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The latest Statistical Briefing by The Deposit Service – which represents the Tenancy Deposit Scheme, SafeDeposits Scotland and TDS Northern Ireland – found poor standards of cleanliness was the top reason for deposit disputes across the UK.

Ignoring some of the most common cold weather maintenance tasks may cause your property to plummet in value. That’s the conclusion of a survey carried out by Aviva. The insurance specialist questioned 2,000 people regarding what maintenance issues would prompt a buyer to reduce an offer on a property they hoped to buy.

It may read like ‘the good, the bad and the ugly’ but there’s plenty of positive property news this month. If approached with calm caution, highlights can be extracted. You just need to know where to look.

Landlords are legally required to uphold gas and fire safety standards in properties they rent to tenants, with a number of compulsory laws in place. Here we share the most frequently asked questions from landlords, along with our answers.

Whether you’re sitting on a cash lump sum, have equity in your property or have a good credit history, there are a number of ways to help a child save for a deposit. In this article we answer the most commonly asked questions about the Bank of Mum and Dad.

In the past, landlords would have been happy to purchase on older property stock and make improvements – perhaps adding value along the way. Today, however, there is a perfect storm of factors casting a cloud over investing in resale buy-to-lets. 

What does it take to stop the UK’s apparently unassailable property market? Another interest rate rise? An energy crisis? Rising food bills? For now, apparently none of these factors is denting the determination to move home.  

Everything we know about the energy market is almost irrelevant today, with the unpredictable world of gas and electricity having a dramatic impact on our monthly bills. In this guide, we bust six current – and most common – energy myths and offer advice to those struggling to understand the current energy situation.

The option of buying second hand, scanning Gumtree or Facebay for free items and upcycling what you already own are the most sustainable approaches to home styling but sometimes purchasing new is the preferred option.

We have become somewhat accustomed to rock bottom interest rates that barely nudge 0.25 percentage points either way for months. When the main interest rate rises, mortgage rates usually rise in tandem, so if you already have a mortgage or want to take out a home loan, now is a good time to seek professional advice.

Gardens and balconies have never been in more demand so if you have one of these aspects and are thinking of selling, you’ll already have the upper hand and should be able to command a higher sale price. 

Here we discuss house prices, rental values and major changes to lettings. There’s also a new UK average house price and a new Bank of England base rate. If you want to know how any of the points affect your property plans, please get in touch.