Archive

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...