Archive

A London council describes two new licensing schemes as ‘making renting fairer’ - even though they are launched during the pandemic. Islington’s Labour...

Letting agents should help landlords through a blizzard of red tape and regulation cause by local licensing schemes, a PropTech entrepreneur...

Lambeth council is consulting agents, landlords and others on its latest licensing proposals for Houses in Multiple Occupation. The new proposals would...

A council claims that as many as a fifth of all the private rental sector homes in its area have a...

A new HMO and co-living property management platform launches today, aimed at optimising tenancy occupancy.  The service - called COHO - claims...

There are growing calls for so-called ‘exempt accommodation’ to face the same controls that are exerted over the rest of the...

Restaurant staff were kept in “dangerous and overcrowded” conditions by a property company and its landlord-director, a court has heard. The company...

Walsall council in the Midlands is considering an Additional Licensing scheme for HMOs.  As is often the case with such schemes, the...

Another local authority is considering a clampdown on the spread and condition of HMOs. Bath and North East Somerset Council, which is...

A long-running case about a house divided up and let out without planning permission has resulted in a fine of nearly...

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

Recent debate about urgent need for reform and better collaboration within the property industry, has once again come under the spotlight...

A Labour MP and a newspaper have joined forces to campaign against so-called ‘exempted rental accommodation’. One of Birmingham’s MPs - Jack...

London’s Westminster council - with 43 per cent of housing stock in the private rental sector - has launched a consultation on...

A London council has dropped plans to restrict the creation of HMOs, a full 12 months after a consultation on the...

Opposition Labour councillors on a local authority says HMOs should only be let if each bedroom has an en suite bathroom.  The...

A major north of England local authority wants to introduce landlord licensing for HMOs where three or four tenants live, following analysis...

A £5,000 fine has been handed to five landlords in London for failing to license HMOs.  One of the properties, a four-bedroom HMO in...

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

Two landlords have been served with civil penalty notices for operating unlicensed HMOs.  The notices were from Wellingborough council; one was for...

A new private rental licensing regime in a London borough is being described as “a major step forward in improving living...

Oxford council, which has 49 per cent of its housing stock in the private rental sector, is starting a formal consultation...

A London council is telling its private rental sector residents to use a new tool to check whether they may be...

Charnwood council in the East Midlands is proposing to introduce two different licensing schemes for private landlords, with agents and others...

Greenwich council in London has resuscitated a proposal to extend its existing selective licensing regime, put on ice during the Coronavirus...

Two London landlords and their lettings agents will have to pay tens of thousands of pounds after a home they were letting...

The lettings market in Wales reopened almost fully yesterday. ARLA Propertymark, which has analysed the restrictions that were in place until this...

Four buy to let investors have each been fined £10,000 for letting out unlicensed HMOs. The unlicensed properties , all in the...

A westcountry landlord is only the second in England to have received a banning order preventing him from letting or managing...

Research from franchise giant Belvoir is the latest to show what may be rapidly changing aspirations from private tenants. “The results confirm...

A local council is warning the HMO rental sector that tenants may be put at unnecessary risk as a result of...

Residents at home during lockdown who may have seen families crammed into overcrowded HMOs are being asked to report the properties...

The buy-to-let market has grown significantly in recent years as long-term renting becomes more popular and investors continue to see the...

Aldermore Bank is this week resuming physical mortgage valuations on properties for house purchase and remortgage in England, where strict social...

A specialist mortgage broker is suggesting that this is the right time for buy to let investors to bag bargain properties,...

Some buy to let mortgages are now more expensive than before for borrowers, despite the recent fall in the Bank of...

Student lettings and management company Uni2 Rent has expanded its business with the acquisition of Nottingham West Lettings, for an undisclosed...

Research by the National Residential Landlords Association and the Which? consumer body has revealed that some 53 councils in England alone...

A London council has pressed ahead with the launch of a borough-wide additional licensing scheme despite the lockdown and uncertainty created...

Hello and welcome to Conquering Corona, our bid to help agents through the crisis. If you have appropriate advice to share with...

A lender is now offering what it calls ‘instant decisions-in-principle’ for buy to let purchasers still buying property at the moment. Landbay...

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

A council says it’s considering lending funds for improvement to landlords who “behave fairly and appropriately” - and buy into a...

A lettings agent has completed a £2.6million property acquisition plan in one city on behalf of investors, and will go on...

A local authority has taken the unusual step of saying that a £600 surcharge will be added to the licensing costs...

A row is erupting in Swansea over the number of HMOs in the city. Council leaders in the city want to implement...

New regulations mean highest risk rental properties may not have legally binding electrical safety cover for a prolonged period of time. That’s...

New regulations governing HMOs are coming into effect in a north of England council. Landlords and developers will now need planning permission...

A leading trade body is voicing concern over yet another council private rental sector licensing scheme - with particular worry over...

Another Labour council wants to introduce a city-wide landlord licensing scheme - a proposal that would require government approval to implement. Last...

The latest lettings market snapshot by mortgage lender Paragon has found that of the landlords planning to purchase property in the...

Officers from a local council simultaneously staged 10 dawn raids on properties owned by unlicensed landlords. All the terraced homes, in Slough,...

An agent acting on behalf of a landlord has defended a bid for retrospective planning permission, but a Labour councillor has...

A trade body has come out against a council’s HMO licensing scheme, claiming that its consultation period was too short -...

A council getting government cash for rental enforcement is using it to introduce a review service allowing tenants to comment on...

Birmingham’s Labour-led council is to introduce a city-wide Article 4 Direction from June, which means a planning application must be submitted for...

A leading law firm has highlighted four key dates for letting agents and landlords to watch for in 2020. Paul Barnes, head...

New research from the National Landlords Association reveals that migrant workers, and not professional executives, provide the best rental yield. The NLA...

A dawn raid by enforcement officers from a London council has discovered 17 men sleeping on mattresses in a three bedroom...

Just over a fifth of lettings agents questioned in a major industry survey are concerned that may not be complying with...

A Labour council is leading a trial by local authorities of a new digital platform that checks whether agents, landlords and...

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

A statement from Hackney council in north east London says those who break its licensing provisions for the private rental sector...

Research by safeagent - the new name for the National Approved Letting Scheme - has found over 130,000 unlicensed properties in...

A huge US property investment firm valued at over $10 billion is entering the UK’s purpose build student accommodation sector. Chicago-based CA...

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

It’s that time of year again when pencil cases are fully stocked and the smell of dusty books opening fills the...

Data published by specialist lender Precise Mortgages suggests that over a fifth of landlords are planning to expand their portfolio with...

A landlord has been ordered to pay £14,500 after he was found to be illegally letting his property out to 11...

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

Police in South Shields have called for the sharing of information about tenants in HMOs - and a council is considering...

A husband and wife pair of buy to let investors have been prosecuted after letting out a property that contained serious...

A local authority is being warned that its landlord licensing and accreditation scheme is potentially unlawful. The Residential Landlords Association, which represents...

Another local authority has announced that it wants to introduce another selective licensing scheme and designate its entire patch for HMO...

A London council’s action against a property agent it has accused of “repeated negligence” has resulted in £37,000 of fines and...

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

A managing agent has been convicted by a local council for failing to properly license his property. Leon Hill, of Leighton Buzzard,...

A London council wants to extend its private rental sector licensing scheme - and in doing so is boasting of the...

A group of activists has expressed outrage over a council’s private rental licensing scheme, claiming it is too small to catch...

Consultation is underway to extend a landlord licensing scheme in a London borough where a third of households rents privately.  Three types...

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

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

A husband and wife must pay joint fines, penalties and costs totalling over £8,000 after complaints about a bungalow they owned...

One of the most pro-licensing local authorities in the country has extended its own scheme to include the entire centre of...

A dawn raid on unlicensed HMOs in north London last week were the latest sign of a crackdown on rogue operators...

There is a warning that the HMRC’s Let Property campaign, which received huge publicity and attention for some years, has so...

An 18 month probe by different authorities has led to a £4,000 fine for an HMO owner in the Highlands. The local...

Haringey council is the latest local authority in the capital to create a borough-wide additional licensing scheme for HMOs. It claims the...

Another London local authority is proposing to insist HMOs require planning permission in future.  Currently in Croydon multi-bedroom properties can be converted...

A buy to let investor who converted three family homes to HMOs without securing planning permission has been jailed for falsifying...

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

A lettings agency and its director have been fined a total of £30,000 for failing to licence HMOs and giving sham...

Hounslow council wants its additional licensing scheme for HMOs - due to expire in May 2019 - to be extended for...

A council has prosecuted a buy to let investor for not making necessary improvements to his property. The landlord, Balwinder Singh Chandi,...

A local authority has taken the unusual step of issuing a celebratory press release stating that it issued penalty notices adding...

Shock figures released by an insurance company suggest that councils are woefully unable to police new regulations regarding mandatory HMO licensing. Figures...

One of London’s most enthusiastic councils for additional and selective licensing has pushed back the date for enforcement action against landlords...

Havering council in London has issued £261,750 in penalty notices to what it calls ‘criminals’ operating in the private rental sector.  Between...

Since one London local authority introduced private rental sector licensing in 2013 an extra £5,002,203 in council tax has been collected...

The Labour-led local authority in Hackney has issued a statement pledging fines or even bans if landlords fail to get appropriate...

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

There’s less than a week to go to the introduction of new rules broadening the range of houses including in mandatory HMO...

More than 77,000 UK landlords will be shelling out a combined £95 million this month, as new occupancy laws come into...

The Association of Residential Letting Agents has issued a reminder to the industry of the need to understand and abide by...

Agents and landlords are being advised to check the status of their HMO licenses in the London Borough of Harrow following...

A leading PropTech entrepreneur says lettings agents should be more vocal in providing the government with feedback on council rental licensing...

More big fines have been handed out in recent legal action regarding buy to let investors who have not stuck by...

A buy to let mortgage firm says it’s likely that there will be a spike in refinancing enquiries as landlords meet...

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

A survey by consumer group Which?, working with landlords’ associations, reveals that 70 local authorities now have selective or additional licensing...

Three one-day courses are being held this year - the first next week - aimed at updating letting agents on changes...

The Residential Landlords’ Association is upset at the government’s confirmation that the extension of mandatory HMO licensing will come into force...

The local media in Bristol are reporting that landlords in the city are complaining that they face backruptcy if a hugely...

Bristol council is consulting on a licensing scheme which could see buy to let investors paying £1,660 for a five year...

This is a rare story: a council has dropped a plan for a lettings licensing scheme as a result of 900...

No fewer than 44 per cent of landlords plan to expand their portfolios before July 2018 despite tax obstacles, according to...

A lettings agency apparently trying to get around HMO regulations has been prosecuted for licensing and housing offences.  Easy Let Agency let...

Student accommodation specialist Unite is launching a new service, called Conker, which aims to replace deposits with insurance schemes for students...

The chief operating officer of a leading PropTech company says government proposals to increase mandatory licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation...

Homes in Multiple Occupation produced average yields of 8.9 per cent in 2017, the highest of all buy to let property...

The government has announced new minimum space requirements for private lettings in a bid to reduce problems of overcrowding. In addition to...

The Association of Residential Letting Agents and other trade bodies have not yet responded to the government’s announcement over the holiday...

The government has released more details on long-discussed proposals to tighten up licensing in the private rental sector. It wants landlords in...

HM Revenue & Customs has launched a consultation on adding tax checks to private rental sector licensing schemes - in other...

A buy to let investor who a judge said “cut corners” and exposed his tenants to “significant risk” has been ordered...

A database of rogue letting agents and landlords and new banning orders, first promised in the Housing and Planning Act announced...

A buy to let investor who failed to purchase a £542 licence for his HMO has been ordered to pay almost...

One of the industry’s best known buy to let lenders, Paragon, is combining its Mortgage Trust and Paragon Mortgages product ranges...

A lettings insurance specialist company is warning that students moving into private rental accommodation may pose a greater-than-average risk of fire. Total...

Greenwich is the latest council to make it compulsory for planning consent to be given before converting homes into Houses in...

A property company and a landlord have been fined over £200,000 after being accused of putting tenants’ lives in danger by...

A landlord has been fined a total of £7,298 for operating an unlicensed house in multiple occupation in Oxford that was...

Letting agency Spicerhaart has been fined £2,670 after pleading guilty to operating an unlicensed house in multiple occupation.   A prosecution was brought...

A landlord has been prosecuted and ordered to repay over £5,000 to his tenants for letting an unlicensed House of Multiple...

Greenwich is licensing all Houses in Multiple Occupation from October 1 - just the latest London council to tighten its private...

More than 100 criminal prosecutions have been secured against landlords since the start of an enforcement crackdown by Brent council in...

Another new cloud software platform - HeyLandlord - has been launched to make it easier for agents and landlords to communicate...

Agents and landlords are unwittingly issuing incorrect Section 21 notices, resulting in thousands of pounds being wasted on aborted possession claims...

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

Greenwich council in London is the latest to announce an extension to its HMO licensing policy. The council is already legally obliged...

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

A property firm at the centre of the campaign against phasing out landlords’ mortgage interest relief says is urging tenants to...

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

New legislation coming into force today gives local authorities in England tough new powers to crack down on rogue agents and...

A landlady has been fined £15,000 for failing to license and manage a house in multiple occupation.    Sharon Jacobs was also ordered...

A letting agency which has pleaded guilty of poorly managing a house in multiple occupation has ended up with a bill...

Annoying isn’t it. You take on a stunning property, agree a compelling asking price and your Vendor is desperate to get the...

A new task group is being set up to explore how a council can tackle what it calls “problems with private...

A property investment financing specialist says an increasing number of buy to let investors are converting properties into Houses in Multiple...

The Association of Residential Letting Agents is warning the government that some of its proposed changes to regulations governing HMOs may...

A building firm that carried out illegal building work to create homes to let has been hit with a £250,000 confiscation...

A council believes that a landlord was “putting tenants’ lives in danger” because he did not have local authority licenses for...

What appears at first sight to be a low-level dispute between a landlord and a council has raised what may be...

A Birmingham letting agency and a landlord have been fined £5,590 for failing to obtain an HMO licence and for breaching...

A major buy to let mortgage provider has eased the criteria to be met by landlord investors who want to borrow...

A buy to let investor has been fined £29,200 after being prosecuted for 56 offences in what a local authority describes...

The Association of Residential Letting Agents is warning that proposals to enforce minimum room sizes in HMOs in the privste rental...

A landlord has been ordered to pay more than £4,200 in fines and costs for not having a licence for his...

Brent council in London is seeking the views of agents- as well as landlords, tenants and others - on the extension...

It is feared that Cardiff council will later this week severely restrict the number of new shared houses in two popular...

The government’s wave of measures to clamp down on the private rental sector and introduce harsher regulations for investors and landlords...

Letting agents and landlords are being reminded to comply with an obligation to remove ‘to let’ signs in certain parts of...

Labour councillors controlling Brighton and Hove council are reported to be writing to the government for premission to charge HMO owners...

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

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

A pair of landlords have been slapped with a hefty fine for allowing people to live in damp-riddled rooms without fire...

Student accommodation provider Student Cribs has secured £200m in funding from institutions to expand its portfolio - and it’s looking for...

A landlord who endangered the lives of his tenants has been prosecuted and fined for failing to comply with 16 issues...

Two training seminars geared towards letting agents operating in London are being organised for the autumn.    Organised by the National Approved Letting...

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

Our latest infographic shows figures of how the majority of deposits are repaid at the end of tenancy and goes into...

A London council will introduce two new licensing schemes in the New Year. These make it a legal requirement for landlords to obtain...

A House in Multiple Occupation located on the third floor of a property with a restaurant at ground level was one...

Two more student houses in Brighton have been ordered to close by a government planning inspector. There have now been four such...

An east London council is changing its planning rules, bringing in Article 4 consent before homes in key areas are converted...

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

The growth in buy to let mortgage products - rising rapidly until recently - has now begun to drop off.   Products increased...

A new scheme governing the letting out of residential property above retail premises is to be launched in September in the London borough of...

Bexley council in south east London says it is going to announce what it describes as a “crackdown” on HMOs next...

A legal tribunal has ruled that a landlord must refund his tenants rent totalling £2,934 because he housed them in unlicensed...

An investment company claims government and councils should do more to stamp out so-called rogue landlords who, it says, are giving...

A row has broken out between landlords and the council in Oxford, where the local authority is considering a private rental...

There was a series of raids on HMOs led by a local authority early one morning at the end of last...

A new report claims that over a third of student property investors plan to expand their portfolios in 2016, despite the...

Landlords are increasingly favouring Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) and more 'complex property types' due to the often higher yields available.  Mortgages...

A letting agent and four landlords face bills totalling more than £20,000 after being prosecuted by Islington Council for operating unlicensed...

A student accommodation specialist is warning about the potential pitfalls of investing in individual student rooms or small pods as opposed...

A 24-year-old from Luton has been jailed after being found guilty of six counts of fraud in relation to obtaining properties...

A private landlord aged 72 must pay £4,800 after pleading guilty to 11 offences of breaching the Licensing and Management of...

A council has asked agents in its area to tell landlords of additional planning powers taken by the authority which may...

A property company managing an HMO in prime central London has been £47,900. The fine is in relation to 24 charges under...

A landlord who has had previous conflicts with his local council has effectively lost control of his 16 private rental properties. William...

Ealing Council in London is undergoing a formal consultation about a proposal that all houses in multiple occupation within its boundaries...

The government should rein in its plans to transform the way Houses in Multiple Occupation are licensed. That is the view of...

Two landlords of HMOs have been prosecuted for failing to license their properties - and now have to pay fines of...

An energy supply company that specialises in the lettings market has announced deals with three major businesses that allows it to...

A local council has successfully applied for a landlord without an appropriate HMO licence to repay housing benefit - no less...

A local authority has issued a press release branding a landlord as “unscrupulous” after he was ordered to pay £7,300 in...

A local authority is considering introducing measures to prevent landlords turning family homes in one of its conservation areas into HMOs.  Reading...

One council’s attempt to crack down on rogue landlords has been branded a "complete failure" because half of its HMOs are...

The Department of Communities and Local Government has published a summary of the 600 responses it has received to its recent...

One of Britain’s largest local authorities has beefed up its powers so it can issue fines of up to £5,000 on...

The specialist eviction company Landlord Action says it is in full support of the government’s latest proposal to crack down on...

The government is proposing a national minimum bedroom size and a re-defining of what constitutes a House in Multiple Occupation in...

A new survey claims there is a serious shortfall of appropriate quality accommodation for students.  The research, conducted amongst 500 students and...

A landlord has admitted letting sub-standard HMOs to 30 people without being registered with his local authority. Plymouth landlord John Mayer pleaded...

Three landlords have become the first to be prosecuted by a council - almost three years after the authority introduced a...

The number of buy to let mortgage products has leapt to 953 - an 11 per cent increase in the past...

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

The private rented sector is becoming an increasingly diverse place. Its growth into the UK's second largest form of housing has...

A landlord has been ordered to pay a total of £8,680 after failing to comply with formal council notices to improve...

New student tenants have been urged to be vigilent and not fall victim to fake online letting agents and landlords. The National...

Barnet is the latest council appearing to edge towards increased private rental sector licensing as it enters the final two weeks...

Investors with HMOs are better placed than other landlords to combat any financial damage caused by future interest rate rises. Analysis carried...

A landlord reported to have received £100,000 in housing benefit from tenants in the past year is to repay court fines...

Newham Council has reported that in the two and a half years since its licensing scheme came into force it has...

There has been a huge increase in the number of investors acquiring Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) in the North West...

A landlord has been handed a total fine of £75,215 for a number of offences, including failing to licence four houses...

There have been angry scenes at a consultation meeting as a local authority seeks to extend its licensing scheme - thought...

The publication Environmental Health News has secured the release of files showing the details of hundreds of convicted private landlords in...

Harrow council is consulting agents, landlords and residents on a proposal to renew its licensing regime applying to selected Houses in...

A letting agency that failed to apply for House of Multiple Occupation licences at three properties in Birmingham has been fined...

An amnesty on the licensing of houses in multiple occupation is being held in Barnet in north London following the successful...

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

A private landlord who provided false documents and endangered the lives of his tenants has been ordered to undertake 200 hours’...