Brexit confusion could hit EU tenants in UK, say landlords

Residential Landlords Association blames lack of clarity over settled status scheme

EU citizens will face problems renting properties in the UK because of Brexit, private landlords have said.

The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) said the confusion over Brexit meant some landlords were likely to refuse EU citizens as future tenants because the government had failed to give them clear instructions over the settled status scheme introduced last week.

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For some plants, April is a crucial time | James Wong

Tree ferns, bamboos, cherries… spoil them rotten now and you’ll get great growth for the rest of the year

After months of slumber, the beginning of April feels as though a starter’s pistol has been set off in the garden, triggering explosive growth everywhere. With so much bursting into life all around, it can be tricky to know where to start, with seed-sowing, planting out, lawn-mowing and getting a head start on weeds all vying for our time. However, there are some common garden plants that pack in almost all their growth for the entire year into just a few short weeks in April. So, if you have time to do only one thing outdoors this weekend, make it giving these horticultural sprint racers a treat that will set them up for the entire season. Almost everything else will be happy to wait a week or two more.

To prepare themselves for their long winter dormancy, perennial plants from temperate latitudes need to spend months building up reserves of energy to see them through the lean months, as well as toughening up their new growth to brace themselves for sub-zero temperatures. After a fleeting window in April (sometimes edging into May) these species will carry on photosynthesising, looking lush and green, but will barely send out any new leaves or branches. This means that, if they are deprived of water and nutrients in this time, their entire year’s growth can be compromised. So here are my top four plants that really deserve a little spoiling right now.

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For some plants, April is a crucial time | James Wong

Tree ferns, bamboos, cherries… spoil them rotten now and you’ll get great growth for the rest of the year

After months of slumber, the beginning of April feels as though a starter’s pistol has been set off in the garden, triggering explosive growth everywhere. With so much bursting into life all around, it can be tricky to know where to start, with seed-sowing, planting out, lawn-mowing and getting a head start on weeds all vying for our time. However, there are some common garden plants that pack in almost all their growth for the entire year into just a few short weeks in April. So, if you have time to do only one thing outdoors this weekend, make it giving these horticultural sprint racers a treat that will set them up for the entire season. Almost everything else will be happy to wait a week or two more.

To prepare themselves for their long winter dormancy, perennial plants from temperate latitudes need to spend months building up reserves of energy to see them through the lean months, as well as toughening up their new growth to brace themselves for sub-zero temperatures. After a fleeting window in April (sometimes edging into May) these species will carry on photosynthesising, looking lush and green, but will barely send out any new leaves or branches. This means that, if they are deprived of water and nutrients in this time, their entire year’s growth can be compromised. So here are my top four plants that really deserve a little spoiling right now.

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Outdoor furniture: Everything in the garden is lovely

Retire the old patio set and treat the garden as an extension of your home. Try unusual lighting, colourful seats and an ultramodern greenhouse or grill

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from Home And Garden | The Guardian http://bit.ly/2uVRGXP
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Outdoor furniture: Everything in the garden is lovely

Retire the old patio set and treat the garden as an extension of your home. Try unusual lighting, colourful seats and an ultramodern greenhouse or grill

Continue reading...

from Property | The Guardian http://bit.ly/2uVRGXP
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Councils face a losing battle as they crack down on rogue agencies

Despite dawn raids and legal action, the number of unlicensed rentals in houses of multiple occupation continues to grow

It was before sunrise on a wintry morning that we gathered on a street corner in north London – a clutch of council officials, two police officers and myself. At a signal, the officials hammered on the doors of two tatty maisonettes above a surgery and waved warrants at the bleary faces that appeared in the windows.

This was a dawn raid on two of the myriad houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) being let without a licence in London and was part of a council crackdown on landlords and lettings agencies that flout the law to exploit tenants.

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The time to sow is now | Allan Jenkins

Warmer weather, spring sunshine and gentle rain means it’s time to plant your seeds

It’s April, the time of showers and warmth, so it’s likely safe to say it’s the month to unleash your soil. Uncover cloches if you sowed hardy vegetables in March, and lift them from any over-wintered chards and kales.

Plant any potatoes you haven’t yet got in the ground and earth up any earlies already in. Go back over seed beds. We don’t divide our plot into beds except by sowing different rows in different directions: a combination of leaves, say, running one way, beets another, herbs perhaps scattered through, calendula, too, for colour and companion planting. There is no right or wrong, though best not to sow the same seed in the same place every year if you have enough space avoid it.

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