a rehousing claim
Two words in the policy wording cause more alternative accommodation disputes than anything else. Here is how they are read in practice, and where placements go wrong.
2 min read
The 90-night rule explained — and why it matters outside London too
In Greater London a property cannot be let as a short let for more than 90 nights a year without planning permission. The detail people miss is what counts as a short let in the first place.
2 min read
How we inspect a property before we take it on
Before we offer a figure on a house, someone walks it properly. Here is exactly what we look at, what changes the number, and what makes us say no.
2 min read
From family home to accommodation asset: what changes, and what doesn't
Handing over a house you raised a family in feels different to letting a buy-to-let. Here is exactly what changes on the day we take it on — and the things that stay yours.
2 min read
When a tenant stops paying: the timeline nobody tells you about
Arrears rarely arrive as a crisis. They arrive as a late payment, then a promise, then silence. Here is how the months actually unfold, and what each stage costs.
2 min read
Guaranteed rent vs rent guarantee insurance: two very different safety nets
They sound like the same thing and they are not. One reimburses you after a claim succeeds. The other removes the claim from your life entirely.
2 min read
Contractor accommodation: the UK's quiet housing shortage
Every major project — rail, water, energy, retrofit — needs somewhere for its crews to sleep. The country is short of the one thing they actually need: whole houses.
2 min read
Furnished or unfurnished? The maths landlords rarely do
Furnishing a house costs real money up front and earns a modest premium. Whether it pays depends almost entirely on who you are letting to — and how often they move.
2 min read
Too much house, not enough cash: the downsizing trap
Plenty of owners in Ilford are sitting in a five-bed with three empty rooms, wanting something smaller, and finding the sums don't work. Here is why, and the way round it.
3 min read
Why a guaranteed rent company is not a tenant
The agreement we sign is a commercial lease, not an assured shorthold tenancy. That single difference changes who carries the void and who fixes the boiler.
2 min read
The arithmetic of downsizing: what selling actually costs
Worked numbers on a typical Ilford landlord selling a let house to buy a smaller home — and what the same house produces if it is leased instead.
2 min read
The Renters' Rights Act: what actually changed for landlords
Fixed terms are gone, Section 21 is gone, and rent increases now run through one statutory route. Here is the practical shape of it, without the commentary.
2 min read
Keep the house, move out: the best of both worlds
What actually happens when an older owner hands us a big house — who does the work, what they receive, and what they still control.
2 min read
What's still coming: EPC C, Decent Homes and licensing in East London
Three obligations landing between now and 2030, with the dates and rough numbers you should be putting in a spreadsheet this year.
2 min read
Section 21 is gone. Now what?
The grounds you have left, how long each realistically takes, and why possession has quietly become a business risk rather than a paperwork exercise.
2 min read
How landlords can protect themselves in 2026
Six concrete steps, in order of how much they cost and how much they save. None of them are "speak to a trusted partner".
2 min read
The real cost of a void month on a 4-bed in Ilford
Everyone counts the lost rent. Almost nobody counts the council tax, the standing charges and the re-let fee. Here is the full arithmetic.
2 min read
Why we use whole houses for insurance and contractor stays
Loss adjusters and site managers are both trying to solve a problem hotels cannot solve. That mismatch is the demand behind guaranteed rent.
2 min readRather not manage any of this yourself?
We lease 2 to 5 bed houses in Greater London, Hull and Evesham on a guaranteed rent agreement. Same payment, same date, voids or no voids.
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