Archive

Houses in Multiple Occupation are making up an increasing percentage of buy-to-let business, according specialist lender Shawbrook.  In both 2022 and 2023,...

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

The government has done a U-turn on its original policy to relax HMO regulations on private rental properties used by asylum...

Who are you and what does it say on your business card? My name is Sara Stevenson. I am the Lettings Director...

One of the lettings sector’s longest-standing suppliers - Mortgages for Business - is rebranding. It’s to be known as Mortgage Finance Brokers,...

A new lettings franchise is being launched, which claims its franchisees can earn £100,000-plus annually.  The Sourced Group has launched Sourced Living,...

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

A series of lenders have slashed their buy to let mortgage rates in a bid to win business. These include: - LendInvest Mortgages...

Online rental platform Lettingaproperty is telling landlords to take a strategic approach to property management in 2024, to help navigate legislative...

The president elect of ARLA Propertymark has created a comprehensive list of female experts in different property disciplines. Angharad Trueman, Group Lettings...

A prominent housing market commentator says Labour would introduce a tougher version of the Renters Reform Bill if it forms the...

A lettings agency has initiated new systems to ensure there is no repeat of a mistake that left some client properties...

The Generation Rent activist group has come out against an amendment to the Renters Reform Bill which reversed the threat of...

Propertymark is hailing its new Lettings Helpline as a success, just a month after it launched. In that four week period the...

Propertymark has welcomed the government’s commitment to end the practice of council tax of banding single rooms in HMOs, potentially saving...

The lettings agency Winkworth has taken the unusual step of criticising policies of a series of councils. The councils are all Labour...

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

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

Two massive new rental licensing schemes are set to be approved in Brighton - and part of the reason is “uninterested...

A move to stop HMOs being used as Airbnb or other short lets has been put forward in the westcountry -...

An MP says owner occupiers are “scared, unable to sleep at night, worried about their safety and even concerned about whether...

Agents representing landlords of HMOs In Portsmouth are being warned by the council that their need to be licensed or face...

Belvoir franchisee Lloyd Rumbold has completed on the acquisition of Belvoir West Bridgford, adding a fourth franchise to his portfolio of...

Buy to let investors who want to convert family homes into HMOs in Hounslow for three to six tenants will now...

A new action plan to tackle issues around HMOs is being drawn up by a Midlands council next week. West Northamptonshire council’s...

Tomorrow sees the start of a month of webinars hosted by Rightmove to help agents understand compliance changes and how they...

The Labour-run London Assembly says it is concerned about government plans to allow landlords to house asylum seekers for two years without...

  A council has told letting agents to ‘get a move on’ as it admits there’s been a slow start to its...

Five franchisees who purchased an investment platform say they want to double the size of the business by 2028. Established in 2007,...

A council is pleading with the government to think again about proposals to suspend the need for an HMO licence for...

Landlords are urged to be cautious and do extensive research before signing up to a letting agent in the face of...

Letting agents have a final chance today to have their say on a consultation into a newly proposed licensing scheme for...

A trade body says inventories are set to play an increasingly important role in the private rental sector as fire regulations...

Investors looking to add to their portfolios in 2023 should be urged to consider student housing opportunities, according to a Newcastle...

An activist group claims that 54 per cent of students are currently living with damp and mould. The group - Students Organising...

The letting agents’ trade body Propertymark has slammed the current lack of consistency of council tax on HMOs. It describes today’s system...

A veteran Conservative is calling on his government to clamp down on HMOs and ensure there is better council regulation and...

A charity is claiming that new powers to evict anti-social private tenants could lead to more homelessness, while those already living...

Landlords and agents acting on their behalf are to be given more powers to evict unruly tenants who ruin neighbours’ lives...

A clampdown on HMOs is to begin this week - and the council behind it is describing it as ‘preserving the...

A property firm has been fined £8,000 for operating an HMO on one of Britain’s most famous roads. Westminster council has won...

A lettings company called Trophy Homes Limited, based in Liverpool, has pleaded guilty to failing to apply for an HMO licence...

England’s HMO market is shrinking despite a widespread need for more affordable rental accommodation. In 2019/20, there were an estimated 510,776 HMOs...

The founder of a Barnsley based lettings and property management company is celebrating transforming his business - and winning an award...

A prominent letting agent has written an open letter to Housing Secretary Michael Gove, calling for a halt on government attacks...

A new licensing scheme for HMOs, agreed by leaders of Portsmouth council, will be implemented from September 1 2023. Licensing of HMOs...

The government has made a general commitment to work with those who want council tax reforms for Homes in Multiple Occupation. Earlier...

A lettings network is urging landlords to back a campaign to abolish council tax re-banding for shared houses. Platinum Property Partners says...

The lettings agency operated by controversial agent Ajay Jagota has been sold for an undisclosed sum. Jagota set up KIS Lettings with...

A consultation period has started on another council’s set of proposals to clampdown on HMOs. Blackburn with Darwen council wants to impose...

A network of professional landlords is warning the government that its reform agenda for the private rental sector is plain wrong...

Newcastle-based agency Walton Robinson is offering a buy to let property sourcing service.  This year, the agency claims it’s secured rental increases...

Tenants are demanding better quality HMOs according to new research from specialist buy to let lender Paragon Bank. The bank’s survey of...

New plans to help control the numbers of residential properties turned into HMOs in parts of Coventry are moving a step...

Yet another revision to the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations takes effect from October 1 - that’s just under...

A PropTech platform that boasts 200 letting agents and landlords amongst its current clientele has won over £500,000 in additional funding...

HMOs rented by students can be up to £30 a week cheaper than purpose built student accommodation in halls of residence. That’s...

New details from a survey conducted by industry organisations concerning pets in rental properties show the extent of the problem. Some 537...

Birmingham’s Labour-controlled council is launching a consultation on a vast expansion to its existing HMO Additional Licensing scheme. The proposal is for...

Agents with landlord clients who let properties in Central West Bromwich are being reminded to check if they should apply for...

The number of HMOs in England has fallen as a result of government intervention in the market. In 2018 new regulations were...

All private rented homes in Oxford will need a licence from this September, following a green light from the government. Some 49.3...

The average HMO is worth a third more than a comparably sized house according to new research. The typical HMO now costs...

Agents and landlords are being warned by a government minister not to charge all-inclusive HMO tenants more than necessary in a...

Two more London boroughs are consulting about licensing schemes which will require landlords or their agents to pay hundreds of pounds...

Another council is to conduct a consultation process to expand selective and additional licensing schemes for the next five years. Under existing...

A council says it’s considering introducing criminal record checks on individuals who apply to run HMOs as part of a wide-ranging...

An agent’s plea to councillors to renew the HMO license for a landlord client fell on deaf ears in a controversial...

Walsall council is proposing additional licensing to improve conditions and management of HMOs in five wards where there are high numbers...

Another council is considering dramatic moves to limit the numbers of houses in multiple occupation. A public consultation is being planned this...

A new property management platform seeking support form letting agents claims to be the ‘Airbnb for shared living’. Vann Vogstad, the entrepreneur...

A new trade body is being set up which describes itself as a national network of property managers, specialising in the...

Semi-detached houses have overtaken terraced homes as the preferred property type landlords plan to buy, reflecting growing tenant demand for larger...

Rental guarantor service Housing Hand has announced a new partnership with student accommodation provider Kexgill. The firms claim the arrangement will challenge...

Bristol-based lettings management company Iletpro Ltd has been ordered to pay a total of £2,700.06 in fines and costs for failing...

A north of England lettings agency is claiming an all-time record for enquiries relating to student accommodation - and the biggest...

Ex-Reapit and ex-Countrywide tech guru Gary Barker has joined co-living HMO platform COHO as a non-executive director - just weeks after...

Research by a student accommodation search platform suggests that the sector may rely too heavily on the apparent year-on-year growth in...

A lettings agency says a new HMO licensing regime in one of London’s highest profile boroughs will reduce the number of rental properties. This...

A London lettings agency - that has now entered bankruptcy - has been cleared of any involvement in a rental scandal...

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

How up to date is your knowledge on notice periods, pets in rentals, electrical safety inspections and lodgers? This year we’ve...

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

Mistoria is opening its sixth office in the north west of England. The new branch in Cheadle follows Mistoria’s existing outlets in...

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

A leading banking and wealth management company says a growth area for the rental sector in the years to come will...

A Scottish agency has strengthened its specialism in managing HMOs with the acquisition of a lettings book of 90 more units. Braemore Sales...

A property company and its director will have to shell out £10,000 after a blaze left six tenants homeless in the...

One of the London boroughs synonymous with wealth has revealed that 44 per cent of its housing stock is now actually...

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

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...