Archive

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

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...

A report from the House of Lords has condemned the private rental sector as being ”increasingly unaffordable” as well as being...

Landlords selling up or converting to short lets have led to a growing housing crisis, according to a trade body of...

ARLA Propertymark is backing a call for the government to set a clear vision for how it sees the private rental...

The National Residential Landlords Association says average rent debt owed by tenants as a direct result of the pandemic is still...

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

Not-for-profit accreditation scheme safeagent wants the government to help tenants clear Covid-related arrears through an overhaul of Discretionary Housing Payments. Enhancing these...

Private tenants and landlords across the country face a cliff edge as the end of furlough coincides with cuts to benefit...

Earlier this week Propertymark revealed it had co-signed an open letter criticising proposed government cuts to benefits.  That open letter was co-signed...

Propertymark has joined a series of charities and a landlord body to warn about the poverty risk of expected changes to...

A leading trade body says the rental sector must not discriminate against tenants on benefits - and has told government it...

A property investment platform has taken the unusual approach of accusing the government of driving up homelessness through its policy of...

A lettings agency which markets private rental properties and units operated by a housing association has apologised for its ‘No DSS’...

Activists from the Acorn renters' campaign group have held a protest outside a branch of Chancellors in Oxford. The group says the...

Another lettings agency has been found to have unlawfully discriminated against a tenant receiving benefits. Worthing County Court declared that Michael Jones & Company unlawfully...

Rent guarantees and upfront cash payments from local authorities are the most effective means of opening the private rented sector to...

A think tank says large scale intervention in the rental market via loans to tenants is the only way of addressing...

While the Westminster government has extended its version of the eviction ban in England until February 21, a longer ban -...

Letting agents have joined forces with other players in the rental industry to demand the government finally get a grip on...

The Resolution Foundation has added its voice to that of many charities and other think tanks demanding more government support for...

A local authority is launching a six month probe into rooms let out but exempt from rental sector regulation. The project is...

A lettings agency that told a prospective tenant it had a policy of not offering tenancies to housing benefit recipients has...

ARLA and the NRLA have teamed up with charities - some usually critical of letting agents and landlords - to lobby...

A property litigation expert is warning letting agents and landlords about far-reaching consequences of the recent ruling which declared a blanket...

Can technology bring about the lasting change needed to the property industry? The industry has felt the effect of lockdown and...

The Prime Minister has stepped into the ongoing row over a Labour claim that last week’s stamp duty holiday was merely...

Campaigning charity Shelter says it is “doubling up” its efforts to make sure letting agents comply with anti-discrimination legislation when it...

Two Bristol landlords have been ordered to repay nearly £5,000 following investigations by the council’s so called rogue landlord unit. One, Lucy...

A buy to let investor who kept a group of men as slaves – making them work 90-hour weeks in return...

Campaigning charity Shelter, which has been outspoken in its criticism of many letting agents in recent years, has now produced a...

The Generation Rent pressure group, fiercely critical of agents and landlords in recent months, wants the government to implement a 12 month...

Families living in private rented accommodation are more exposed to the economic shock of the Coronavirus than homeowners, which could mean...

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

The Property Ombudsman is warning agents not to discriminate against tenants through a No DSS or any similar policy. Following the legal...

The private rental sector has come under attack for its conditions and costs to tenants in a report looking into health...

A new service called Cornwall Housing Private Lets has been set up in the west country to try to lure private...

Plans to end the freeze on housing benefits will still leave many tenants unable to afford rent say landlords. Following the announcement...

As the battle of political policies continues ahead of next month’s General Election, now Labour has unveiled a raft of initiatives...

Higher housing costs - including private sector rents - have reduced incomes and increased inequality as the poorest families have borne...

A new piece of legislation has been invoked to ban a landlord from any involvement in the private rental sector for...

Two housing charities have called for the government to invest more in housing benefit so it rises in line with private...

The private rented sector would shrink by 20 per cent if Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions are abolished, according to an economic...

A Shropshire man has become the first in England to be banned from being a landlord.  In a case brought by Telford...

Universal Credit is causing tenants to fall behind with their rent according to lettings sector trade body the Residential Landlords Association. It...

The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Housing and Care for Older People has sharply criticised the PRS as being ill-equipped to cater...

Tenants on state benefits could be the 'biggest casualties' of the government's 'ill-thought-out' plans to scrap the Section 21 evictions process,...

Private landlords are being asked to consider letting out their properties through the local council.  Slough council is looking for flats and...

Who are you and what does it say on your business card?  My name is Daniel and I’m a director at...

Rightmove has fallen in line with Zoopla and is banning the term ‘No DSS’ from its lettings agents’ listings from the...

Figures given through a Parliamentary answer have revealed just how bad councils in England are at policing and enforcement action against...

The Residential Landlords Association has given its backing to Zoopla’s ban on agents and landlords advertising properties to rent as ‘No...

Zoopla says it’s introducing new measures to minimise the presence of what it calls “blanket restrictions” imposed on tenants who receive...

Momentum is building in the campaign to end ‘No DSS’ discrimination against private rental sector tenants in receipt of housing benefit. Late...

The government says it wants “an immediate change” in the policy of some letting agents and landlords who advertise ‘No DSS’...

Doncaster council has paid £100,000 to a private landlord who threatened to take it to court over alleged slander.  Local media outlets say...

You may be forgiven for thinking that rent takes up an ever-greater proportion of tenants’ income - but new figures out...

A lettings sector trade body has put the blame firmly on government for the scale of poverty amongst those who privately...

The Residential Landlords Association says the government’s changes to Universal Credit don’t go far enough to prevent rent arrears. The RLA says...

The owner of a buy to let property already shut by police has been fined by a court in Devon.  In June...

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 pressure group that in the past has protested outside letting agency branches has staged more direct action - this time against...

A substantial study by university academics suggests that changes to the benefit system lie behind the long-term rise in homelessness from...

The Labour MP who chairs the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee in the House of Commons is pressing the government...

Two lettings agencies have been expelled from The Property Ombudsman scheme for failing to pay awards. One is OJ Residentials Limited trading...

A landlord had been ordered to give back almost £4,000 that was paid to him while operating without a licence. The case...

Urgent action is needed to tackle discrimination against benefit claimants by buy to let mortgage providers according to a leading trade...

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

The ongoing debate over some letting agents and landlords allegedly refusing to accept tenants in receipt of housing benefit has now...

The National Approved Lettings Scheme has issued a sharp rebuke to Shelter and the National Housing Federation following their controversial ‘End...

Lettings agents’ representatives have hit back at an accusation of discrimination made against the industry. A report by Shelter and the National...

An influential think tank is calling on government to radically reform the private rental sector because a generation of young people...

Letting agents who act on landlords’ instructions to refuse tenants claiming benefits may be breaking the law. A legal case recently found...

There has been a warm welcome for government changes to Universal Credit by the Residential Landlords Association.  The Department for Work and...

Government proposals to ban letting agent fees levied on tenants next year are unlikely to make renting cheaper as new research...

A senior housing official at Bristol city council says the increasing popularity of Airbnb has had the effect of taking “hundreds”...

A change to the operation of Universal Credit has been welcomed by a trade body which has described it as good...

Research by The Guardian newspaper reveals that massive numbers of local authority councillors are also buy to let investors - and...

The pressure group Generation Rent - often identified with highlighting issues concerning young tenants - is now warning of a massive...

Only two out of every 10 private rental sector landlords say they are willing to let to tenants in receipt of...

A buy to let investor reported to be receiving rental income of £150,000 a year must pay over £340,000 after illegally...

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

Younger people will have more difficulty finding rented accommodation in coming months as a substantial proportion of landlords actively cut back...

A head of a company providing hi-tech products to letting agents says technology is the answer to current rental industry challenges,...

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

A letting sector trade body says two thirds of the largest buy to let mortgage lenders do not allow landlords to...

Labour says there would be a ‘consumer rights revolution’ for the private rental sector if the party won the June 8...

A Facebook group has been set up to name and shame so-called ‘tenants from hell’.   At the moment the page applies to...

A body representing 370 councils in England and Wales wants the government to close a legal loophole which allows the conversion...

A BBC survey claims that private sector landlords are more likely to accept potential tenants who own pets than ones who...

The couple believed to be the owners of Britain’s largest buy to let portfolio have defended sending letting agents an 11-point...

It hasn’t been a happy Christmas for one London landlord, who has been told to repay £40,000 in rent received in...

The National Landlords Association has come out fighting in response to a weekend report by the National Housing Federation suggesting buy...

The amount of housing benefit going to private landlords has more than doubled in the past decade according to the National...

Government policy is making it harder than ever for benefits claimants and the homeless to rent homes, according to a new...

Landlords are looking to house tenants less likely to miss rental payments in order to minimise the impact of a number...

Burnley Council has named and shamed eleven landlords that have been prosecuted for ignoring its selective licensing scheme. One landlord, Pierce Mullally,...

The charity Shelter has renewed its campaign to expose letting agencies which allegedly do not reveal their fees in line with...

A London lettings has tweeted that it does not share the view of one of its own branch managers who said...

A campaign group in the north east London borough of Hackney claims to have ‘mystery shopped’ 50 letting agents and has...

A think-tank is calling for the creation of ‘social’ letting agencies with staff who not only find housing but also get...

Government changes to remove housing benefit from 18 to 21 year olds from April will make it far more difficult for...

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

The Charity Commission is to probe the links between a letting agency that has allegedly been paid more than £5.5m in...

The BBC is investigating a letting agency that has allegedly been paid more than £5.5m in housing benefit after its owner...

Savills says mainstream UK rents are likely to rise by an average of 16.5 per cent by the end of 2020...

It’s been a bad weekend for the image of the private rental sector with a series of reports and press stories...

A “lettings agency with a conscience” that wants to put £30,000 into the local community over the next two years has...

Over half the private rental sector tenants on housing benefit have experienced delays over its payment from their local council. Research by...

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

A local authority has refused to issue a private landlord licence after it was revealed the applicant had a conviction for...

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

Earlier this week the housing charity Shelter confounded many in the private rented sector by concluding on its website that tough rent...

Agents have expressed their disappointment at the decision by the government to restrict mortgage interest relief for Buy To let investors...

Known as Britain’s biggest landlords, Fergus and Judith Wilson have started to sell off their 1,000 strong property portfolio. The ex-teachers from...

A north east agent claims that news coverage of tenants on housing benefits is too quick to point the finger at...

The Citizens Advice organisation has returned to the attack on the private rental sector, accusing rogue landlords of raking in £5.6...

The Mirror newspaper has taken the extraordinary step of naming the landlords - some of them letting agencies or private individuals...

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