The head of a lettings agency in Kent says it would be a “practical solution” for second home owners to become...
Archive
A call has gone out from an industry group for letting agents to be sure they know the distinctions between statutory...
01 May 2024
From: Breaking News
A politician is claiming that second home council tax premiums, where owners pay up to double the normal rate, is resulting...
01 May 2024
From: Breaking News
Campaigning charity Shelter is demanding an overhaul of the Renters Reform Bill, which will shortly begin its passage through the House...
01 May 2024
From: Breaking News
The Housing Secretary in Wales says that nation is unlikely to follow the example of Scotland by introducing rent controls. At a...
30 April 2024
From: Breaking News
Half of all private renters would not know where to turn to if a letting agent failed to address a problem...
30 April 2024
From: Breaking News
A council has placed a Banning Order on a lettings agency operating unlicensed Houses in Multiple Occupation. Trophy Homes Ltd was hit...
29 April 2024
From: Breaking News
The political chaos in Scotland presents sensible politicians with an ideal chance to resent housing policies and ditch rent controls. That’s the...
29 April 2024
From: Breaking News
Michael Gove’s Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities hit back overnight at critics of the government’s Renters Reform Bill. The Bill...
25 April 2024
From: Breaking News
Five Labour MPs have put forward an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons calling for rent controls - even...
22 April 2024
From: Breaking News
A statement from a city council claims that a property company failed to attend court in a case of deposit protection,...
19 April 2024
From: Breaking News
Political parties should stop bickering and instead work together to improve the private rental sector. That’s the view of the Lettings industry...
17 April 2024
From: Breaking News
A lawyer says radical rental reforms proposed for Scotland - which could be a model for change in England and Wales...
16 April 2024
From: Breaking News
An influential Labour website says a raft of proposed reforms for the private rental sector will be unveiled next month -...
08 April 2024
From: Breaking News
Property logbook company Chimni is trialling a new form of Digital Property Logbook aimed at the Lettings markets. The new logbooks...
02 April 2024
From: Breaking News
Agents have expressed their anger at permanent rent controls proposed by the SNP and Green Party politicians running the Scottish Government. The...
28 March 2024
From: Breaking News
Managing agents in London have been instructed to pay a £15,000 fine for operating a House in Multiple Occupation without the...
27 March 2024
From: Breaking News
NatWest Group has announced a new package of what it calls ”targeted lending and support” to help local councils provide more...
27 March 2024
From: Breaking News
A new borough-wide landlord licensing scheme is set to launch in the London borough of Brent on April 1, the council...
27 March 2024
From: Breaking News
England’s county councils want the next government to set out a long-term plan for housing, as a new report claims there’s...
25 March 2024
From: Breaking News
A think tank is urging the UK government to consider tax perks for private renters to help them save faster for...
20 March 2024
From: Breaking News
Propertymark has urged the Scottish Government to resolve the country’s ongoing housing emergency. The news comes as Scottish Labour MSP Mark Griffin...
20 March 2024
From: Breaking News
Owners of vacant properties are being offered an improved incentive to bring their house back into use. Plymouth council is re-launching its...
14 March 2024
From: Breaking News
An umbrella group called London Councils has expressed “extreme concern” at the government’s decision to stop letting local authorities keep money...
13 March 2024
From: Breaking News
Sharpened rules to double council tax on long term empty properties will come into force from April 1, says the government. A...
13 March 2024
From: Breaking News
Caerphilly council in Wales has bought privately owned properties to provide housing for families who would otherwise find themselves in temporary...
01 March 2024
From: Breaking News
Labour has waded into the increasingly-fractious debate over the Renters Reform Bill. Activists in groups such as the Renters Reform Coalition and...
29 February 2024
From: Breaking News
A building society has launched a pilot project banning mortgage lending on holiday lets in two tourist areas for 12 months. Leeds...
26 February 2024
From: Breaking News
Countryside campaigning charity CPRE has given a warm welcome to Michael Gove’s clampdown on short lets. Earlier this week Housing Secretary Michael...
23 February 2024
From: Breaking News
Respected energy industry consultancy Cornwall Insight says the price cap for the April to June period this year - to be...
20 February 2024
From: Breaking News
Housing Secretary Michael Gove has this morning announced wholesale changes to planning and regulations surrounding short lets. His proposals include: - planning permission...
19 February 2024
From: Breaking News
The trade body representing short lets providers and support companies has reacted angrily to government proposals for a radical shake up. Housing...
19 February 2024
From: Breaking News
Ukrainians who came to the UK following the Russian invasion will be able to apply for 18-month extensions to their visas,...
19 February 2024
From: Breaking News
A council that is buying private properties in second home hotspots to let to local people has struck a new agreement...
16 February 2024
From: Breaking News
While most agents remain relatively tight lipped about party politics, the chief executive of Purplebricks has said the Tories should take...
13 February 2024
From: Breaking News
The excessive enforcement of council rules on private landlords while social housing is so poorly run will be ‘the next Post...
12 February 2024
From: Breaking News
Birmingham’s Labour council is considering closing its social housing waiting list to new applicants - and this is likely to trigger...
12 February 2024
From: Breaking News
A survey of local council private rental licensing schemes says 19 selective and additional licensing schemes and consultations will be taking...
09 February 2024
From: Breaking News
The number of private tenants in properties that are hard to heat has fallen, a council claims. As agents will know private...
06 February 2024
From: Breaking News
The government has ruled out any reform to the council tax system. There has been long standing criticism of council tax because...
06 February 2024
From: Breaking News
Propertymark’s property auction division - NAVA - has given ringing endorsement to the Material Information changes demanded under new Trading Standards...
05 February 2024
From: Breaking News
The Renters Reform Bill cannot succeed without proper engagement with letting agents and landlords, Propertymark argues. According to a Freedom of Information...
31 January 2024
From: Breaking News
Scottish councils must engage with letting agents and landlords if radical rental reforms have any chance of working. Propertymark argues that the...
31 January 2024
From: Breaking News
Seventeen housing organisations have sent an open letter to the government rejecting its idea of prioritising British families when it comes...
30 January 2024
From: Breaking News
Winchester council is setting up its own agency to let and manage privately rented homes. Venta Living pledges to provide “high quality,...
25 January 2024
From: Breaking News
Summer looks like it’s going to be a hectic period for lettings agents and the private rental sector according to TV...
17 January 2024
From: Breaking News
Propertymark is hosting an Understanding Material Information for Lettings Agents on Thursday January 18 from 1230 to 1400. The National Trading Standards...
16 January 2024
From: Breaking News
Agents, landlords and others’ views are being sought in a consultation on proposals to introduce a borough-wide additional licensing scheme for...
09 January 2024
From: Breaking News
A council is considering borrowing £50m to buy properties to rent on the private market and for affordable housing. West Norfolk council...
08 January 2024
From: Breaking News
The UK Apartment Association - effectively a trade body for the Build To Rent sector - is beefing up its top...
05 January 2024
From: Breaking News
A historic former school and hospital building in Glasgow City Centre will be restored as part of a plan to create...
05 January 2024
From: Breaking News
Propertymark is telling member agents to be aware of potential risks and help educate tenants to lookout for common scams, especially...
04 January 2024
From: Breaking News
Labour says it will keep the controversal Right To Buy policy in England if it wins this year’s General Election. This is...
02 January 2024
From: Breaking News
Housing Secretary Michael Gove has given what some commentators have interpreted as a sign that private rental sector licensing from councils...
27 December 2023
From: Breaking News
One of the UK’s leading lettings agents is bemoaning what he calls “the missed opportunity “ to help the rental sector...
22 December 2023
From: Breaking News
Measures contained in the Renters Reform Bill will fail without sufficient resources to ensure they can be enforced. The warning comes from...
13 December 2023
From: Breaking News
A Labour-run London council is consulting on a new licensing scheme for private rented property. If it goes ahead it will be...
12 December 2023
From: Breaking News
Low-income renters will get a boost next spring - but a pressure group wants more government help for this sector. The Chancellor’s...
12 December 2023
From: Breaking News
A lettings agency has pleaded guilty to seven offences relating to an HMO. IHomes Letting Limited has been fined £16,970 for failing...
11 December 2023
From: Breaking News
A lettings agency has initiated new systems to ensure there is no repeat of a mistake that left some client properties...
08 December 2023
From: Breaking News
Scores of councils that enforce licensing regimes on the private rental sector claim they are on the verge of bankruptcy. Almost one...
08 December 2023
From: Breaking News
New housing minister Lee Rowley has spoken out in favour of Build To Rent. At the inaugural Build To Rent Innovators conference...
08 December 2023
From: Breaking News
I think we can all agree that the National Trading Standards Material Information reforms are a good thing for the property...
06 December 2023
From: Sponsored Content
Portsmouth and Southsea lettings agency Chinneck Shaw has been appointed to manage the first purpose-built Build to Rent project from Ravelin...
04 December 2023
From: Breaking News
A trade body representing short lets operators has slammed government housing failures. The Short Term Accommodation Association says it’s analysed local authority...
01 December 2023
From: Breaking News
Second homes in the area of Essex known as Tendring - including popular holiday lets resort Frinton on Sea and the...
01 December 2023
From: Breaking News
Parts B and C of the process to improve material information disclosure in property listings are published today within comprehensive new guidance...
30 November 2023
From: Breaking News
Another large Build To Rent scheme is in the offing, this time in Devon’s capital city, Exeter. Plans to build 246 BTR...
30 November 2023
From: Breaking News
Propertymark has told politicians that an additional homes tax will not succeed in increasing housing supply. Timothy Douglas, head of policy and...
23 November 2023
From: Breaking News
A prominent housing expert has told MPs that letting agents could be used to police the standards off homes made available...
20 November 2023
From: Breaking News
Changes put forward to the Renters Reform Bill to crack down on rogue landlords, protect vulnerable residents and improve the safety of...
15 November 2023
From: Breaking News
A new report suggests London’s Build To Rent sector is being held back by a “stark inconsistency” from local councils in...
15 November 2023
From: Breaking News
A private lettings agency run by a council is holding open days to woo potential landlord clients. Test Valley Lettings is later...
10 November 2023
From: Breaking News
Propertymark has welcomed the government’s commitment to end the practice of council tax of banding single rooms in HMOs, potentially saving...
02 November 2023
From: Breaking News
A council’s lettings service - first set up a decade ago - says it is stepping up its campaign to recruit...
31 October 2023
From: Breaking News
The lettings agency Winkworth has taken the unusual step of criticising policies of a series of councils. The councils are all Labour...
30 October 2023
From: Breaking News
A council has launched its own social lettings agency to work with private sector landlords in tackling the record numbers living...
26 October 2023
From: Breaking News
A business consortium is calling for bold measures to encourage landlords and owner occupiers to retrofit their homes, with the introduction...
24 October 2023
From: Breaking News
Councils have become increasingly hostile towards agents in recent times, with increased regulation and licensing of the private rental sector in...
23 October 2023
From: Breaking News
Harlow council says it wants to take a harder line against agents and landlords who knowingly let unsafe and substandard properties...
20 October 2023
From: Breaking News
Reapit has inked a deal with fast-expanding PropTech service Kamma to automate information about private rental sector council licensing. This year is...
19 October 2023
From: Breaking News
A charity claims the Renters Reform Bill, which gets its Second Reading in the Commons next week, will help reduce homelessness. New...
19 October 2023
From: Breaking News
The National Audit Office says the government will soon have to take hard decisions on the future for the Homes For...
17 October 2023
From: Breaking News
A PR exercise has discovered that 89 per cent of UK MPs would not give priority to Build-to-Rent schemes in their...
11 October 2023
From: Breaking News
Five councils are delivering what they call “a ground-breaking project” aimed at improving the experience and environment for landlords and tenants...
11 October 2023
From: Breaking News
Labour deputy leader and shadow housing secretary Angela Rayner has given her party’s conference an outline of future policy plans. She says:...
09 October 2023
From: Breaking News
Social housing provider Caridon Property is hosting a series of free seminars to prepare letting agents for the migration of Housing...
09 October 2023
From: Breaking News
A new manifesto calling for rent controls and a raft of other measures is accusing the current rent rises of being...
06 October 2023
From: Breaking News
Parents and pet owners are paying as much as £460 per month more for rent and bills, it’s claimed. The claim comes...
06 October 2023
From: Breaking News
A high profile lettings agent has written to his local council seeking information about an Additional Licensing scheme which has expired...
04 October 2023
From: Breaking News
Local media in one of Britain’s busiest cities for rentals says tenants have been left in tears as a result of...
03 October 2023
From: Breaking News
Airbnb has taken the unusual step of buying space on an influential Labour Party website, just ahead of the party’s conference. Amanda...
27 September 2023
From: Breaking News
Westminster’s Labour controlled council is stepping up its war on Airbnbs and other short lets. It was a mandatory registration system for...
25 September 2023
From: Breaking News
The Scottish Government is proposing to give local councils the discretion to charge Council Tax premiums of up to 100 per...
22 September 2023
From: Breaking News
An agency has been fined by a London council for failing to licence a property it was managing. Gracechurch Property Services has...
21 September 2023
From: Breaking News
Two massive new rental licensing schemes are set to be approved in Brighton - and part of the reason is “uninterested...
14 September 2023
From: Breaking News
Labour’s new shadow Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Secretary, Angela Rayner, says she will put council Housing at the heart of...
13 September 2023
From: Breaking News
The Head of the National Trading Standards Scams Team is one of two new non-executive directors at The Property Ombudsman. Louise Baxter...
12 September 2023
From: Breaking News
There’s to be a consultation this autumn about a proposed selective licensing regime in Scarborough. The proposal covers parts of the Castle,...