Archive

A controversial council has launched a 12 week consultation on its policies restricting Airbnb-style short lets. Edinburgh council insists that new Airbnb...

Figures from the National House Building Council show that housebuilding is currently running at only half the rate the new Labour...

Planning permission has been given to the biggest-ever Build To Rent scheme in Milton Keynes. A company under the name PLATFORM_ has...

The veteran founder of Hunters, Kevin Hollinrake, is reported to be in the race to be Conservative Party leader.  He is MP...

A prominent lettings agent says banning agents and landlords conducting bidding wars for a rental property is not addressing the real...

The government’s renewed pledge to end Section 21 eviction powers for agents and landlords is fine, a leading industry figure has...

The trade union UNISON has partnered with activist group Generation Rent to demand root-and-branch reform of the private rental sector. Four key...

There’s a call from a prominent international building science service for the new Labour government to review the Energy Performance Certificates. EPCs...

Labour’s proposed planning reforms indicates that the new government is serious about change and grasping the nettle on housebuilding. That’s the view...

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has congratulated Labour on forming the next government but says it must move quickly to...

The biggest rental sector headline from Labour’s manifesto may well be its pledge for the “immediate” abolition of Section 21 eviction...

Thousands of homes in central London may have been lost to Airbnb and other short let platforms, a Labour candidate claims. Rachel...

An insurance firm’s analysis of official figures show there are now no fewer than 760,821 vacant properties in England, Scotland and...

Fines totalling £108,000 have been issued to letting agents and landlords breaching HMO rules in part of London.  An additional HMO licensing...

A review of Edinburgh’s controversial short term lets licensing will take place this summer. City councillors agreed to publicly consult on the...

The BBC is reporting that councillors in Manchester have launched a series of attacks on users of Airbnb and other short...

A lettings agency that works by giving a fixed rental income to its landlord clients each month, and paying for the...

The embattled short let and holiday let industry has hit out at what it calls the “rampant hypocrisy” of councils when...

Outstanding council tax arrears have soared according to new government figures. Data from he Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities shows...

The Scottish National Party, which as part of an alliance with the Greens introduced controversial rent controls in Scotland in 2022,...

Three directors from two letting agencies and a landlord have been fined £27,500 after failing to secure the appropriate license for...

Southampton council has approved a big new Build To Rent scheme on the site of a disused gasworks. Hawkstone Properties Ltd and...

Reapit has launched a new feature to help agents comply with material information guidelines from the National Trading Standards Estate and...

Labour’s manifesto, just released, makes a pledge to enact the “immediate” abolition of Section 21 eviction powers, along with other private...

A political party has proposed that Capital Gains Tax be equalised with Income Tax - meaning landlords and investors who sold...

Agents, and others in the lettings industry, have given a sceptical response to the Conservative manifesto and its varied pledges about...

The Conservatives have this afternoon set out a 78-page manifesto, of which just over two pages are given to housing and...

Data sourced from millions of bank accounts reveals spending on rent and mortgages increased 6.3 per cent year-on-year in May. Barclays data...

Labour is launching a new Freedom to Buy scheme to get 80,000 young people on the housing ladder, over the next...

The housing market has suddenly become a major part of the General Election campaign as a result of a challenge thrown...

Software company COHO has presented wards to agencies, suppliers and individuals involved in the HMO business. The firm says the awards honour...

A pro-tenant group wants the next government to take Right To Buy properties back to public ownership when they come up...

A lettings agency trading as Bowden Property Group Ltd has been fined £4,000 and £1,470 for failing to protect two tenancy...

A council-run lettings agency called YorHome is offering new incentives to woo private landlords away from conventional agents. Besides offering what it...

If Labour plans to bring in rent controls they won’t work, a property association has warned.  The National Association of Property Buyers...

London councils have slammed government plans for regulating the short-term and holiday lets sector. In a letter to Housing Secretary Michael Gove,...

A Labour MP is calling for rent controls to be introduced, with powers for councils to tweak them as they see...

Anti-second home posters seen in parts of North Wales and on social media have been reported to the police as a...

Propertymark has given its view on why private rents have risen so much - 6.1% in England, 7.0% in Wales and...

A council claims it’s reached an important stage in the process of deciding whether to implement the Article 4 Direction power...

Two London agents who traded fraudulently through their lettings business and scammed victims out of over £24,000 have been sentenced. After a...

The government has won a landmark legal challenge against a freeholder forcing it to fix serious building safety issues in a...

Propertymark has urged Scotland’s new First Minister to end the country’s housing emergency. John Swinney is now First Minister and says he...

The head of a lettings agency in Kent says it would be a “practical solution” for second home owners to become...

A call has gone out from an industry group for letting agents to be sure they know the distinctions between statutory...

A politician is claiming that second home council tax premiums, where owners pay up to double the normal rate, is resulting...

Campaigning charity Shelter is demanding an overhaul of the Renters Reform Bill, which will shortly begin its passage through the House...

The Housing Secretary in Wales says that nation is unlikely to follow the example of Scotland by introducing rent controls. At a...

Half of all private renters would not know where to turn to if a letting agent failed to address a problem...

A council has placed a Banning Order on a lettings agency operating unlicensed Houses in Multiple Occupation. Trophy Homes Ltd was hit...

The political chaos in Scotland presents sensible politicians with an ideal chance to resent housing policies and ditch rent controls. That’s the...

Michael Gove’s Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities hit back overnight at critics of the government’s Renters Reform Bill. The Bill...

Five Labour MPs have put forward an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons calling for rent controls - even...

A statement from a city council claims that a property company failed to attend court in a case of deposit protection,...

Political parties should stop bickering and instead work together to improve the private rental sector. That’s the view of the Lettings industry...

A lawyer says radical rental reforms proposed for Scotland - which could be a model for change in England and Wales...

An influential Labour website says a raft of proposed reforms for the private rental sector will be unveiled next month -...

Property logbook company Chimni is trialling a new form of Digital Property Logbook aimed at the Lettings markets.   The new logbooks...

Agents have expressed their anger at permanent rent controls proposed by the SNP and Green Party politicians running the Scottish Government. The...

Managing agents in London have been instructed to pay a £15,000 fine for operating a House in Multiple Occupation without the...

NatWest Group has announced a new package of what it calls ”targeted lending and support” to help local councils provide more...

A new borough-wide landlord licensing scheme is set to launch in the London borough of Brent on April 1, the council...

England’s county councils want the next government to set out a long-term plan for housing, as a new report claims there’s...

A think tank is urging the UK government to consider tax perks for private renters to help them save faster for...

Propertymark has urged the Scottish Government to resolve the country’s ongoing housing emergency. The news comes as Scottish Labour MSP Mark Griffin...

Owners of vacant properties are being offered an improved incentive to bring their house back into use. Plymouth council is re-launching its...

An umbrella group called London Councils has expressed “extreme concern” at the government’s decision to stop letting local authorities keep money...

Sharpened rules to double council tax on long term empty properties will come into force from April 1, says the government.  A...

Caerphilly council in Wales has bought privately owned properties to provide housing for families who would otherwise find themselves in temporary...

Labour has waded into the increasingly-fractious debate over the Renters Reform Bill. Activists in groups such as the Renters Reform Coalition and...

A building society has launched a pilot project banning mortgage lending on holiday lets in two tourist areas for 12 months. Leeds...

Countryside campaigning charity CPRE has given a warm welcome to Michael Gove’s clampdown on short lets. Earlier this week Housing Secretary Michael...

Respected energy industry consultancy Cornwall Insight says the price cap for the April to June period this year - to be...

Housing Secretary Michael Gove has this morning announced wholesale changes to planning and regulations surrounding short lets. His proposals include: - planning permission...

The trade body representing short lets providers and support companies has reacted angrily to government proposals for a radical shake up. Housing...

Ukrainians who came to the UK following the Russian invasion will be able to apply for 18-month extensions to their visas,...

A council that is buying private properties in second home hotspots to let to local people has struck a new agreement...

While most agents remain relatively tight lipped about party politics, the chief executive of Purplebricks has said the Tories should take...

The excessive enforcement of council rules on private landlords while social housing is so poorly run will be ‘the next Post...

Birmingham’s Labour council is considering closing its social housing waiting list to new applicants - and this is likely to trigger...

A survey of local council private rental licensing schemes says 19 selective and additional licensing schemes and consultations will be taking...

The number of private tenants in properties that are hard to heat has fallen, a council claims. As agents will know private...

The government has ruled out any reform to the council tax system. There has been long standing criticism of council tax because...

Propertymark’s property auction division - NAVA - has given ringing endorsement to the Material Information changes demanded under new Trading Standards...

The Renters Reform Bill cannot succeed without proper engagement with letting agents and landlords, Propertymark argues.    According to a Freedom of Information...

Scottish councils must engage with letting agents and landlords if radical rental reforms have any chance of working. Propertymark argues that the...

Seventeen housing organisations have sent an open letter to the government rejecting its idea of prioritising British families when it comes...

Winchester council is setting up its own agency to let and manage privately rented homes. Venta Living pledges to provide “high quality,...

Summer looks like it’s going to be a hectic period for lettings agents and the private rental sector according to TV...

Propertymark is hosting an Understanding Material Information for Lettings Agents on Thursday January 18 from 1230 to 1400. The National Trading Standards...

Agents, landlords and others’ views are being sought in a consultation on proposals to introduce a borough-wide additional licensing scheme for...

A council is considering borrowing £50m to buy properties to rent on the private market and for affordable housing. West Norfolk council...

The UK Apartment Association - effectively a trade body for the Build To Rent sector - is beefing up its top...

A historic former school and hospital building in Glasgow City Centre will be restored as part of a plan to create...

Propertymark is telling member agents to be aware of potential risks and help educate tenants to lookout for common scams, especially...

Labour says it will keep the controversal Right To Buy policy in England if it wins this year’s General Election. This is...

Housing Secretary Michael Gove has given what some commentators have interpreted as a sign that private rental sector licensing from councils...

One of the UK’s leading lettings agents is bemoaning what he calls “the missed opportunity “ to help the rental sector...

Measures contained in the Renters Reform Bill will fail without sufficient resources to ensure they can be enforced. The warning comes from...

A Labour-run London council is consulting on a new licensing scheme for private rented property.  If it goes ahead it will be...