Archive

A council claims that a pilot licensing scheme has discovered a very high proportion of rental homes requiring improvement. Plans to extend...

A property law expert is aiming to demystify the upcoming rental legislation for agents at a webinar tomorrow. Robert Bolwell, senior partner...

The sole director of a lettings agency, who was recently made the subject of an anti-social behaviour injunction and banning order,...

The Times has named a member of the City of London’s governing council as a key figure behind rogue letting agencies. Luis...

Greater regulation of lettings agents, and all other property professionals, is required to ‘finish the job’ of reforming the industry which...

Propertymark says one lasting legacy of the Grenfell Tower tragedy is that agents letting properties in high rise blocks must engage...

A property ownership and management company has been fined £20,000 for failing to carry out safety and fire safety improvement works...

A London property managing agent has been ordered to pay more than £80,000 for safety failings which “exposed a potentially large...

Why CRMs should not be relied upon for contract creation and management. Customer relationship management platforms (CRMs) are useful tools that...

A property consultancy says it’s identified the next ‘landmine’ in the building safety saga facing agents and landlords around the country. Mary-Anne...

The UK’s largest ever additional licensing scheme for HMOs has come into effect over the long weekend.  Westminster council’s scheme will focus...

One of the largest new additional licensing schemes for HMOs anywhere in the country is set to come into force in...

A landlord and the property company of which he is director have been convicted and ordered to pay more than £17,000...

Agents and landlords are being warned that the Fire Safety Act 2021 will make a huge impact on their responsibilities -...

Airbnb has launched a scheme it calls the UK Trust and Safety Alliance to offer hosts information on health, safety and...

Propertymark has given its broad support to a new Private Members Bill introduced into the Northern Ireland assembly, aimed at improving...

The local media in Manchester have published photographs of a property operated by a lettings agency was found to have multiple...

A council is offering free training to letting agents, via online courses starting next Monday. Dorset council says it wants to work...

A letting agent has been fined £11,500 for breaking HMO houses and fire safety rules at a property he manages. Agent Benjamin...

A property company and a landlord have each been found guilty of 27 charges relating to the management of two properties...

Landlords and managing agents of HMOs could face unlimited fines following new measures being brought in to strengthen fire safety, the...

A head tenant who posed as a landlord has been taken to court by a London council. Sonia Nascimento rented a converted...

Two landlords in the same town - one the director of a lettings firm - have been prosecuted as their properties...

Liverpool's mayor Joe Anderson has been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit bribery and witness intimidation. Anderson has been an outspoken...

One person had to be rescued from a fire after their landlord failed to ensure they had a working fire alarm...

A lettings firm has been ordered to pay over £18,000 after failing to provide adequate living conditions for his tenants. Chelmsford magistrates...

A London council has launched a strategy it claims will protect private tenants and ensure they live in good quality and...

The controversial Labour-led council in Liverpool has started a lengthy consultation process over its latest proposals for landlord licensing. The authority was...

The council in Liverpool is likely to propose a scaled-back private rental licensing scheme after its original suggestion was rejected by...

A council in London, where landlords yields and margins are already tight, says it wants to charge £550 for a renewed...

London Fire Brigade’s deputy assistant commissioner for fire safety has praised the new safety regulations which have now come in to...

Harrow council in north London has launched a formal consultation on its plan to renew its landlord licensing scheme in the...

A PropTech firm is making its Covid-19 functionality free to use for agents, landlords and tenants facing challenges in accessing properties.  Launched...

Liverpool’s Labour council, which was prevented by the government from extending its city-wide licensing scheme for another five years, is seeking...

A lettings agency and its director have pleaded guilty to renting out an overcrowded house in the first case brought to...

A shocking case of a buy to let HMO that did not even have a working smoke detector has led to...

A resident who was unable to access an emergency escape route during a fire was found standing on a windowsill hanging...

A council in a leafy area of south east England has issued an emergency prohibition order to a buy to let...

Liverpool’s Labour mayor says he is confident that the city will, after all, be able to renew its city-wide licensing scheme. Housing...

The fallout continues over the government’s shock refusal to allow Liverpool council to continue its huge landlord licensing scheme. Yesterday we reported that...

A seaside council has issued over £15,000 in fines to owners of unlicensed HMOs.  Torbay council in south Devon adds that “a...

A landlord has been fined almost £2,500 for breaching an improvement notice issued by Cambridge City Council. Noelle Salameh was fined after...

One of the UK’s highest profile lettings agencies - Countrywide band Beresford Adams - has been fined £22,500 for health and...

A Labour councillor on Islington council - which is controlled by the party and has Jeremy Corbyn as a local member...

Birmingham council has issued its first civil penalty against a House in Multiple Occupation landlord - and it says that move...

A joint operation between Avon and Somerset Police and North Somerset council has uncovered a string of issues connected with rental...

A tenant pretending to be landlord has been ordered to pay more than £21,000 after he carved up five family homes...

A London council has successfully prosecuted a so-called “dodgy operator” landlord for failing to comply with fire safety regulations and carry...

Six months on from the introduction of stricter licencing for Homes in Multiple Occupation, awareness “remains limited” according to one of...

A rogue landlady has been hit with a fine of £24,000 after conning her tenants and the local authorities with a...

A rogue letting agent has been ordered to pay £42,596 in fines and costs of £10,626 after pleading guilty to a...

A buy to let investor has received a hefty fine “for endangering the lives of his tenants by failing to meet...

The rapid growth of Airbnb-style short lets could lead to the loss of private rented homes and displacement of long-term residents...

Two buy to let investors have been fined thousands of pounds after failing to carry out improvements to unfit rental properties. Adur...

The council for one of the wealthiest areas in the country says it will be “educating and advising letting agents” on...

Two landlords have been ordered to pay more than £30,000 for breaching fire safety and over-occupancy licence conditions at their House...

A landlord has been convicted of three offences relating to his failure to comply with fire safety requirements in a privately...

A rogue lettings agent has been fined over £72,000 after being found guilty of 15 separate offences relating to three illegally established houses...

A landlord has been ordered to pay over £5,000 in fines and costs in a licensing dispute with a local council.  Almas...

A buy to let investor who let out a converted attic room despite it being the subject of a council prohibition...

A buy to let investor has been fined more than £5,000 and ordered to pay a further £4,000 after HMO offences.  John...

A buy to let investor has been forced to close down two rat infested homes he owns in Rotherham after they...

Two private landlords have been found guilty of managing Houses in Multiple Occupation with dangerous and sub-standard conditions, following a successful...

A lettings agent described as ‘rogue’ by a London council, along with two lettings companies, have been heavily fined for operating...

A landlord in Reading has been handed a huge fine for serious breaches of fire safety regulations.  Philip Brotherton's company Cresctcourt Properties...

A landlord has been hit with a total fine of almost £40,000 for breaching House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) management regulations. David...

A London local authority is looking for the landlord of a bungalow which had two bedrooms but was home to 15...

The council behind a controversial private rental sector licensing scheme is trying to justify its introduction on health and safety grounds. On...

Airbnb, the short lets platform that has received substantial criticism from the buy to let sector over its largely unregulated status,...

A buy to let investor has been fined £20,000 after a kitchen fire that occurred in May last year at a...

The government’s announcement that it will bring in mandatory electrical checks in the private rented sector has been welcomed - perhaps...

It’s been a difficult summer for Airbnb and other short-let platforms operating in the UK. Recently the European Commission gave Airbnb until the...

An investor has been fined £2,525 after failing to licence her property and allegedly providing inadequate living conditions for her tenants. Adeola...

All privately-let homes must have electrical installations checked every five years under new rules announced by the Ministry of Housing, Communities...

A trade body is backing a call by a parliamentary committee for the government to fund certain fire safety improvements in...

A local authority has described a lettings property as “a real House of Horrors that put the health and safety of...

A property managing agent has been ordered to pay £40,000 following the death of a woman at a fire at a...

The government’s review into building and fire safety regulations is missing the opportunity to assess fire safety regulations on a wider...

A property management company which ignored a series of housing safety regulations and flouted laws designed to protect tenants’ rights has...

A Brighton and Hove lettings agent has been fined more than £3,000 for allowing two properties that he owned himself to...

A rogue landlord has been fined twice in the space of two months for failing to provide a suitable standard of...

A buy to let property owner has received a four month prison sentence for letting out a property he had already...

The new online database identifying rogue letting agents and landlords will save lives according to the London Fire Brigade. We wrote about...

The local authority at Brent in north London has secured what it calls “an important court victory” after “appalling conditions” were...

The landlord of an HMO has been fined £3,300 for failures to meet his obligations, particularly regarding fire safety. At Northampton magistrates...

An industry trade group says residents in high rise blocks of flats are being let down by a system in which...

A buy to let investor who kept 24 adults and children in what a local council calls “appalling conditions” has a...

A London council is using dawn raids in its clampdown on illegal subletting and on so-called ‘beds in sheds’ where tenants...

More than half of buy to let landlords have taken measures to check the fire safety of their properties in the...

A lettings sector trade body is warning that contradictory and outdated fire safety guidance needs updating.    At present, landlords or their agent...

A proposed amendment to the government's Housing and Planning Bill which suggests landlords are required to make homes 'fit for human...

A landlord has been ordered to pay over £10,000 after pleading guilty to breaching three separate fire regulations. Charles Thornton was fined...

Two landlords have been fined almost £14,000 for breaching a multitude of property management regulations. Abdul Qadir, 56, and Dr Mohammed Anwar,...

A management firm and corporate landlord have been hit with a £250,000 fine after a “potentially lethal” flat blaze in London -...

A private landlord in Saffron Walden has been fined for letting what the local council describes as “poor and potentially dangerous...

A north London landlord who housed a family of five, including three children, in a cramped attic has been prosecuted by...

The landlord of a west London property, described by a judge as a "deathtrap" and an "accident waiting to happen", has...

A landlord who exposed tenants to “miserable” living conditions because of fire safety hazards has been prosecuted by a local authority.    The...

Another London borough is consulting on a further extension of its existing selective licensing - this time it’s Harrow council. It wants...

A landlord has been ordered to pay more than £17,000 in fines and costs after pleading guilty at St Albans Magistrates'...

The owner of a house in multiple occupation in the leafy Hampstead area of north London has been hit with a...

A landlord is facing prosecution for failing to comply with various HMO regulations.  For the last two days, Paul Turner has appeared...

A letting agency specialising in student accommodation in Nottingham city centre and its director have admitted a series of breaches of...

New data produced for Fire Door Safety Week shows that lower income tenants are more concerned about fire safety where they...

This week those working in the Private Rented Sector are being reminded of the importance of fire doors in rental properties. Fire...

A landlord has been fined £7,000 for letting two properties which were unfit for habitation. Shahzad Mehmood was prosecuted at Swindon Magistrates'...

An MP has written to the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, raising concerns over the effect short-term lets regulations are having...

A letting agency has been fined after one of its landlords was found to be cramming six families into an unlicensed...

A letting agency and one of its landlords have been fined over £20,000 and given criminal records for failing to licence...

A private landlord has been jailed after being accused by a judge of "cutting corners" and deliberately putting his "wealth" before...

A landlord is to be sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court next week after pleading guilty to seven charges relating to fire...

There has been yet another prosecution over an unsafe house in multiple occupation.   Syed Masum Ali appeared in Stafford Magistrates Court and...

A landlord in Milton Keynes has been ordered to pay a total of £24,168.29 for serious breaches of fire safety regulations...

Two landlords have been fined after being found guilty of fire safety failings in their rental properties. Both prosecutions were brought by...

The National Landlords Association (NLA) has launched a new version of its Fire Safety Logbook which has been endorsed by the...

Lettings companies and an organised group of criminals described as a “gang of chancers” have been hit with fines and costs...

The landlord of a rental property in Harrogate has been fined over £8,200 after pleading guilty to two offences under the Regulatory...

A landlord has been handed fines totalling £3,250 and costs of £1,426 for running an unlicensed and unsafe House in Multiple...

A landlord has received a six month suspended jail sentence, has been ordered to carry out 200 hours of community service...

Letting agents and property managers of blocks with fire doors are being urged to take their responsibilities more seriously. The warning comes...

A group of estate agents have teamed up with a local fire and rescue service to launch an initiative aimed at...

A student landlord has been sentenced to six months in prison and ordered to pay over £12,400 after pleading guilty to...

A kit explaining how homes to let can be made more secure and legally-compliant has been launched by the Residential Landlords...

A letting agency has been handed fines totalling £7,000 and costs of £1,140 after a council took it to court over...

A landlord has been hit with an £11,000 fine after putting his tenants' lives at risk. Javeed Hossain was prosecuted by the...

A landlord in Coventry has been handed a £3,350 fine after a house in multiple occupation under his ownership was found...

A landlord has been left with a £1,600 bill for failing to comply with an improvement notice over a four year...