Archive

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

A snap poll of letting agents has revealed that only a tiny percentage have taken steps to prepare for the shift...

Even as he was being elected as Mayor of London for a record-beating third successive time, Sadiq Khan was under pressure...

A prominent agent campaigning for business tax reform is urging Labour to come clean on its policies for business rates and...

A housing company has been fined £528,000 after an employee repairing a fence post inadvertently struck an underground cable, suffering burns...

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...

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...

A new guide from Propertymark explains the rights which private rental tenants have - and sets out how they can challenge...

The government’s failure to act on the Regulation of Property Agents (RoPA) working party - chaired by Lord Richard Best and...

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

The substantial majority of tenants are completely unaware of the Renters Reform Bill, it’s been alleged. A survey of over 2,000 private...

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

A lettings agency has been expelled from The Property Ombudsman scheme following itsfailure to pay £1,100 out of an adjudicated award...

The Open Property Data Association has released a new version of its property data standards framework to help letting agents comply...

A Parliamentary committee has heard that thousands of small and medium-sized letting agencies were debanked in 2023, with financial institutions forcibly...

Tenant reference and tech supplier The Lettings Hub claims 25 per cent of fraudulent documents submitted by would-be tenants were identified...

The Chancellor has one last chance to come good on the election promise of lowering the burden of business rates –...

Towns within commuting distance of big cities have seen some of the UK’s largest rent rises in recent years, says Zoopla. The...

New research suggests that a majority of the British public believe the government should be doing more to support students find...

A figure in one of the country’s highest profile lettings companies has hit out at a government proposal to penalise the...

Nationwide has taken the unusual step of using its buy to let lending arm - The Mortgage Works - to make...

Shelter is calling for the construction of 90,000 rental properties each year for a decade - and it claims this would...

Knight Frank has taken the unusual step of suggesting a government proposal for the housing market is high-risk and could even...

A letting agent who stole over £40,000 from her employer was caught when a bank queried the use of a company...

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

Propertymark is urging the Sunak government to introduce specialist housing courts with expert Judges who can expedite cases and create a...

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

Shelter is warning that the government’s failure to abolish Section 21 evictions will backfire and that “renters will remember who stood...

According to the BBC, the Government is no longer committed to increase the amount disabled people in England can claim to...

Prominent MPs from the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties have renewed their onslaught on Airbnb and other short let platforms.  Former Lib...

A trades union has slammed the Bank of England over its decision to keep base rate at 5.25 per cent, saying...

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

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

Two thirds of private renters have experienced a problem with the quality or condition of their property in the past six...

Glasgow has been revealed as the UK city with the biggest rise in the number of buy to let properties in...

Two former housing ministers are at war with each other after an attack on Rishi Sunak’s premiership in today’s Daily Telegraph. Sir...

Thousands of lettings and estate agencies, and other property businesses, are in ‘critical’ or ‘significant’ financial distress, it’s been claimed. The latest...

Controversy surrounds a government idea - floated over the weekend - to allow renters to secure mortgages with just one per...

Fines for agents and landlords who breach Right To Rent rules increase today from £80 per lodger and £1,000 per occupier...

Insurance giant Aviva is urging consumers to be on their guard after seeing a seven per cent increase in customer claims...

A register launched to shed light on overseas property ownership in the UK now has over 30,000 registrations.  The Register of Overseas...

Agents’ trade body Propertymark says the current debate on the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill is another example of how agent...

Propertymark has urged the Scottish Government to build more affordable homes. The latest data from the Scottish Government itself shows that the...

Two property company bosses have been sentenced following an Insolvency Service investigation which found they had abused a £30,000 Bounce Back...

A London lettings agency has been expelled from The Property Ombudsman for not paying compensation to a landlord following a failure...

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

A lettings agency has pleaded guilty to seven offences relating to an HMO. IHomes Letting Limited has been fined £16,970 for failing...

Scores of councils that enforce licensing regimes on the private rental sector claim they are on the verge of bankruptcy. Almost one...

A consultation to introduce boilers into homes and the private rented sector needs ‘more carrot than stick’ according to a prominent...

The Information Commissioner’s Office has issued advice to agencies on how to comply with data protection law.  The UK data protection regulator...

A trade body representing short lets operators has slammed government housing failures. The Short Term Accommodation Association says it’s analysed local authority...

Shelter says there are nearly 139,000 children officially homeless and living in temporary accommodation - and it’s blaming the private rental...

A new report suggests London’s Build To Rent sector is being held back by a “stark inconsistency” from local councils in...

David Wilson Homes has launched a scheme where prospective buyers who can muster a 2.5 per cent deposit can reserve a...

The latest edition of the HomeLet Rental Index shows a near double-digit average annual rent rise across the UK. Renters can now...

Average rents in Scotland for new tenancies in the private sector have risen by double digits for the fourth quarter in a...

A tenant is reported to have sued a lettings agency after its alleged failure to return his £375 deposit. The Get Surrey...

A client account is essential to your lettings business, but the rules and regulations you need to follow to keep this...

Harlow council says it wants to take a harder line against agents and landlords who knowingly let unsafe and substandard properties...

Labour deputy leader and shadow housing secretary Angela Rayner has given her party’s conference an outline of future policy plans. She says:...

A high profile lettings agent has written to his local council seeking information about an Additional Licensing scheme which has expired...

Thousands of pounds of landlords’ money may be lost as a result of the administration of high-profile London lettings agency Douglas...

Local media on the south coast are reporting that a lettings agent crashed his Bentley into two parked cars and then...

An agency has been fined by a London council for failing to licence a property it was managing. Gracechurch Property Services has...

Automated client accounting platform Lettspay is set to launch a new client account banking product for letting agents. The supplier has worked...

New directives issued by the government put the emphasis firmly on private landlords and their letting agents to take responsibility for...

Private rents have continued to soar in Scotland according to DJ Alexander, the largest lettings agency in the country.  It says rental...

The Competitioin and Markets Authority is to probe five activities involving letting agents and landlords and their responsibilities to private tenants. Sarah...

Section 21 evictions are set to soar even higher, a property association leader forecasts - because of the threat to abolish...

The company which owned and was responsible for a five-storey block of rented flats in Bridlington has been ordered to pay...

Average rents in Scotland for new tenancies in the private rented sector have risen by double digits for the third time...

A rogue lettings agency in London has been expelled from The Property Ombudsman scheme but is still thought to be trading. Hawks...

The letting agents’ trade body ARLA Propertymark is urging the government to regulate Airbnb and other short let platforms but to...

Airbnb has issued a statement responding to the call for a clampdown on short lets demanded by Labour’s outspoken London Mayor,...

The Property Redress Scheme has released its latest list of expelled agents - mostly for rental misdemeanours and/or failure to pay...

Housing Secretary Michael Gove has this morning said his government should ‘relax the pace’ of EPC reforms expected from private landlords. In...

The Co-Op Bank is joining forces with campaigning charity Shelter to argue against Section 21 evictions, and together they have organised...

The head of a consultancy that handles lettings agency acquisition has given her views on what a General Election might mean...

The story of low supply in the prime London lettings market appears to be coming to an end, says Knight Frank. The...

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is today charing a crisis meeting of mortgage lenders, as calls mount for him to take action to...

Three property management companies and a landlord have been fined approaching £80,000 for health and safety failings. Mohammed Ali Abbas Rasool, Cadogan...

Six letting agencies across the London borough of Haringey have been fined a total of £12,000 after a council clampdown. Trading Standards...

A management company and a lettings agency involved in running a London HMO have been prosecuted for fire safety failures. Monsoon Properties...

Two prominent trade bodies representing elements of the private rental sector are fighting back against the latest attempt to impose rent...

The rental market is set to benefit from a surge in potential buyers putting their purchase plans on hold. Data from NerdWallet...

The Nationwide Foundation - a charitable foundation founded by the Nationwide Building Society - says the Renters Reform Bill should be...

Propertymark is backing the installation of carbon monoxide alarms in all residential buildings in Wales. The Welsh Government is proposing to amend...

A respected property lawyer is accusing the government of helping nuisance tenants at the expense of the weak and vulnerable. Ian Narberth,...

A holiday lettings agency has come out fighting on behalf of its clients. Following calls by local leaders in Cornwall and Devon...

Propertymark has given an insight into how letting agents are likely to be expected to use a new Landlords Database. The database...

A chief executive who pledged to beef up her agency’s lettings division - but failed to do so - is leaving...

The main landlord body wants more details behind the soundbite rhetoric of the Renters Referm Bill, launched today in Parliament. Ben Beadle,...

A £5,000 fine has been upheld against a landlord who failed to declare himself as a property agent and did not join a mandatory...

Labour is considering raising the buy to let and holiday home stamp duty surcharge above the current three per cent if...

Any lettings portfolio should receive ongoing care and maintenance. A disorganised portfolio, weighed down by junk data, loose ends or lax...

As a dedicated letting agent, or estate agent with a lettings portfolio, you already have a lot on your plate. Managing...

A consultancy that handles lettings agency acquisition says funding options exist for companies wishing to buy others, despite rising interest rates. Lucy...

A lettings agency chief says tighter EPC targets will be “devastating” for the private rental sector. Ben Quaintrell - managing director of...