Archive

Michael Gove’s Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities hit back overnight at critics of the government’s Renters Reform Bill. The Bill...

The Open Property Data Association has released a new version of its property data standards framework to help letting agents comply...

Sharpened rules to double council tax on long term empty properties will come into force from April 1, says the government.  A...

A national newspaper says the Renters Reform Bill is “on the brink of collapse” as Tory MPs are divided on their...

Labour has waded into the increasingly-fractious debate over the Renters Reform Bill. Activists in groups such as the Renters Reform Coalition and...

Ukrainians who came to the UK following the Russian invasion will be able to apply for 18-month extensions to their visas,...

Propertymark is urging the Sunak government to introduce specialist housing courts with expert Judges who can expedite cases and create a...

The Liberal Democrats have called on the government to bring in an emergency ban on no fault evictions and banks repossessing people’s homes...

The first meeting has been held of the Housing Coalition, a new group including Propertymark and some landlord bodies. A statement from...

Senior Labour MP Clive Betts says the party’s official house building policy won’t actually solve the shortage of homes. Labour deputy leader...

A row has broken out over Section 21 between Michael Gove’s Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and an all-party...

The new Housing Minister is Lee Rowley - who was a former housing minister during the short lived premiership of Liz Truss. Rowley...

The government is considering five different options for ground rent as the reform process for the sector begins. The government is committed...

PropTech supplier Lettspay has launched a new client account banking service for letting agents and property managers in partnership with Griffin...

A charity claims the Renters Reform Bill, which gets its Second Reading in the Commons next week, will help reduce homelessness. New...

The National Audit Office says the government will soon have to take hard decisions on the future for the Homes For...

Government data shows that as of 2022 some 15.29 per cent of homes in England are privately rented, with 14.9 per...

The Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities says a new How To Rent guide will be issued today, October 2. Letting...

The Select Committee that shadows the work of Michael Gove’s Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is complaining that its...

Automated client accounting platform Lettspay is set to launch a new client account banking product for letting agents. The supplier has worked...

Rental sector organisations have been given an indication by the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities that a new How...

Labour’s new shadow Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Secretary, Angela Rayner, says she will put council Housing at the heart of...

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

Crisis, the homelessness charity, has slammed the government over the growing gap between housing benefit levels and even the lower end...

The Renters Reform Bill will cost letting agents over £275m in the next decade as fewer landlords use their services. That’s the...

It appears almost certain that the Second Reading of the Renters Reform Bill - expected some weeks ago - will not...

It appears that a “wider range of behaviours” are likely to be taken into account in future when tenants are considered...

Propertymark has given an insight into how letting agents are likely to be expected to use a new Landlords Database. The database...

In a surprise move, Housing Secretary Michael Gove has given the stand-in leader of activist group Generation Rent a prime role...

New government figures show how overdue the government's reform of private renting is, claims campaigning charity Shelter. The charity says the figures...

Propertymark has thrown its weight behind the idea of a compulsory national register of landlords and hosts operating Airbnb and other...

Airbnb is warning the UK government not to be heavy handed in its planning controls restricting the short lets sector. At the...

The new trade body for short lets has reacted angrily to a government plan for AirBnb and other short let hosts...

The government has taken the first step to introducing a mandatory ombudsman scheme which private landlords must join. This is effectively the...

The government has indicated that the delayed publication of the latest How To Rent document is to be Friday March 24. The...

The government has delayed publication of the latest How To Rent document - it had been expected today.  The How to Rent...

A much-hyped government proposal to introduce a Rental Mediation Service to resolve disputes, sustain tenancies and reduce pressure on the courts...

We’re only in February and it’s already clear that this year will set the future direction of the private rented sector...

Propertymark has hit out at a proposal from a group of MPs that there should be a single Ombudsman covering the...

The activist group Generation Rent is backing a call by MPs for the government to tighten up proposals to scrap Section...

It appears likely that Rachel Maclean is set to become the sixth housing minister in 12 months, replacing Lucy Frazer. In the...

Agents’ body Propertymark wants more government action to boost housing supply - and it wants the views of the industry on...

A warning letter signed by 330 major players in the private rental sector has been delivered to Housing Secretary Michael Gove. The...

The government claims buildings will be made safer under new proposals including compulsory second staircases for new tower blocks. It says this...

A not-for-profit company that matches rental properties with vulnerable tenants in need of accommodation has partnered with a maintenance firm to...

Propertymark has given its backing to a clampdown by Housing Secretary Michael Gove on private landlords - although landlords themselves appear...

Propertymark backs government plans to introduce a social housing-style Decent Homes Standard in the private sector.   But it says there must be...

Labour’s new housing spokesperson, Matthew Pennycook, says his party would go further than the government on the subject of private rental...

As the Rishi Sunak government’s lower ranks finally take shape, the junior ministers working with Housing Secretary Michael Gove have been...

There seems to be an industry-wide sigh of relief that Rishi Sunak has become Prime Minister. His coronation marks the end of...

The Advertising Standards Authority has banned advertorial material issued by the government department responsible for rental reform and housing. Two Labour MPs...

The latest update from industry discussions about allowing more pets in private rental properties suggests there’s not been a solution yet...

The cost of living crisis could have a ‘catastrophic’ impact on homelessness unless an immediate eviction ban is introduced. That’s the view...

In a late night announcement it was confirmed by the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities that Lee Rowley MP...

The National Audit Office has made scathing criticisms of government efforts to build more affordable housing. The public spending watchdog says the...

Two new ministers have been appointed to the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities - but at this stage it’s...

A leading lettings agency has warned the government not to forget the importance of small-scale landlords in its plans for the...

Agents are calling for a pilot project to measure the impact of the government abolishing Section 21 eviction powers. In its response...

The government is intervening further in the running of Liverpool council, which operates a controversial private rental sector licensing scheme. Housing Secretary...

It’s been confirmed that the controversial Renters Reform Bill will still be introduced by the end of this session of Parliament,...

Agents have only until Friday to respond to the committee of MPs currently calling for evidence concerning the reform of the...

A prominent trade body is warning Tory leadership candidates not to put rental reform on the back burner and add to...

Agents have only four weeks to respond to a committee of MPs’ ‘call for evidence’ ahead of an investigation into the...

The National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team has published fresh guidance to help letting agents meet new requirements regarding...

The Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has been packed with MPs loyal to outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson, as...

If housing really is seen by Prime Minister Boris Johnson as one of his key policy goals, there must be uncertainty...

Speculation in national newspapers suggests that the government is considering giving local mayors some powers over parts of the private rented...

A fresh analysis of house sizes for new build homes shows they are getting smaller. A study by Tiger Sheds looked at...

A property investment company says Build To Rent is key to helping Britain meet its current housing and climate change challenges...

Another lettings agency is offering a major incentive to landlords switching from Airbnb to traditional long term rentals. Hills Lettings, a south...

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

Propertymark says it welcomes measures in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill that will mean swifter action to get the hundreds...

ARLA Propertymark is warning the government that it should not delay further on its long-awaited Renters Reform Bill, because of the...

The government has released more details of the powers being given to local authorities to levy additional taxes on second homes.  The...

The government is admitting that its rental reform agenda is aimed primarily at the north of England - which just happens...

The government is widely expected to announce that Section 21 eviction powers will be scrapped in new legislation coming to Parliament...

Propertymark has dismissed suggestions from critics of the lettings industry that higher rents are leading to more homelessness.  The trade body says...

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

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

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

A prominent industry supplier has hit out at what he calls “the merry go round of housing ministers” following yet another...

A trade body says letting agents are receiving growing numbers of contracts from tenants wanting to take part in the Homes...

The criticism by landlords aimed at Housing Secretary Michael Gove for some of his comments regarding the cladding issue, has now...

Housing ministers come and go with brutal frequency in UK governments of all colours, so yesterday’s departure of Chris Pincher -...

A major holiday let company in one of the country’s prime tourist destinations says more affordable homes should be built to...

Owners of second homes who abuse a tax loophole by claiming their often-empty properties are holiday lets will be forced to...

The government is clamping down - at least a little - on unvaccinated tenants in some specific circumstances.  New guidelines issued by...

Propertymark is telling its letting agent members that they have a role in helping solve the Afghan refugee crisis. It says some...

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

A major Select Committee of MPs has launched an enquiry into so-called exempt rental sector accommodation - a niche sector that...

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

A new government survey of private renters is checking whether they received the correct documentation from their agent when they begin...

The private rental sector is already attempting to improve its EPC results according to research from Shawbrook Bank.  From 2025 new rules...

The Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities says the long-awaited Rental Reform White Paper will now not be published until...

Letting agents in England with tenants in rent arrears because of Covid are to be helped via a council-run £65m rent fund. Although...

The long-awaited White Paper on rental reform is some time away, with a minister at the centre of its preparation saying he and...

A new survey has revealed that just 11% of people think Michael Gove, who was announced as the new Housing Secretary...

Labour claims it was the driving force behind the government’s decision to cap tenants’ security deposits from six weeks to five...

The new Home Secretary Sajid Javid is being urged to look again at the Right To Rent policy and produce “a...

Landlords in Wales who manage their own properties are being reminded that they must submit their licence application to Rent Smart...