Archive

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...

The short let sector says it’s been agreed that it can open Airbnb and similar platforms for bookings from July 4...

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

Accreditation service NAPIT has produced a publication for the rental sector ahead of new electrical safety checks coming into force for...

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has issued guidelines ahead of new electrical safety checks coming into force for...

A document outlining options for the future regulation of Airbnb and other short let platforms in the UK is to be...

A council wants buy to let landlords with one-bed flats or rooms in shared homes to help it find homes for...

Propertymark has created a 29-point checklist in line with the Government’s current property industry guidance, most recently updated on May 13.  Propertymark...

It’s a Bank Holiday weekend and if you’re taking time off we hope you and your families enjoy a well-earned break. We’ll...

Tenants’ safety should be letting agents’ first priority in the new era of activity during the Coronavirus pandemic. In a new document...

It’s only eight weeks to the start off the new Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector which come into...

Gas and electrical safety certificates should be extended for six months to cover for the impact of the Coronavirus.  The call comes...

“Communication is pretty much everything…” - that’s the key message from Tega Alexander, digital marketing manager at the up-and-coming Homesearch. Thanks so...

All court possession orders are being suspended from today as part of the changes to the private rental sector to cope...

A leading PropTech expert says there’s still more that can be done by the rental sector to drive up the quality...

A landlord from Plymouth has been sentenced after failing to maintain gas appliances and failing to have landlord’s gas safety checks...

The Guild of Letting and Management has thrown helpful light on the responsibilities and recommended approach of letting agents faced with...

The government has been called upon to issue specific Coronavirus guidance for the rental sector. The chief executive of the Association of...

The Association of Residential Letting Agents has postponed its conference until September. In a statement to registered attendees last evening ARLA says: “After...

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

A buy to let investor has been found guilty of letting out poor quality living accommodation that was said to pose...

The Association of Independent Inventory Clerks has issued guidance to members about how to reassure its lettings agent and landlord clients...

An online student publication is urging readers who are tenants to “go lawsuit crazy” when the full provisions of the Homes...

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

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

The National Landlords Association has issued advice for the lettings sector on the coronavirus infection. Although much of the advice is a...

A room-finding portal, along with the owners of a London lettings agency and management firm, must pay over £100,000 for letting...

It looks almost certain that agents and landlords must ensure electrical installation inspections and testing are carried out for all new...

The Welsh Government says new regulations are to be introduced to combat carbon monoxide poisoning. The regulations will require landlords and their...

The Association of Residential Lettings Agents has thrown its weight behind an initiative by the Scottish Government to control the growth...

Almost 40 per cent of battery-powered smoke alarms failed to activate in residential fires in England in the past year –...

A landlord has been ordered to pay almost £20,000 and has been told by a judge that he was meaner than...

A rogue landlord has been fined more than £150,000 after failing to rectify safety hazards in a property he let. Latif Rehman...

A landlord has been hit with court fines for a fourth time for failing to properly manage his rental properties.  Landlord Jack...

An inventories supplier is advising that the growing number of sub-letting scams can be reduced by regular property visits by agents...

A rented home in Mansfield was found to have serious health and safety hazards, including a leaking roof and a lack of smoke...

The Association of Residential Letting Agents and the National Association of Estate Agents have issued their manifesto for next month’s General...

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...

The Liberal Democrat conference, which begins on Saturday, is to debate a resolution calling for the scrapping of Section 21 -...

A local council says it has now successfully prosecuted a landlord for flouting the law that protects the health and safety...

Confusion reigns over inventory reports and how letting agents and landlords comply with the Homes (Fit for Human Habitation) Act 2018. That’s...

While we wouldn’t be so bold as to say the government gets its daily fix of property news from the Today...

Junior housing minister Heather Wheeler MP has written to Hull City Council to express her concerns about the authority's controversial accreditation...

Weak regulation of private renting is leaving hundreds of thousands of tenants living in hazardous homes in England, claims Citizens Advice. A...

A managing agent and several landlords have been fined almost £5,000 after forcing tenants to live in unacceptable conditions in a...

A buy to let investor who let out an unsafe and unlicensed property in London has now been hit with a...

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

Inventory reports are increasingly revealing illegal safety and compliance issues within tenanted property, a trade body claims. The Association of Independent Inventory...

The Residential Landlords Association and Gas Safe Register have joined forces to promote gas safety awareness in the private rental sector. The...

A study claims as many as a fifth of private renters in the UK have developed an illness due to issues...

A compliance company has accused “thousands” of buy to let investors of failing to address major household hazards which render properties...

Increased use of technology could boost gas-related health and safety in the private rental sector according to the people behind 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 husband and wife must pay joint fines, penalties and costs totalling over £8,000 after complaints about a bungalow they owned...

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

The owner of a buy to let HMO has been found guilty of six offences but has received a fine of...

A buy to let investor has been hit with a £4,000 fine plus costs of over £5,000 after failing to license...

A trade body says a recent court case threatens the right of buy to let landlords to repossess their properties. The Residential...

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...

The government has issued guidelines for the implementation of the new Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act which comes into effect...

A regional fire service says a tragic anniversary is a good opportunity for agents and landlords to remember their legal obligations...

Sub-standard homes remain a key weakness in the private rental sector, which needs to get its house in order in the...

A legal firm has renewed its criticism of local authority licensing schemes, accusing them of “persecuting” landlords. David Kirwan, managing partner at...

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

New rules are to be introduced to ensure mandatory electrical inspections on private rental properties are carried out by competent and...

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 lost possession of his flat after converting it into an Illegal House in Multiple Occupation...

A landlord and building contractor have been fined after quantities of asbestos fibres were released from the demolition of a conservatory...

An angry lettings agent has emailed Cabinet minister James Brokenshire to show his disgust at the government’s U-turn over deposit caps. In...

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

One of Britain's highest profile landlords is to be sentenced on December 11 - and she must show the court details of...

A council in the north of England has issued its first-ever Civil Penalty Notice on a landlord - and it involved...

A warning has gone out to the lettings sector to check that rental properties are ‘Gas Safe’ as the colder weather...

The heavy-handed administration of selective licensing schemes is driving out buy to let investors. That’s the claim from David Kirwan of Kirwans...

Industry bodies have given their support to a wide ranging review of safety regulations governing the private rental sector. The government announced...

The government is to undertake a wide-ranging review of health and safety regulations for the private rental sector. In an announcement this afternoon...

A landlord has been hit with more than £5,500 of fines and costs after he allowed a family with three young...

A property management firm chief who had to pay over £20,000 after being found guilty of nine offences relating to an...

An Essex council claims it is one of the first to be granted a rent repayment order - part of legislation...

The campaign group Generation Rent is back on the warpath in opposition of Section 21, which it describes as “the leading...

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

One of the lettings industry’s senior figures has welcomed the introduction of mandatory five yearly inspections of electrical installations in private...

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 Association of Residential Letting Agents says it’s asking its member to get behind Gas Safety Week which takes place from...

A self-employed gas fitter has been sentenced to 16 months in prison after he carried out unsafe gas work while falsely...

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

A letting agent responsible for a property in Huddersfield which caught fire and killed two young boys has been jailed for...

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

There are now well over 125 pieces of legislation and regulations - most introduced in modern times - governing the private...

A gas safety engineer has pleaded guilty with a landlord of falsifying gas safety certificates for a string of private rental...

A consumer group which conducted 30 undercover viewings in five different UK cities claims letting agents are showing potential tenants around...

A buy to let investor has ended up with a bill for thousands of pounds after being found guilty of breaching...

A rental sector supplier claims huge numbers of tenants are extremely ignorant of the health and safety issues surrounding their rental...

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

The government has announced that it’s launching a review into the requirement for carbon monoxide alarms in homes across England. The review...

A new survey of tenants suggests many know little about essential maintainance of their property, and often fail to check the...

A buy to let investor has been found guilty of 35 HMO-related offences - and has to pay a total fine...

West Midlands Police and Birmingham council teamed up to investigate a property in the city which was riddled with health and...

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

The government has set out new measures to mitigate against overcrowded and dangerous living conditions of private tenants in shared homes. From...

The new leader of the Labour party in Scotland says his party will introduce “stringent” rent controls if it gains power...

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

A fine of over £29,000 has been imposed on an absentee landlord whose property was said to have put tenants’ lives...

The government has taken the unusual step of working with a Labour MP to ensure her Private Members Bill can become...

In an unusual move the government has today, Sunday, announced that it wants tenants to have the right to take legal...

A landlord has been ordered to pay £20,000 after being found guilty of nine offences in relation to a house in...

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 director of a property management firm has been found guilty of nine offences of breaching regulations relating to a house...

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

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

A new app has been launched with the aim of offering extra security to lettings and estate agents and other sole...

Yet another formal government consultation is under way, this time into smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in the private rental sector...

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

Four people are treated for carbon monoxide poisoning in the UK every day - but 58 per cent of the population...

The Law Society Gazette has given more details of a Parliamentary Bill in preparation to give more powers to tenants to...

Almost a third of renters in the UK do not have a life-saving carbon monoxide alarm in their property, with four...

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

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

A survey of 1,000 tenants in blocks of flats conducted on behalf of London Fire Brigade reveals that almost 40 per...

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

NALS is urging letting agents and other property professionals to get behind Gas Safety Week, which runs until Friday,.    It says thousands...

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

A landlord from Cornwall has been fined after failing to maintain gas appliances at his rental properties in Launceston.   Truro Crown Court...

ARLA Propertymark says letting and managing agents should be aware that they can raise ‘safeguarding alerts’ if they are concerned about...

The boss of a lettings agency in London says there is a need for the private rental sector to become more professional...

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

A landlord has been fined over £15,000 after failing to maintain gas appliances at the domestic property in Haverfordwest.   Llanelli Magistrates’ Court...

A minister at the Departrment of Communities and Local Government has set out the government’s position in terms of the fire-related...

The BBC is reporting that the Welsh government is offering private buy to let investors who have properties in high-rise buildings...

The Residential Landlords Association is urging checks on white goods in privately rented homes following the Grenfell Tower tragedy.    The association is...

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 -...

The Fair Fees Forum, originally established before the proposal to ban letting agents’ fees imposed on tenants in England, now says...

The National Approved Letting Scheme is linking with legal firm Moore Blatch to offer member agents access to a free legal...

Now Northern Ireland appears to be in the frame for substantial changes to the private rental sector according to the Association...

A landlord has been prosecuted and fined for failure to comply with two Improvement Notices “resulting in a catalogue of health...

The landlord of a property risked the lives of his tenants and their young family by not undertaking annual safety checks...

The government has launched an official consultation process on a package of measures to crack down on what it calls ‘rogue...

A health and safety product manufacturer is issuing a warning about the dangers of carbon monoxide alarms, citing figures that up...

A private landlord has been fined by a London magistrates court for poor and potentially dangerous housing conditions.    Monojor Ali was fined...

The Advertising Standards Authority has received a complaint about a claim which was on an online letting agency’s website suggesting it...

Lettings expert Kate Faulkner says yields - a traditional long-standing measure of success for buy to let landlords - are becoming...

Damp and mould can mean big problems for landlords, letting agents and tenants. It can cause stress and even health issues...

A landlord has been given a suspended prison sentence following his failure to maintain or check the gas fittings in one of his properties. A...

A trade body has accused some letting agents and landlords of “failing to get to grips” with several recent legal changes...

The newly-elected mayor of Bristol and the city’s council have endorsed a so-called ethical lettings charter created by a group known...

A 35-year-old self-employed worker from London has been given two suspended jail terms for falsely claiming to be Gas Safe Registered and signing off certificates for privately...

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

Property managers operating through a company have been ordered to pay more than £30,000 following a dawn raid that uncovered more...

A landlord who rented out a house in multiple occupation has ended up with a £10,000 fine after pleading guilty to failing...

The Daily Telegraph - an outspoken critic of George Osborne’s fiscal changes aimed at extracting more money from the buy to...

A new free online course has been launched to help letting agents understand the importance of regular electrical safety checks. The Electrical...

Investors and landlords are putting tenants’ lives at risk and could face a substantial fine for flouting gas safety law, according...

A leading trade body says it’s time for the private rental sector to take gas safety more seriously following a spate...

An ‘ethical lettings charter’ set up over a year ago by a pressure group for improved private rental sector housing has...

A landlord has received a suspended six month prison sentence after he ignored repeated warnings about arranging an annual gas safety...

The landlord of a property in Plymouth risked the lives of his tenants through a dangerous gas boiler installed in the...

An unregistered gas fitter has been received a suspended prison sentence for illegally installing a gas boiler and undertaking landlord’s gas...

A London landlord has been given an eight week suspended prison sentence after failing to have a gas boiler in a...

Millions of people remain at risk of carbon monoxide poisoning despite the recent legislation aimed at protecting private tenants, a new...

A buy to let landlord in Stockton-on-Tees, has been sentenced after illegally uncapping and reconnecting a gas supply. Teeside Magistrates’ Court heard...

A report by the British Hospitality Association appears to reveal the latest estimates of the impact of people who use Airbnb...

A private landlord has been prosecuted after failing to provide gas safety certificates for two rented properties.  Harrogate Magistrates’ Court heard that...

The landlord of a property in Plymouth risked the lives of his tenants through a dangerous gas boiler installed in the...

A landlord who did not remedy a string of safety concerns about a property he was letting has been ordered to...

A landlord and restaurateur has to pay almost £5,000 after an apartment he was letting out was found to be overcrowded...

A landlord has been fined after a family of five suffered carbon monoxide poisoning at their rented home. North Avon Magistrates’ Court...

Select, the trade body for Scotland's electrical sector, is reminding agents and landlords that from December 1 there must be five-yearly electrical...

A survey of house- and flat-share private tenants shows 15 per cent claiming not to have a working smoke alarm in...

A rogue landlord has been fined £20,000 and ordered to pay £3,343 costs as well as a victim surcharge of £120...

A landlord who let a property with serious health and safety hazards to vulnerable adults has pleaded guilty of failing to implement...

A landlord has been fined a meagre £265 after a defective gas appliance was found to be in operation at his...

A mortgage chief has spelled out what many in the rental sector already know - that the new laws, rules and...

Kings Group has won a £2,500 award for its speed and thoroughness in informing landlords of the need to comply with...

The Association of Residential Letting Agents says it strongly supports new health and safety legislation coming into effect today - but...

A property management firm is warning letting agents and landlords to fulfil their responsibilities to protect tenants from Legionnaires’ disease. Despite laws...

As if to prove the lettings industry’s concern over a lack of publicity for upcoming health and safety regulation changes, a...

A mother and her young son were put at risk of suffering carbon monoxide poisoning for seven years at their home,...

The changes to tax relief for landlords comes on top of a blizzard of new health and safety requirements, regulations and...

Letting agents and landlords are being warned that properties under their control meet regulations to prevent an outbreak of Legionnaires’ Disease. The...

A group of renters who have formed the Acorn group in Bristol - which has already held protests against letting agents...

The Residential Landlords Association says it has “deep concerns” over the Panorama programme broadcast early this week claiming that landlords were...