Archive

A trade body suggests that the votes of private landlords could decide the results in over 100 constituencies in next week’s...

Specialist buy to let mortgage lender Paragon has welcomed Labour's General Election pledge to force rental properties to undergo an annual...

Labour’s policies for the private rental sector are “too extreme ... unrealistic and will be hugely damaging to housing supply in...

Labour has given shocking new details of its proposals for the private rental sector including £100.000 fines if properties are deemed...

There’s been a steep rise in the costs of landlord joining a compulsory licensing scheme operated by Labour-controlled Nottingham city council. The...

Two specific elements of Labour’s tax proposals, outlined in its manifesto, could “drive a nail into the coffin of buy to...

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

On the day that Labour launches its proposals to reform the private rental sector, the Tories have announced so-called Lifetime Rental...

A former Labour councillor and solicitor Muhammad Harun has been jailed for 16 months after pleading guilty to two counts of...

A local council claims it has received over 500 complaints from private rental tenants since the start of April - approaching...

Labour has dropped its controversial policy under which private tenants would have been able to buy their homes at a discount. Press...

One might have thought that if private rental tenants were as badly treated as some people suggest, housing would be their...

The appeal by Labour’s Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, to be given powers to introduce rent controls have been dealt a...

A PropTech firm says lettings and sales agents are less efficient because software providers and the wider industry have done too...

Another think tank has come up with proposals to scrap Section 21 eviction powers and cap rents - and it also...

A Labour council is leading a trial by local authorities of a new digital platform that checks whether agents, landlords and...

A leading agent is the latest industry figure to speak out against rent controls, which continue to be advocated by Labour...

It looks likely that the Conservative party is set to formally oppose rent controls when it publishes its manifesto, probably in...

London’s Labour Mayor, Sadiq Khan, has returned to his campaign to win powers which would allow him to impose rent controls. Khan...

Labour’s controversial proposal to oblige landlords to sell their buy to let properties to tenants who wished to purchase them, unveiled...

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has launched his party’s General Election campaign with an attack on what he describes as “dodgy landlords.” He...

Rent controls similar to those demanded by Labour in London and other major cities in the UK do not work, and...

Labour-run Leeds city council is introducing a licensing scheme which requires landlords to pay up to £825 per property. The deadline for...

The controversial tenants union Acorn has set up a web page where disgruntled renters can lodge complaints about letting agents. In the...

A statement from Hackney council in north east London says those who break its licensing provisions for the private rental sector...

A senior Labour housing spokesman is urging the government to press on with plans to outlaw the use of Section 21...

A group of landlords in the North East are the latest to criticise Labour's plans to introduce a Right to Buy...

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has accused Labour of being thin on detail when it comes to the housing policies...

A senior Labour politician in Sheffield and the campaign group Acorn have both expressed support for a selective licensing scheme to...

The majority of the UK’s private renters don’t want to purchase a home according to new research, coming just as the...

A leading PropTech chief says there is nothing inherently wrong with private tenants being given the right to buy their property,...

The weekly economic and financial research magazine The Economist has made a scathing attack on rent controls. The publication says rent controls...

Labour is backing new guidelines which ban adverts which can be interpreted as encouraging landlords and home owners to flout restrictions...

A Labour think tank considered on the right wing of the party says it wants rent controls that make a difference...

A Labour councillor on Islington council - which is controlled by the party and has Jeremy Corbyn as a local member...

The most controversial local council rental licensing scheme in the country has been deemed a success - at least by the...

More details have emerged about Labour’s controversial proposal to allow private rental tenants that right to buy their landlord’s property, at...

As the row over Labour’s proposal rumbles on the think tank Centre for Policy Studies - which has previously argued that...

Enfield wants to be the latest London council to introduce large-scale additional and selective licensing schemes which would affect most private rented...

The Association of Residential Lettings Agents appears to have joined the chorus of criticism against Labour’s controversial right to buy policy...

There’s been a fierce outcry from Conservative MPs and the lettings industry in response to Labour’s threat to give private rental...

Birmingham council has issued its first civil penalty against a House in Multiple Occupation landlord - and it says that move...

Labour has this morning pledged to introduce a shock new policy if it wins the next general election - giving private...

The Labour Party appears to be entering the arena of organising private rental sector tenants who have grievances. Party leader Jeremy Corbyn...

A Labour council which has become famous for its critical approach to the private rental sector has now been given almost £200,000...

A short lets management firm which was earlier this year at the centre of an advertisement controversy is now partnering with...

Rents in London are rocketing but a leading market commentator says this is no reason to give in to a “Marxist dystopia”...

The right wing Adam Smith Institute is the latest organisation to voice its strong opposition to Labour’s proposed rent controls for...

Calls by Labour’s London Mayor Sadiq Khan to secure powers to implement private sector rent controls are facing increasing opposition. Business organisation...

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has been told by a lettings industry body that he’ll lose votes if he introduces rent controls...

Boris Johnson or Jeremy Hunt will face an immediate crisis in the private rented sector if government doesn’t rethink its plans to...

Media reports in London suggest that Labour’s hyper-active housing spokesman on the Greater London Assembly may be under threat from Jeremy...

Property investors are calling for the government to provide more support to the UK property market. A survey of investors, carried out...

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

A senior Labour politician has claimed that there is a city in the UK where two out of every 13 residential...

New research shows that some buy to let investors in London could typically lose over £19,000 a year if Berlin-style rent...

Airbnb has issued a statement distancing itself from controversial advertisements from a short lets management service. Hostmaker - which describes itself as...

A statement issued by short lets management firm Hostmaker about its controversial advertising campaign has been branded “disgusting” by a campaign...

Airbnb and short let management service Hostmaker - at the centre of a dispute involving a landlord trade body and the...

The government has agreed that a council in London where all 51 councillors are Labour should go ahead with a five...

A company appearing to call on landlords to abandon tenants and instead let their properties to short-let visitors is now trying...

The Mayor of London is under pressure to pull advertisements calling on landlords to stop providing homes for Londoners and move...

A council claims that its decision to set up its own lettings agency has prevented homelessness for almost 50 families and...

The scrapping of Section 21 eviction powers has been welcomed by the London Assembly - but apparently it doesn’t go far...

One of the most pro-licensing local authorities in the country has extended its own scheme to include the entire centre of...

Today the long-awaited Homes (Fitness For Human Habitation) Act comes into force, pioneered by Labour MP Karen Buck and giving people...

Labour’s proposal to introduce indefinite tenancies along the lines in a bid to emulate the German model reveals the party’s “fundamental...

Labour says it will introduce new ‘indefinite’ tenancies for private tenants, based on rules currently in place in Germany. It claims German...

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

A buy to let investor has been landed with a fine and costs of over £20,000 because he failed to apply...

Just when you thought there could not be any more rival licensing or accreditation systems in the private rental sector, a...

A senior Labour politician claims that “unscrupulous” letting agents are hammering tenants with higher-than-usual charges between now and June 1 when...

Rent controls of the kind which London mayor Sadiq Khan wishes to introduce will worsen what is already a huge exodus...

There’s been an angry reaction to the suggestion that London’s Labour mayor, Sadiq Khan, is seeking to introduce rent controls in...

The council at Brighton & Hove has won an extra £34,820 in public money from the government to help it build...

A council accused of paying over £500,000 to a landlord it had already ruled as unfit to rent out property is...

The Labour party has expressed outrage at the news that London councils are spending over £22m each year renting back homes...

A controversial Labour-controlled local authority which already has 91 per cent of its private rental properties inside licensing schemes is now...

The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Bill has achieved Royal Assent, meaning that it will soon become an act of Parliament. Put...

A Private Members’ Bill which will allow private rental sector tenants to sue over the conditions of their properties will today...

Embattled London Labour mayor Sadiq Khan says he wants rent controls to be introduced in the capital’s private rental sector, but...

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

Letting Agent Today can reveal that the agency at the centre of the scandal over alleged charges for viewings has been...

A government minister says the phrase ”rogue landlord” is too “cuddly” and he wants buy to let investors who broke the...

Today sees the Second Reading in the House of the Lords for the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Bill, promoted by...

The party conferences of the two main political parties threw up some interesting developments with regards to housing and the rental...

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

Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell has made a clear pledge to tighten regulations surrounding the private rental sector. In an interview with The...

Tenants are now a step closer to being able to sue landlords if they do not properly maintain their properties. The Commons...

MPs in the House of Commons will today debate the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Bill, promoted by a Labour backbencher...

New research may explain why the government and Labour appear to be competing with each other to attack landlords and letting...

Croydon council is reported to have become the first local authority to back the scrapping of Section 21 of the 1988...

The Tenant Fees Bill is back in Parliament this week when it goes for its Second Reading in the House of...

A London local authority which is part way through its five year additional HMO licensing scheme wants lettings agents to give their...

A row appears to be brewing over the decision of a Labour MP to attend next week’s Conservative conference to discuss...

The Labour-led local authority in Hackney has issued a statement pledging fines or even bans if landlords fail to get appropriate...

Labour has outlined its proposals for the private rental sector if it gains power at the next General Election - and...

It’s been announced that the next stage of the Tenants’ Fees Bill through Parliament will be its Second Reading in the...

Shadow housing minister John Healey has given his backing to a Labour MP’s attempt to introduce a mandatory national register for...

A date has been set for the next stage of the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Bill, which is being promoted...

Two senior London politicians are backing a campaign to scrap the powers of agents and landlords to evict tenants under Section...

The government has written to two senior MPs in a bid to clarify two detailed provisions in the Tenants Fees Bill,...

A collection of rental sector protest organisations is getting together to campaign against S21 powers under which landlords or agents on...

A Bill which is likely to end up banning letting agents’ fees levied on tenants in Wales has been introduced into...

A Member of Parliament who says “the majority of agents” engage in “dirty tactics” when it comes to fees imposed on...

The government’s flagship immigration Right To Rent policy is under threat on two fronts. Firstly a cross-party group of MPs has written...

An electrical testing equipment firm and an MP are setting up a national campaign to demand new laws on appliance testing...

The government has been told is should simply adopt some Labour rental policies or risk losing the next General Election -...

Labour insists that if it forms the next government it will introduce ‘living rents’ in a new range of affordable homes...

A new analysis by campaigning housing organisation Shelter claims the changes within the private rental sector could indirectly lose the next...

Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, will is to reveal his vision for the private rental sector to a Residential...

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

Local media in Bristol say politicians in the city are considering supporting a controversial website that allows tenants to rate and...

Oxford’s Labour council has given its support to a lettings review website because it claims it will help drive up the...

Senior Labour MPs have spoken out about what they believe are the anti-social and detrimental effects of short lets on surrounding...

The Residential Landlords Association says Labour’s proposals to link rent increases to inflation would leave tenants worse off according to official...

It is being reported that the Labour mayor of Newham council - that’s the authority which has introduced stricter controls on...

A trade body says it wants more clarity from the Labour Party on its proposals to allow private sector tenants to...

One of the many firms that has sprung up to manage Airbnb-style short let accommodation says it backs the Labour Party’s...

Politicians in London and Scotland are looking at new controls which could be imposed on home owners letting out their properties...

The chairman of the Residential Landlords Association has written in the Labour-supporting New Statesman magazine about the need for the lettings...

The Association of Residential Letting Agents is the latest industry body to throw its weight behind the Private Members’ Bill that...

Lettings agency Haart says the government should go much further than the legislation it is supporting giving tenants the right to...

There have been more expressions of support from industry bodies for the Private Members’ Bill from Labour’s Karen Buck MP which...

The Association of Residential Letting Agents has thrown its weight behind a Private Members Bill which wants tenants to have the...

The Private Members’ Bill that has won government backing - and which would give tenants the right to sue landlords over...

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...

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has used a holiday season interview to repeat his pledge to swing powers back towards private tenants...

Prime minister Theresa May has repeated that the current government will not introduce rent controls in the private sector. The issue of...

The Welsh Government has confirmed that the country will ban letting agents’ fees levied on tenants - the same ban still...

Research by independent fact-checking organisation Full Fact has revealed that there are 12 local authority areas in the UK where a...

Stamp duty reform for first time buyers has taken pride of place in the Budget speech of Chancellor Phillip Hammond.   From today,...

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

London’s Labour Mayor, Sadiq Khan, has repeated his criticism of the government’s decision to cap security deposits at the level of...

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

A leading legal firm is staging a free and interactive seminar on sub-letting, aimed at letting agents. The event takes place on...

The shadow housing minister, John Healey, has started to flesh out the details of Labour's proposed rent controls, announced by Jeremy...

The housing charity Shelter - which in recent years has been aggressively critical of letting agencies and landlords in the private...

Trade groups have reacted angrily to Labour’s proposal to introduce rent controls if the party enters government.   The announcement, made by Labour...

Jeremy Corbyn has used his leader’s speech at the end of this week’s Labour conference in Brighton to commit the party...

Labour's housing spokesman has called on the government to give councils greater powers over the regulation of the private rental sector.   In...

Agents who review and modernise their rent collection procedures could claim back thousands of pounds in rent, an automated payments platform...

An attempt by a Labour council to encourage letting agencies to get ahead of the curve and scrap fees for tenants...

New research by Channel 4 reveals that 123 MPs - just over one fifth of the total - let out at...

The Private Members’ Bill put forward by Labour MP Karen Buck, which could give tenants the right to sue landlords if...

Labour MP Karen Buck is to reintroduce her Private Members Bill into Parliament today - and if it is passed, she...

The government has revealed that it has received over 4,700 responses to its official consultation over the proposed ban on letting...

The Prime Minister has confirmed that her minority Conservative government will press ahead with the ban on letting agents’ fees levied...

The top ten buy-to-let postcodes in England and Wales are evenly split between locations that voted for the Conservatives or Labour. Luton...

A proposed amendment to the government's Housing and Planning Bill which suggests landlords are required to make homes 'fit for human...

The Liberal Democrats want a raft of additional controls on the private rented sector aimed at addressing what it describes as...

The Labour Party has published its full manifesto for the upcoming General Election on June 8.  Titled 'For the many not the...

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

A senior Labour spokesman has refused to rule out rent controls as a possible manifesto commitment for the June 8 General...

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says she has been “horrified” to read allegations of some property owners offering rent-free accommodation in...

Controversial Labour MP Stella Creasy has presented her annual awards to estate and letting agents in her London constituency of Walthamstow...

The Residential Landlords’ Association has written to an immigration minister to express its concern over possible ‘further sanctions’ for landlords who...

Housing minister Gavin Barwell has confirmed that consultation on the government’s proposed ban on letting agency fees levied on tenants in...

Labour MP Karen Buck has introduced a 10-minute Rule Bill in the House of Commons to highlight the dangers of Airbnb-style...

The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) is writing to the Office for Budget Responsibility asking it to provide clarification on controversial tax...

The Residential Landlords Association has listed key MPs in marginal constituencies who should be lobbied ahead of the March 8 Budget...

A total of 17 letting agencies have signed up to a rental charter set up by a Labour MP.   Alan Whitehead, Labour...

A senior Labour politician in a London borough has branded so-called ‘rip off landlords’ as “the scourge of London.”   Councillor Laila Butt,...

Letting agents’ fees levied on tenants - already banned in Scotland and now likely to be banned in England according to...

A Labour MP has told the House of Commons that she is in favour of a tax regime that would reward...

A letting agency says the scale of confusion over letting agents’ fees is such that some tenants actually believe the deposit...

Labour’s respected housing expert, John Healey, is now back on the front bench as the party’s housing spokesman after a spat...

Agents and landlords in one of the country’s most politically-volatile cities are preparing to meet the local council to protest at...

Labour councillors controlling Brighton and Hove council are reported to be writing to the government for premission to charge HMO owners...

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

Former shadow Home Secretary Andy Burnham - now Labour’s candidate for Mayor of Greater Manchester - has outlined a string of...

The new housing minister, Gavin Barwell, says he is behind the concept of longer tenancies for renters in the private sector.   In...

Jeremy Corbyn’s plans for rent controls and “secure tenancies” in the private rented sector would spell disaster for tenants, reducing the...

A Birmingham MP is to put a Bill to the House of Commons after the summer in his bid to stop...

The Residential Landlords’ Association says Gavin Barwell, the new housing minister appointed by Theresa May this week, is a known critic...

The Association of Residential Letting Agents and the National Association of Estate Agents have asked new housing minister Gavin Barwell to...

easyProperty says it’s backing a Labour MP’s bid to cap letting agents‘ fees on tenants “in order to provide a more...

A Labour MP has presented Parliament with a petition urging that letting agents’ fees should be capped. There were a modest 1,500...

The Association of Independent Inventory Clerks says the government should not back a provision in the Renters' Rights Bill which would...

It started off as an idea from Jeremy Corbyn’s campaign to become Labour leader but today it’s being backed by a...

An industry body is warning new London Labour mayor Sadiq Khan not to think he is helping renters by tying up...

A Labour MP has told the House of Commons that letting agents are “completely unregulated” and that tenants are being “held...

The Liberal Democrats are following in the footsteps of some Green and Labour politicians in calling for a ban on letting...

Labour’s candidate for the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has published his manifesto which returns to the party’s recent themes of...

Unique summary: What does a potential exit from the EU mean for the UK's property market. Ever since the recession hit much...

The influencial cross-party Commons Treasury Committee says the whole economy could suffer is George Osborne’s fiscal measures against the private rental...

Labour MP Karen Buck is accusing local authorities of taking a ’softly, softly’ approach to rogue letting agents and landlords. Buck, whose...

The row over Tory MPs who voted against a bid to ensure all homes let to private tenants were “fit for...

Liberal Democrat MPs in the Commons and the Lords have tabled motions aimed at stopping the Right To Rent policy, which...

Letting agents are being urged to help tackle what the police are calling “modern slavery” happening in communities across Britain.  Modern slavery...

Labour MP David Lammy and Kevin Hollinrake, the founder of Hunters - and now a Conservative MP - have clashed online...

Labour MP Karen Buck want private tenants to be able to sue their landlords if they rent in what are considered...

Labour will today ask Home Secretary Theresa May to publish the result of the Right To Rent pilot project amidst claims...

There has been a sharp and rapid rebuttal of comments made by new shadow chancellor John McDonnell suggesting that private sector...

Sadiq Khan, Labour’s choice for London mayoral candidate, has set out his housing policies - with possible rent controls high on...

David Lammy, MP for Tottenham and one of Labour's prospective candidates for next year's London mayoral election, has warned that the...

Housing minister Brandon Lewis has backtracked on suggestions that the government may introduce longer standard tenancy agreements in the private rental...

A group of letting agents, landlords and investors has failed in its bid to force a high profile council to reconsider...

No one likes to be called and told, your boiler has broken down or a burst pipe has caused damage to...

Labour leadership hopeful Andy Burnham is the latest to say he would consider rent controls in the private sector if he...

One of the Labour hopefuls for the 2016 mayoral election in London has called for the introduction of rent caps in...

The hearing that will determine whether there will be a judicial review of another council’s landlord licensing scheme will take place...

Watch the latest weekly video round-up of news from Estate Agent Today and Letting Agent Today, featuring stories on contradicting figures...

The council which became a standard bearer for so-called ‘landlord licensing’ - Enfield in north London - appears to have abandoned...

A lettings and sales agent in the Midlands has renewed his appeal for help following an apparent arson attack on his...

One of five people vying for selection as Labour’s candidate in the 2016 London Mayoral election says private sector rents can...

A Labour MP was hauled up before the parliamentary expenses body after hitting a credit card problem created by a dispute...

A newspaper claims that Labour leadership hopeful Andy Burnham will this week announce that, should he head the party and eventually...

One of four MP candidates standing for the Labour Party leadership says Right To Buy should be extended - to private...

A Labour MP is launching a campaign to force private landlords to ensure that their premises are fit for habitation.  Karen Buck,...

Given that I wrote my last article on the day of the General Election but well before the result was known,...

The National Landlords Association has issued a briefing note which it says is a warning to Labour’s leadership and deputy leadership...

Nominations for Labour’s deputy leadership race close at midday today with Stella Creasy, an MP who has campaigned fiecely against letting...

It appears that the former presenters of BBC consumer programme Watchdog are amongst those participating in a class action against Foxtons...

One of the Labour party’s London Assembly members has criticised Boris Johnson’s London Rental Standard (LRS), saying it is ‘falling private...

The new shadow chancellor has said that he is against a ‘crack down’ on letting agencies and rent controls.  Labour’s Chris Leslie,...

After celebrating its year anniversary this week, Boris Johnson’s London Rental Standard has been criticised for signing up only 12% of...

The number of landlords selling their buy-to-let properties increased during April, according to the latest report from the Association of Residential...

This week RICS reported a further drop in the number of people putting their homes up for sale; new instructions fell...

A little over four weeks ago I was here musing what impact the impending general election might have on the property...

Alex Hilton - a fiercely outspoken critic of the property establishment, especially letting agents - is stepping down tomorrow from his...

Belvoir remains unrepentant after criticism from some quarters over an email sent to tenants last week intimating that a vote for...

I write this article on the day of the General Election so you’ll forgive the political analogies. In particular, how any...

After a night of remarkable election results, it looks likely that much of the residential property industry - which was strongly...

Ian Wilson, the head of Martin & Co, recently threw his hat into the ring regarding Labour’s stated intention to cap...

The National Landlords’ Association has set out a table of where the political parties stand on issues of lettings sector reform...

Property industry figures opposed to Labour plans to impose three year tenancies and rent caps should lobby candidates in a bid...

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

While much of the lettings industry protests against Labour proposals for rent controls and three year tenancies, an influential pressure group...

There are “advantages all round” in the certainty that three-year tenancies and even rent controls can offer, according to the head...

The Labour party’s proposals to cap rent rises with inflation and insist on three year tenancies in the private rental sector...

Labour’s onslaught on the private rental sector continues, with the party now setting out how it will implement its rent controls...

There has been widespread criticism of Labour's proposals for the private rental sector. The policies will “backfire” according to the National Landlords’ Association.  "We understand...

With another hung parliament looking increasingly likely, the so-called ‘challenger parties’ look set to have a major say in who forms...