Archive

Political parties should stop bickering and instead work together to improve the private rental sector. That’s the view of the Lettings industry...

Despite several fires in rented properties, the government is proposing to double the maximum legal power of e-bikes. A Department of Transport...

A high profile lettings agency has had to pay almost £22,000 in damages to an employee who raised concerns about safety...

Countryside campaigning charity CPRE has given a warm welcome to Michael Gove’s clampdown on short lets. Earlier this week Housing Secretary Michael...

Housing Secretary Michael Gove has this morning announced wholesale changes to planning and regulations surrounding short lets. His proposals include: - planning permission...

The letting agents’ trade body Propertymark says one of the UK governments should go further in ensuring the safety of tenants...

Letting agents’ body Propertymark is throwing its weight behind a mandatory licensing and registration scheme for short let landlords. Anyone who lets...

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

Propertymark has listed a string of legal reforms it wants as part of the government’s modernisation of the court process -...

Repairs and maintenance supplier Fixflo is warning agents of a surge in demand for Electrical Installation Condition Reports in the short...

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents is issuing a stark warning to be aware of the dangers of carbon...

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

Propertymark is urging agents to give it their views on two consultations on health and safety issues coming out of Northern...

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

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

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

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

Propertymark has made a strident set of demands of the government in a bid to end the so-called Sex For Rent...

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

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

New legal provisions within Section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 that form the latest part of the Home Office's...

The head of a property management company has been fined £25,800 after serious safety issues were discovered at a shared house...

A combination of regular inspections and pro-active installation of ventilation can help to reduce the risk of dangerous damp and mould...

Lettings agents will be able to book their exam this week for the new Level 3 Certificate for Estate and Letting...

A national campaign warning about the dangers of damp and mould could help save lives, a property industry insider says. A recent...

A former lettings agent who now helps tenants take legal action against landlords says 25 per cent of the complaints he...

The Association of Independent Inventory Clerks is hosting a webinar this evening for letting agents and other industry employers responsible for...

A safety training service is warning of “alarming statistics” showing an increase in the number of fires and fatalities and a...

The first step within the UK to officially monitor Airbnb-style short lets comes into effect on Saturday, which is October 1. Scotland’s...

Propertymark, the letting agents’ trade body, has issued this guidance for agents to pass to landlords. It coincides with Gas Safety Week,...

B-hive Block Management Partners has been chosen by a senior industry figure to launch her own block and estate management venture,...

A retired estate agent has pleaded guilty to three charges of breaching fire safety in Devon. Retired Force and Sons agent David...

A warning has been issued that as many as 250,000 homes - some likely to be in the private rental sector...

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

The government has issued detailed guidance ahead of a change in the law around smoke and carbon monoxide alarms coming into...

Renters are being placed at unnecessary risk due to a delay in reforms that would allegedly give them greater protection, it’s been...

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

Airbnb says that its so-called ‘party ban’ - introduced in 2020 at the height of the pandemic - is being made...

A prominent agency lettings chief is alerting the industry that new smoke and carbon monoxide alarm rules are changing from October 1. Since...

A landlord has been fined a four figure sum for failing to produce documentation for a council. Fathima Syeda Kauser of Luton pleaded...

Agents are being urged to prepare for  changes to the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm Regulations which may come in this...

Lettings accreditation and training service Safeagent is calling on the government to make more public cash available for councils to exercise...

ARLA Propertymark has hit back in this week’s debate on the quality of private rental property, following sharp criticism in a...

Thousands of tenants have no choice but to accept “appalling conditions” according to the chief executive of campaigning charity Shelter. Polly Neate...

Private rental property conditions and the enforcement of regulations by councils and government have all been in the firing line from...

Rightmove’s April webinars for agents continue today with Daryl Mcintosh, Policy Manager at Propertymark, giving a legal and compliance update for...

Activists in the Acorn campaign group are lobbying a council in a bid to - in its words - “ban slum...

A property management company has been fined for failing to repair an open sewer in the garden of a rental property. SRA...

A fast-expanding PropTech business has opened a new office in London to serve a growing client base in the capital and...

Trade body UKALA has cautioned letting agents to act now following the government announcement that it intends to extend the need...

New measures to reduce the impact of Airbnb and other short lets in Scotland are “hugely disproportionate” a property group claims. The Scottish...

A council is warning letting agents to adhere to health and safety laws or else face the legal consequences. Telford & Wrekin...

MPs and the wider public have been presented with a lengthy report on the growth of Airbnb and similar platforms across...

A report by the National Audit Office claims that the way private renting is regulated makes the sector unfair to renters. It...

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

Agents have raised a specific concern about one aspect of a law change regarding carbon monoxide alarms.  Earlier this week the government...

The government has announced that carbon monoxide alarms must be fitted in all private rental properties with fixed appliances such as...

A checklist for agents to help ensure they steer clear of unwanted fines or claims has been provided by the Guild...

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

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...

Rental and other households should replace optical smoke alarms every 12 years unless manufacturers recommend otherwise, according to a study by...

A poll of over 1,300 renters by a flat share platform suggests that over half have been deterred from moving in...

A local authority has explained its role in ensuring that a private landlord could arrange for an electrical safety inspection to...

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

A new CRM which calls itself as “a transformative new technology” says its latest app aids safety for agents. The latest version of the...

Who are you and what does it say on your business card? Jack Reid Founding Director of Orlando Reid  In your experience,...

A London council has taken a landlord company to court after complaints of poor housing conditions in five of its rented...

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

Councils are failing to protect tenants in three out of four cases where they discover rental homes are unsafe, according to...

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

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has issued updated guidance to include the recent extension of the bailiff enforcement...

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

Changes to electrical safety standards rules applying to existing tenancies came into force at the start of the Easter break and...

The private rental sector has new electricity regulations taking effect next week, putting the emphasis on agents and landlords. The Electrical Safety...

ARLA Propertymark is asking agent members to ensure the safety of lone workers in branches and on viewings. A statement from the association...

Letting agencies are being urged to help to shape the future of the rental sector by completing a survey as part...

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

An agency has been hit with a £330,000 bill after being found guilty of poor management of an HMO. Magistrates have found...

A first attempt to regulate Airbnb-style short lets through licensing has been withdrawn. The SNP-led Scottish Government had drawn up a licensing...

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 have been told to document all arranging, planning and scheduling of work related to electrical checks in a bid...

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

The Scottish Parliament has postponed new fire and smoke alarm legislation for 12 months. This move, by its local government committee, follows...

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

A lettings expert claims that many agents are failing to comply with appropriate legislation, rendering their landlord clients liable for legal...

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

Lettings agents have until January 11 to respond to the latest consultation proposal stiffening health and safety in the private rental...

Lettings agents, property managers and landlords should all be aware of the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018. The Act...

Two suspended sentences, community service, a fine and disqualification from being a director - those form the penalty for a rogue...

A new report demands that online rental platforms and portals allowing direct advertising by clients do more to deter fake landlords...

A landlord taken to court by a council has ended up with a bill in excess of £20,000.  Dennis Goodwin of Highbury...

Letting agents are being warned they are likely to face a higher number of mandatory electrical checks as the sector expands...

A trade body is reminding new landlords tempted by the stamp duty holiday of the raft of health and safety measures they...

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

Reports into Letting Agent Today suggest there’s still some confusion over new regulations surrounding electrical checks in the private rental sector. If...

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

A solicitor involved in the Court of Appeal case which ruled in favour of the private rental sector has spoken of...

The government has released new guidance regarding electrical safety checks - and there's a worry it may include thousands of additional...