Ferdinand

What is that potential saving in cash terms per annum?

Welcome. The only 2 angles of attack I can see there are, as you say, to wait, or to explore whether that 4th bedroom assumption by the Planners is actually tenable. Or perhaps to enquire whether it would be passed. It may pay to check the planning history of similar conversions in your immediate vicinity. Reflecting, waiting might not work - might you still need PP to convert your short garage? It is only the existing change that becomes 'unenforcable against'. Or knock 2 of your other bedrooms together, which might not be the correct idea .

In the same way that a barstool can be converted into a shower seat. It can be done, but requires some application and a major degree of bloodymindedness. Your adventures are just beginning. I bought taps designed for those basin-on-top washbowls, which turned out to look like Peter Crouch in a crowd of gymnasts when installed on a normal washbasin, and had to be put in storage for the next 3 kitchens I do. F

I started getting seriously interested in issues around rental law / politics when around then I had a T in my own rented-out house who was in work for unpredictable periods, and I would get clawbacks of random amounts of rent each month from the LA for a few £££, with the instruction to go back to the T and recover from them. Before long there were ludicrous amounts of case law and professionals making their living out of the fine distinctions in the precise circumstances where such clawbacks were lawful or not, or the LL was guilty of fraud in concert with the T if they knew, and who had which burden of proof etc. Far too much buggeration for a system that would ever work sustainably. Our Parliament should be like Texas: "The Texas Legislature meets in regular session on the second Tuesday in January of each odd-numbered year. The Texas Constitution limits the regular session to 140 calendar days." F

Like herb immunity, eventually most will get it. I dig that, man. Give me those herbs ... then I won't even know if I have it.

I think you'll find it was the Coalition Government in 2010 that introduced Housing Benefit payment direct to tenants rather than to their landlord. I think I am correct on this point, though it is possible I am doing Yvette Cooper a disservice (and I have softened my first posting) - would need to trace the ministerial responsibilities for this particular change in 2007-2009. The presumption that payment would only be made direct to the LL in exceptional circumstances (eg arrears of 8 weeks) came in with the Welfare Reform Act 2007 when Housing Benefit was changed with the introduction of the Local Housing Allowance. No idea if that applied outside England. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_Housing_Allowance#Operation_of_Local_Housing_Allowance "Unlike the previous schemes, the claimant is normally unable to request that payments of benefits are made to their landlord, although they may be made to a third party. Exceptions may be made where the tenant has a history of not paying rent or is not sufficiently able to handle their affairs. Decisions on this are subject to a council operated safeguarding policy which may be requested from the local authority. In all cases a landlord must be paid the rent (without any excess) if the tenant is more than 8 weeks in arrears. This will continue until the arrears are below 8 weeks." Caused havoc in some places. Some Ts went on a spree with the rent money then found themselves unable to recover. The same Act introduced the concept of payment according to required number of bedrooms in benefits payments in the PRS, but no one campaigned vociferously about it afaics until the concept came into the Social Sector, when it was dubbed the 'bedroom tax' - as we all know. Hope that helps. Ferdinand

I don't think that is a comprehensive comparison as many employee benefits are tax subsidised at corporate level - eg employer pension contributions and all the rest. The last employer I worked for ended up paying a further 40% of salary into the pension scheme - that is a part employer subsidy and a part tax subsidy. The one before that I had a sports ground, gym, ESOP, AVCs and all manner of things in the package. In Transport for London you get free travel for 2 people in the London Region that would cost £4-5k per year for anyone else, Private Health Insurance free or subsidised, final salary pension, Health Cashplan for I think £1 a week, and smaller stuff like bike subsidy. F

If you want t argue that that is living off state benefits then you have to apply the same standard to everything else bought with benefits - eg Sainsburys because they take the money for food, DVLA for Road Tax etc.

I don't understand what you mean, how are you taxed on turnover? I think that is a reference to Osborne's 2015 budget where he stopped treating mortgage interest as a normal business expense for BTL landlords (though it is one), and did things to the calculation. Briefly, rather than mortgage interest being deducted before income is declared, it is in the calculation (potentially pushing lower rate tax payers into a higher rate bracket), and has a tax credit at basic rate applied afterwards. More info here: https://www.which.co.uk/money/tax/income-tax/tax-on-property-and-rental-income/buy-to-let-mortgage-tax-relief-changes-explained-atnsv0j6j782 So a tax is applied to money which has been spent on a business expense, rather than the profit, which is a 'tax on turnover'. "Taxed on Turnover" was one of the slogans used to characterise it, reflecting how that calculation was messed around with. That and other changes, and consequent damage to confidence, pretty much stopped the PRS in its tracks. F

Thanks. I'm gradually reshaping the Forsythia. As new branches come into flower they get chopped off :-). F

I have been for years. Tuesday: "the teacher said we are doing a Greek theme, so I need a (Colossus of Rhodes / Trireme / Zither / Parthenon / model of Knossos / Minotaur / Wooden Horse / Reflecting Pool for Narcissus) by Thursday". Anyhoo, I have reviewed the stuff, and a huge amount has now gone to the great flower arranging cupboard in mum's friends' houses. Having said that, did this last week.

At this time I would not be going for bridging without an exit and risk management strategy, so I agree with your take. If I could get a 5 or 10 year fixed mortgage at 1-2% on the existing house without exit penalties, I might be tempted. F

I won't speculate on @pocster's position, but it is different for every landlord. My business is a mixture of single family lets and a couple of student houses. My tenants tend to stay long term (if they settle in 2-3 years up to 10+ years). The only couple I have lost quickly recently was back in 2018 when they realised after a few months that I was right when I told them at the start that they could afford a house and were silly to plan to rent long term, and bought somewhere and moved out. It was amusing but expensive that at the start - even though they had 2 family members in the street and there had been an advert on the house window whilst it was being renovated - they still went through the agent rather than direct, and that cost us about £500 each. Need some work on the feet-on-the-ground front ?. I have a couple of Ts who may be under threat of layoff, but should be covered by the 80% as employees though they will lose overtime. Another has lost a pension topup income from renting out a holiday caravan - site fees have been paid, and the whole summer's bookings have evaporated and the site has been locked down. For another online translation income seems to have stopped. But on the other side students are funded per year, and the finance has not been withdrawn, and my students for 2020-2021 year were all signed up with full guarantors by Nov 2019. I have offered reductions if people really struggle. I also have a couple who are on Housing Benefit, such as it is. I will be scoped out of the scheme by the income cap in all probability. OTOH an HMO rented to professionals by the room such as contractors risks them losing their income by being terminated, and the HMO is liable for Council Tax (unlike my student houses). The Council Tax liability on such a house could be between about £1000 and £8000 pa, as some Councils treat each individual room as a separate Band A dwelling for Council Tax purposes. But I am aware of a senior professional renting in the Lake District who is now desperately looking for somewhere else, as they have a short term let in a Holiday House whilst waiting for a big developer to complete their new house. But the developer has frozen the whole project, and the LL they are with now has cold feet about a long-term rental. And there is someone vulnerable in the house so they are advised to be socially disconnected for 3 months. And the whole market has largely stopped. But there are LLs where Ts have run away now offering free housing for the emergency to NHS Staff who are becoming persona non grata with housemates, or wanting to be away from families for safety reasons. I have a good friend who has split from girlfriend, and is now stuck in the same house as there is nowhere to go. None of it is easy, and the large majority of LLs who only have a single rental might struggle to take the hit, or just sell up afterwards. That will push the market faster in a corporate direction, which is what the politicians think they want - but has all sorts of consequences they do not consider. Ferdinand

I had 3 lots of snow today. Nottinghamshire.

Still need a piccie of a cat on a catslide roof.

Does ivy burn well like holly, or will I need to let it dry for months?

I think I have this identified. Not cat litter, though there was a cat but it has been pushing up bamboo for about 3 years now. Talking to one of mum's flower arranging friends, it is something for drying out flowers they had when they did a Diploma years ago. It absorbs the moisture from a flower being dried. So I can either use it for something else or throw it away now. Thanks all for the suggestions. Ferdinand

Someone is channelling Yoda, yes he is ...

Bad start to the day .. I woke up and it was already an hour later. ? Anyhoo .. I have found this in my utility room, and I do not know what it is. The unidentified item is the granular one in the margarine pot, which was in a pile with ‘tumble dryer sheets’, which save ironing (what’s ironing?), and washing machine internals cleaner. Obviously mum had it for something, but what? Any ideas are welcome. I Have not got a clue. They are granules with a smooth surface, so not rough like say crumbs for feeding poultry. I wonder about something like slow release fertiliser, but I am not sure. Ferdinand

Superb.

Our council recycling centre is closed, of course. But all of our bin collections, including the garden waste, are still running. Impressed.

By the way, how does one dispose of a huge pile of ivy clippings? The quantity would probably fill a 3m trailer. Ferdinand

Well - today I spent a couple of hours fighting the Ivy Monster that is trying to invade through the old wall from next door. That wall is lovely, and full of bees every spring. (I once had a pile of insulation there removed from a house attic so that we could get 250mm new put in by the Energy Company, and when the handyman came to collect it to use as Underfloor Insulation in another house he discovered that some bees had moved from the wall to the insulation.). Fortunately a flower lady came past in her van and asked for some of the cuttings - not enough though. Unfortunately her business is going into abeyance from next week. I have enough clippings left for about 2 months of Council Garden bins. What I need now is a systemic weedkiller to put on the new growth in a month's time. And the front border of contrasting shapes and colours planted by mum 6 years ago is developing nicely. Ferdinand

My cleaner has now stopped coming, as she works for a Limited company run locally. Will get the 80%. Also she has mum’s supply of unused pyjamas, which will probably last about a decade ?. I'm pleased that someone known to me could use them, rather than having to cast them on the charity shop wind. F

Good job I checked. ? HHA May be worth a contact though.