Risks to the UK economy from a euro zone break up continue to loom large, according to the latest forecast from the Institute for Fiscal Studies. On the positive side, its Green Budget suggests that, even relative to major planned cuts, Whitehall departments will underspend by more than £3billion this year. The result of the [...]

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Increased buying and selling activity was recorded in the Private Rented Sector in 2011 but may not continue in 2012, according to the latest landlord survey. Research from the Association of Residential Letting Agents shows the number of landlords that sold a property in the last 12 months increased from 6% to 8% in Q4 [...]

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Increasing numbers of final-salary pension schemes are closing to new joiners and current staff. According to the Pension Protection Fund and the Pensions Regulator, the amount of final-salary schemes still open to new recruits in the private sector fell last year from 18% to 16%,. It also found that a quarter of schemes stopped existing [...]

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Britons are relatively upbeat about the property market for 2012, according to new research from Santander Mortgages. It reveals that 8% (3.7 million) believe they are likely to successfully purchase a new home in 2012. The news comes as the Council of Mortgage Lenders reports slightly more positive data for the industry with a 4% [...]

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Tenancy deposit scheme mydeposits has released an online checklist for landlords to help them in any dispute with their tenant over the return of the deposit.   The checklist gives guidance to landlords and agents on what to do before, during and at the end of the tenancy to ensure they have the right evidence [...]

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Six mortgage lenders are now offering a total of 21 buy-to-let mortgages with LTVs of up to 80%. According to data from Mortgage Flow, specialist broker Mortgages for Business’s buy-to-let mortgage sourcing tool, the six now offering 80% LTV or above are Kent Reliance Banking Services, Saffron Building Society, Leeds Building Society, Aldermore Mortgages and [...]

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The majority of the inventories presented to deposit scheme adjudicators are not worth the paper they are written on, leading to landlords losing deposit cases, the Association of Independent Inventory Clerks has claimed. The AIIC adds that most inventories would not stand up in court, were disputes to get that far. The association claims that when [...]

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The cost of moving house in the UK has risen at a faster rate than house prices over the past decade, according to new research by Lloyds TSB. Since 2001, the average cost associated with moving home for someone who already owns a home rose by 69% (£3632) from £5290 in 2001 to £8922 in [...]

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Social networking website Facebook will this week set in motion plans to go public. It is expected that the site – which is one of the most-visited on the internet – will be valued at between US $75-100billion and will float later this year. Such a valuation should make Facebook one of the world's biggest [...]

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The average household water and sewerage bill in England and Wales is forecast to increase by 5.7%, or about £20, according to Ofwat. This takes into account a rate of inflation of 5.2%, and will mean an average bill of £376 in 2012/13. In 2009 Ofwat made its decision on how much water and sewerage [...]

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