Aficionado Property Consultants

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Matthew Payne - Business consultant providing strategic advisory and executive coaching to property businesses and professionals seeking greater compliance, commercial strength, operational effectiveness and sustainable profitability.

Just another reason in the long list as to why developers are building so slowly. Slapping them with a council tax bill ...
28/05/2026

Just another reason in the long list as to why developers are building so slowly. Slapping them with a council tax bill as soon as they get the roof on — perhaps a year before the house is even occupied — is absurd.

The whole point of council tax is that the occupier uses local services, ergo the tax pays for that usage. New builds should be exempt until occupied.

All this will do is encourage developers to build right up to the point before the property is deemed “complete”, slowing sites down even further.

Tax breeds behaviour. I still don’t understand why “the taxers” never seem to think about that before making these decisions.

No doubt next week we’ll see:
“Councils disappointed builders are taking so long.”

Cash-strapped local authorities are thwarting efforts to increase housebuilding by hitting developers with 'unfair' council tax bills.

I have always maintained that the incredible levels of insulation being fitted to properties now are going to create ano...
27/05/2026

I have always maintained that the incredible levels of insulation being fitted to properties now are going to create another climate emergency, one where we will instead move net zero ambitions back 50 years as we retro fit air con to every property as temperatures increase, and we all burn trillions of GW of electricity to stay cool.

One of my clients has just been asked to fit 150mm of celotex in a roof space by building control, as if we had an imminent ice age coming, so we have had to change the design to fit 2 extra windows and added air con to cool it down.

This week in this heat you see residents in flats in cities, being baked alive in modern high rise flats full of glass, where windows barely open for fear of them all jumping out.

Not only will the air con ban need to be removed, there will be a 25 year roll out now to cool our homes down as winters are milder and springs and summers get hotter. Someone got too excited increasing insulation standards by 600% for the odd 2 cold weeks in January we get, when the other 50 weeks are mild to baking hot.

The Conservatives have pledged to scrap what they describe as London’s “de facto ban” on air conditioning in new homes

I sometimes marvel at how this government thinks the world works, bit most of them have no real world experience in the ...
20/05/2026

I sometimes marvel at how this government thinks the world works, bit most of them have no real world experience in the private sector.

Do they think this will incentivise or dis-incentivise developers to build at a time they are desprate for them to build, build, build?

Property developers will be liable to a shock mansion tax bill if they take more than a year to offload newly built luxury homes.

Interesting move from Lloyds. Wonder what the small print is on rate, arrangement fee, price limit etc.If it's a fair d...
12/05/2026

Interesting move from Lloyds. Wonder what the small print is on rate, arrangement fee, price limit etc.

If it's a fair deal, with no 6% rate, £3000 fees then well done Lloyds.

Lloyds said the new mortgage could reduce the time it takes to save a deposit by years for some buyers.

Well one of my clients has already had to tell an overseas student this morning they cannot pay 6 months rent in advance...
01/05/2026

Well one of my clients has already had to tell an overseas student this morning they cannot pay 6 months rent in advance and move into a flat in London, and the likelihood is they won't be able to rent anywhere unless they find a unscrupulous or uneducated lettings agent that is now prepared to break the new law.

All explained to government in the consultation and all ignored. Willing to put money on them scratching their heads in 6 months time when universities complain their overseas student numbers have dropped significantly and they now require extra funding from central government.

Telegraph Money explains the biggest change for landlords in a generation

"Homes for People not for profit". Once service charges, mortgage payments, insurance, maintenance and of course all the...
30/04/2026

"Homes for People not for profit".

Once service charges, mortgage payments, insurance, maintenance and of course all the eye watering tax is paid, there is virtually no profit for most landlords and whatever is made is put to one side to pay next years increased costs or unexpected maintenance from Section 20 notices.

I've never understood why people expect landlords who are just "other people" to borrow money to buy a property for them to live in and expect them to provide it at a susidised or discounted rate at their expense?

"Will you pay some of my rent for me?" If you asked a complete stranger we all know the answer you would get. Why do our landlords get singled out for this treatment then? Noone offers to pay their mortgage for them or for all the homeowners who have one?

FTSE 250 firms Paragon and OSB Group, owner of Kent Reliance and Precise Mortgages, slide on London Stock Exchange

I think the headline is summary enough. Oh the irony of the "Renters Rights" Act.
30/04/2026

I think the headline is summary enough. Oh the irony of the "Renters Rights" Act.

Labour’s rent reforms promise tenants better protection, but many will end up paying dearly

Developers are scrapping schemes up and down the country because they can’t make them stack financially anymore — risin...
20/04/2026

Developers are scrapping schemes up and down the country because they can’t make them stack financially anymore — rising build and labour costs, weaker demand, and heavy planning requirements have wiped out viability.

More evidence that current government policy is not working. Berkeley and Redrow also recently announced they were no longer buying any land for the foreseeable future for the same reasons.

New build being shelved and landlords selling up. Not a great recipe for an expanding population and rising house prices and rents.

Sites of projects cancelled over last three years now being used for warehouses and self-storage units

As the population contunues to grow, the PRS is once again going backwards at a time it needs to be growing fast. The R...
20/04/2026

As the population contunues to grow, the PRS is once again going backwards at a time it needs to be growing fast. The Renters Rights Act to blame this time after now ten years of anti Landlord government policy.

A major shift in private rental sector exits is expected as new data from Pepper Money highlights rising landlord sales and legislative pressure.

"Property owners whose homes run on heating oil will struggle to sell..." says Benedict Smith of the telegraph who clear...
30/03/2026

"Property owners whose homes run on heating oil will struggle to sell..." says Benedict Smith of the telegraph who clearly hasnt stopped to consider the statement.

1) Heating your home by oil is far cheaper than mains gas, which has been aggressively expensive for several years now, yet I don't recall any such claims for people not being able to sell their gas heated homes.

2) Heating oil is now, temporarily at parity with the cost of gas, so wouldn't that make all properties equally desirable? A level playing field? Why would oil heated homes become less favourable because they have always been cheaper to heat?

3) In context, this "expensive" fill up will cost people about an extra £300. Enough reason not to buy a house even if you had to do habitually, when a mains gas heated home will cost the same each year to heat?

Back to the drawboard I think Benedict looking for that next story.

Price growth for off-grid properties lags behind gas-powered homes

Address

Bell Yard
London
WC2A2JR

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 6pm
Tuesday 9am - 6pm
Wednesday 9am - 6pm
Thursday 9am - 6pm
Friday 9am - 6pm
Saturday 9am - 6pm

Telephone

+447970773847

Website

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