An umbrella group called London Councils has expressed “extreme concern” at the government’s decision to stop letting local authorities keep money...
Archive
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
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
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
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
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 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 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
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
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
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
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
New directives issued by the government put the emphasis firmly on private landlords and their letting agents to take responsibility for...
11 September 2023
From: Breaking News
A survey of local authorities in some of the poorest areas of the country - bodies which enforce many private rental...
06 September 2023
From: Breaking News
A body largely consisting of councils wants more controls over Airbnbs and other short lets - and it wants local authorities...
31 August 2023
From: Breaking News
The new Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service - introduced this month - will make possession court case delays even worse. That’s the...
25 August 2023
From: Breaking News
Letting agents and landlords operating in South Warwickshire are being encouraged to take part in the next industry forum on Wednesday...
23 August 2023
From: Breaking News
A hate campaign against AirBnb appears to have been launched in a Welsh village. Newspaper reports say a sticker reading 'Death to...
15 August 2023
From: Breaking News
The Nationwide Foundation - a pressure group funded by the Nationwide - says more effective enforcement is required for the private...
15 August 2023
From: Breaking News
An MP says owner occupiers are “scared, unable to sleep at night, worried about their safety and even concerned about whether...
11 August 2023
From: Breaking News
London Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan is calling on the government to allow him to levy effectively uncapped council tax bills on...
02 August 2023
From: Breaking News
Council tax premiums being considered in Wales would be insufficient to persuade short let and holiday home owners to move their...
31 July 2023
From: Breaking News
The letting agents’ trade body ARLA Propertymark is urging the government to regulate Airbnb and other short let platforms but to...
25 July 2023
From: Breaking News
Airbnb has issued a statement responding to the call for a clampdown on short lets demanded by Labour’s outspoken London Mayor,...
24 July 2023
From: Breaking News
After numerous stories of councils and letting agencies at each others’ throats over To Let boards, Trading Standards and other controversies,...
12 July 2023
From: Breaking News
An attempt to introducing statutory licensing for Airbnbs and some other tourist accommodation has got a frosty reception. The Welsh Government -...
10 July 2023
From: Breaking News
New research shows a 41 per cent reduction in the number of London properties available for private rent since the Covid-19...
06 July 2023
From: Breaking News
A long-standing and respected property firm has slammed the government for presiding over the “mess” of taxes applied to holiday lets...
05 July 2023
From: Breaking News
London letting agents and landlords have so far been hit with more than £900,000 in fines in the first half of...
05 July 2023
From: Breaking News
Utility management service Helpthemove has rebranded. The refresh, which has been produced alongside creative agency partner Jam, aims - in the words...
29 June 2023
From: Breaking News
Ukrainians in the UK will be helped into private rental homes as part of a £150m government injection. The funding will be...
19 June 2023
From: Breaking News
A seasoned property lawyer who has specialised in residential landlord and tenant law for 22 years says she is embarrassed at...
16 June 2023
From: Breaking News
A Liberal Democrat council leader says all properties - even those in properly established lettings businesses - should be charged council...
15 June 2023
From: Breaking News
The Nationwide Foundation - a charitable foundation founded by the Nationwide Building Society - says the Renters Reform Bill should be...
06 June 2023
From: Breaking News
I was surprised the other day to read statistics from the English Housing Survey about how many landlords use letting agents. In...
05 June 2023
From: Breaking News
A prominent housing journalist says Labour should fund councils to buy homes directly from private landlords to rapidly increase the size...
01 June 2023
From: Breaking News
A left-leaning think tank which says it champions ‘left-behind Londoners’ is demanding a turbo-charged version of selective licensing to be run...
26 May 2023
From: Breaking News
The co-leader of the Green Party wants the Renters Reform Bill to go further in restricting the powers of private landlords. Carla...
22 May 2023
From: Breaking News
Foxtons is to give its agents access to a compliance management and checking service. Fran Giltinan, Managing Director - Property Management &...
19 May 2023
From: Breaking News
The pro-tenant anti-landlord Renters Reform Bill has at last been published by the government which first promised it in 2019. It has...
17 May 2023
From: Breaking News
A newspaper says Labour is seeking to woo renter voters by allowing councils to restrict new build homes to first time...
11 May 2023
From: Breaking News
Housing Secretary Michael Gove says the long-awaited Renters Reform Bill, first promised in 2019, will finally be introduced into Parliament this...
09 May 2023
From: Breaking News
A new consultation by one of the national governments within the UK advocates giving more councils power to make huge rises...
04 May 2023
From: Breaking News
An activist group claims that 54 per cent of students are currently living with damp and mould. The group - Students Organising...
04 May 2023
From: Breaking News
A group of activists is trying to raise £15,000 to campaign for local councils to clampdown on AirBnb and other short...
25 April 2023
From: Breaking News
Agents and landlords operating in South Warwickshire are being encouraged to take part in an industry forum on Monday May 15...
19 April 2023
From: Breaking News
An agent has spoken out about a proposal to allow huge council tax rises on second homes and empty properties. New Scottish...
18 April 2023
From: Breaking News
The letting agents’ trade body Propertymark has slammed the current lack of consistency of council tax on HMOs. It describes today’s system...
17 April 2023
From: Breaking News
New powers have been revealed to tackle what the Welsh Government calls the ‘problem’ of second homes. A statement from the Senedd...
05 April 2023
From: Breaking News
Labour’s much-publicised pledge to freeze council tax for the next year excludes empty buy to let properties and second homes it...
03 April 2023
From: Breaking News
A proposal to introduce a national register of Airbnb hosts in a bid to curb rowdy behaviour by guests has been...
29 March 2023
From: Breaking News
The Local Government Association, which comprises 331 of the 333 councils in England and all 22 Welsh unitary councils, is calling on...
02 March 2023
From: Breaking News
The Competition and Markets Authority is launching a three month probe into how letting agents operate within the private rental sector. It says...
28 February 2023
From: Breaking News
Propertymark has hit out at a proposal from a group of MPs that there should be a single Ombudsman covering the...
13 February 2023
From: Breaking News
The activist group Generation Rent is backing a call by MPs for the government to tighten up proposals to scrap Section...
10 February 2023
From: Breaking News
The political party propping up the Scottish Government says higher taxes on buy to lets will help the housing market be...
31 January 2023
From: Breaking News
The director of a property development firm says Labour leader Sir Kier Starmer must do more to boost housing supply as...
09 January 2023
From: Breaking News
Propertymark has written to Housing Secretary Michael Gove outlining its concerns about the latest licensing scheme proposal from a local council. The...
04 January 2023
From: Breaking News
South Hams council in south Devon - one of the UK’s top holiday spots - has unanimously agreed proposals for second...
23 December 2022
From: Breaking News
Agents have expressed their anger at the government effectively scrapping any meaningful house building targets. Housing Secretary Michael Gove scrapped the mandatory...
12 December 2022
From: Breaking News
Housing Secretary Michael Gove has sent a letter to the Competitions and Markets Authority saying the watchdog is independent - but...
07 December 2022
From: Breaking News
The government is to open a consultation on whether residential properties should require planning consent to be used as short lets...
06 December 2022
From: Breaking News
Three councils will be sharing £1.21m in public cash over the next two years to tackle poor quality properties in the...
06 December 2022
From: Breaking News
A not-for-profit company that matches rental properties with vulnerable tenants in need of accommodation has partnered with a maintenance firm to...
30 November 2022
From: Breaking News
Propertymark has given its backing to a clampdown by Housing Secretary Michael Gove on private landlords - although landlords themselves appear...
25 November 2022
From: Breaking News
A lettings network is urging landlords to back a campaign to abolish council tax re-banding for shared houses. Platinum Property Partners says...
23 November 2022
From: Breaking News
A lettings agency chief has listed how rent controls have failed across the world. Writing in The Scotsman, David Alexander - chief...
14 November 2022
From: Breaking News
Propertymark backs government plans to introduce a social housing-style Decent Homes Standard in the private sector. But it says there must be...
11 November 2022
From: Breaking News
Rishi Sunak has won the Conservative leadership campaign and is set to become Prime Minister tomorrow. Over the summer Sunak set out...
24 October 2022
From: Breaking News
The government has released new figures on the amount being spent by local councils on temporary accommodation for homeless households in...
21 October 2022
From: Breaking News
The first step within the UK to officially monitor Airbnb-style short lets comes into effect on Saturday, which is October 1. Scotland’s...
29 September 2022
From: Breaking News
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer picked on the buy to let and holiday home sectors as targets for future restrictions, in...
28 September 2022
From: Breaking News
An accreditation scheme says the government database of rogue letting agents should be expanded. The government is committed to creating a new Property...
27 September 2022
From: Breaking News
* Angels Media and Letting Agent Today are deeply saddened by the passing of HM Queen Elizabeth II * - The controversial rent...