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KEYWORD "Levelling Up" - 100 RESULTS
Rayner ditches ‘Levelling Up’ and is just Housing Secretary

The term “Levelling Up” - introduced by ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson - has been ditched by the new deputy Prime Minister,...

10 July 2024

From: Breaking News

Starmer names minister to steer through Rental Reform Legislation

Labour MP Matthew Pennycook has been named as the principal housing minister in the new government. He was shadow housing minister when...

06 July 2024

From: Breaking News

New Housing Secretary named by Sir Kier Starmer

Angela Rayner has been appointed Levelling Up Secretary with responsibility for housing - a role she has in addition to being...

05 July 2024

From: Breaking News

Call for a new Ministry of Housing with long-term minister

The next Government should create a separate Ministry of Housing and encourage MPs of all parties to work together to solve...

24 June 2024

From: Breaking News

Soaring Council Tax Arrears prompts call for new bailiff rules

Outstanding council tax arrears have soared according to new government figures. Data from he Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities shows...

21 June 2024

From: Breaking News

Leasehold Reform Is Far From Over, Whoever Wins on July 4

Leasehold reform still has a long way to run, according to the Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners (ALEP). The major party manifestos...

17 June 2024

From: Breaking News

Propertymark tells politicians - add agent regulation to Renters Reform Bill

As the Renters Reform Bill makes its way through the House of Lords, Propertymark has advised peers not to miss this...

17 May 2024

From: Breaking News

Labour split as MP defies party policy and calls for rent controls

A Labour MP is calling for rent controls to be introduced, with powers for councils to tweak them as they see...

17 May 2024

From: Breaking News

Freeholder hits at government over slow responses on building safety row

The corporate freeholder which has been obliged to fix serious building safety issues at a tower block has issued a statement...

14 May 2024

From: Breaking News

Housing Minister to address agents ahead of General Election

Housing minister Lee Rowley will be taking centre stage at the largest property agency conference in the UK this summer, Propertymark...

30 April 2024

From: Breaking News

Renters Reform Bill - groups still lobbying for further changes

A coalition of higher education and student housing organisations have called on the government to make further changes to the Renters...

26 April 2024

From: Breaking News

Gove hits back at critics after Renters Reform Bill wins key vote

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

25 April 2024

From: Breaking News

Propertymark not giving up on the Regulation of Property Agents

Propertymark says it will continue lobbying government for the implementation of the Regulation of Property Agents - even though the government...

24 April 2024

From: Breaking News

Regulation of Property Agents - government slammed by Lords

The government’s failure to act on the Regulation of Property Agents (RoPA) working party - chaired by Lord Richard Best and...

22 April 2024

From: Breaking News

Propertymark back on warpath demanding qualifications for agency staff

Propertymark is demanding equal treatment with the social housing sector. Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove intends to boost standards in social housing...

11 April 2024

From: Breaking News

Material Information - new digital tool aims to help letting agents

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

25 March 2024

From: Breaking News

Government to double council tax on empty homes after one year

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

13 March 2024

From: Breaking News

Tory MP reported to bring Renters Reform Bill “to brink of collapse”

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

08 March 2024

From: Breaking News

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

29 February 2024

From: Breaking News

Ukrainians given visa extension - likely impact on private rental sector

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

19 February 2024

From: Breaking News

Housing Courts the best way to counter threat of S21 removal - claim

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

15 February 2024

From: Breaking News

Propertymark backs extending agency regulation and decent homes standard

Qualifications for property managers in the social housing sector should be extended to the private rental sector too. That’s the view of...

22 January 2024

From: Breaking News

Labour to ban bidding wars and offer new anti-social behaviour rules

A prominent housing market commentator says Labour would introduce a tougher version of the Renters Reform Bill if it forms the...

27 December 2023

From: Breaking News

Politicians demand Christmas ban on Section 21 evictions

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

21 December 2023

From: Breaking News

New industry group includes agents and small landlord organisations

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

24 November 2023

From: Breaking News

Rayner’s policy won’t solve housing shortage says top Labour MP

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

17 November 2023

From: Breaking News

Section 21 - Angry MPs slam Michael Gove over ongoing delay

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

16 November 2023

From: Breaking News

Agents demand ground rent reform progress while consultation goes on

Propertymark wants Housing Secretary Michael Gove to continue with ground rent reforms for leaseholders following the launch of a consultation into this...

14 November 2023

From: Breaking News

New Housing Minister is ... a former housing minister

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

13 November 2023

From: Breaking News

Five ground rent options being considered by government

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

13 November 2023

From: Breaking News

Agents want tax reforms on top of pledge to avoid rent controls

Propertymark has welcomed the pledge by Housing Secretary Michael Gove not to introduce rent controls in England. The trade body says such...

31 October 2023

From: Breaking News

PropTech service claims to solve client account issues

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

25 October 2023

From: Breaking News

Government may change rules governing Pooled Client Accounts

A government minister has pledged to act on the threat to lettings agents posed by banks acting against pooled client accounts. Many...

20 October 2023

From: Breaking News

Renters Reform Bill will slash homelessness, claims charity

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

19 October 2023

From: Breaking News

Homes For Ukraine - government faces hard decisions on scheme future

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

17 October 2023

From: Breaking News

Buy To Let has grown massively in recent years - new statistics

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

13 October 2023

From: Breaking News

New How To Rent Guide to be issued today

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

02 October 2023

From: Breaking News

MPs complain that rental reform questions go unanswered

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

20 September 2023

From: Breaking News

Renters Reform Bill - why no details of court reform?

A lettings trade body is urging the government to make clear how it will help courts tackle a growing backlog of...

19 September 2023

From: Breaking News

PropTech: Client accounting product launched for letting agents

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

19 September 2023

From: Breaking News

Agent Alert - new How to Rent guide coming soon

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

15 September 2023

From: Breaking News

Council houses will cut rental demand - Rayner sets out agenda

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

13 September 2023

From: Breaking News

Gove tells agents to identify and remedy damp and mould issues

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

11 September 2023

From: Breaking News

Charity slams government over gap between rents and benefits

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

28 July 2023

From: Breaking News

Renters Reform Bill to cost letting agents millions - new analysis

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

26 July 2023

From: Breaking News

Agents told to lobby MPs over Renters Reform Bill

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

14 July 2023

From: Breaking News

Anti-Social Behaviour definition to widen to help agents, landlords

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

14 July 2023

From: Breaking News

Renters Reform Bill to be discussed by MPs this afternoon

The Renters Reform Bill is being discussed by MPs this afternoon - although not as part of its long-running passage through...

10 July 2023

From: Breaking News

Council chief slams holiday lets 'tax subsidy' scheme

A Liberal Democrat council leader says all properties - even those in properly established lettings businesses - should be charged council...

15 June 2023

From: Breaking News

This is how agents will have to use the new Landlords Database

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

23 May 2023

From: Breaking News

Pet Lovers and Renting Activists get lift up from Michael Gove

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

17 May 2023

From: Breaking News

Shelter blames Section 21 and rental reform delay for rise in homelessness

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

11 May 2023

From: Breaking News

Renters Reform Bill - just a delay or a major rethink?

The government has back-tracked on its decision to publish the long-awaited Renters Reform Bill this week. The Mirror newspaper reports that “procedural issues”...

10 May 2023

From: Breaking News

Renters Reform Bill - everything we know so far

Housing Secretary Michael Gove says the long-awaited Renters Reform Bill, first promised in 2019, will finally be introduced into Parliament this...

09 May 2023

From: Breaking News

Agents back compulsory national registration for short lets

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

26 April 2023

From: Breaking News

Short Lets Clampdown: Airbnb warns against over the top measures

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

17 April 2023

From: Breaking News

Anger over Airbnbs and holiday lets needing planning consent

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

13 April 2023

From: Breaking News

Reform process underway with new Ombudsman scheme

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

29 March 2023

From: Breaking News

How To Rent update - new date set for publication

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

20 March 2023

From: Breaking News

Mystery over government How To Rent document

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

17 March 2023

From: Breaking News

Shelter angry at Hunt’s ‘nothing about housing’ Budget

Campaigning charity Shelter is angry with Chancellor Jeremy Hunt over his Budget  While most in the property industry have expressed relief that there...

16 March 2023

From: Breaking News

Higher tax on second homes - another council speaks out

West Oxfordshire council is the latest to demand new government legislation to increase council tax on empty and second homes in...

15 March 2023

From: Breaking News

Government rental mediation scheme flops - change needed

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

07 March 2023

From: Breaking News

Agents back Polluter Pays concept to help leaseholders

Propertymark says current government policy over leaseholder protections is too weak. The letting agents’ trade body has thrown its weight behind a...

01 March 2023

From: Breaking News

Lettings in the spotlight as current and future regulations hit the headlines

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

15 February 2023

From: Features

MPs' idea for Rental Sector Ombudsman slammed by letting agents

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

13 February 2023

From: Breaking News

Make evictions even tougher to execute - Baroness speaks out

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

10 February 2023

From: Breaking News

Six Housing Ministers in 12 months!

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

08 February 2023

From: Breaking News

Agents’ message to government - boost supply to end housing shortage

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

01 February 2023

From: Breaking News

Labour launches major review of private rental sector

The Labour Party is to launch a major review of the private rental sector, led by the head of a London...

30 January 2023

From: Breaking News

Massive scale of Build To Rent revealed by top investor's figures

Legal & General Capital helped fund over 17,000 new homes last year across a range of tenures, chiefly Build To Rent.  Chief...

05 January 2023

From: Breaking News

Take That, Gove! Agents and landlords deliver warning letter

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

03 January 2023

From: Breaking News

Where to Invest in 2023 - hotspots enjoy over 15% yields

A buy to let investment site has used Artificial Intelligence to identify 10 top property investment opportunities in 2023.  Based on analysis...

28 December 2022

From: Breaking News

Government consultation launches to improve safety post-Grenfell

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

28 December 2022

From: Breaking News

Tenants renting longer and paying more - new survey’s findings

Over the last decade, the proportion of people aged 24 to 64 living in their own home has fallen and the...

19 December 2022

From: Breaking News

Gove leans on competitions watchdog to probe house builders

Housing Secretary Michael Gove has sent a letter to the Competitions and Markets Authority saying the watchdog is independent - but...

07 December 2022

From: Breaking News

Airbnb registration and short lets planning consent under consideration

The government is to open a consultation on whether residential properties should require planning consent to be used as short lets...

06 December 2022

From: Breaking News

Councils given public cash to tackle poor rental housing standards

Three councils will be sharing £1.21m in public cash over the next two years to tackle poor quality properties in the...

06 December 2022

From: Breaking News

Ethical lettings service links with PropTech maintenance platform

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

30 November 2022

From: Breaking News

HMO Council Tax Reform - government pledge to consider change

The government has made a general commitment to work with those who want council tax reforms for Homes in Multiple Occupation. Earlier...

25 November 2022

From: Breaking News

Agents and Labour back Gove’s clampdown on private rental sector

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

25 November 2022

From: Breaking News

Call for industry to lobby MPs over HMO council tax

A lettings network is urging landlords to back a campaign to abolish council tax re-banding for shared houses. Platinum Property Partners says...

23 November 2022

From: Breaking News

We want higher council tax for second homes, says lettings agency

A holiday lettings agency has taken the unusual step of speaking out in favour of higher council tax for second home...

21 November 2022

From: Breaking News

Decent Homes Standard - councils need massive resources to enforce it

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

11 November 2022

From: Breaking News

Labour pledge to go further than government on rental reform

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

07 November 2022

From: Breaking News

Revealed - the junior housing ministers working with Gove

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

31 October 2022

From: Breaking News

Sunak in No 10 - Sigh of relief from agents and industry

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

25 October 2022

From: Breaking News

Banned! Levelling Up adverts fall foul of standards watchdog

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

12 October 2022

From: Breaking News

Government may scrap plans to abolish Section 21

The government may be changing its mind on scrapping Section 21 eviction powers according to a bombshell story in The Times. Outlining what...

11 October 2022

From: Breaking News

Pets In Lets - no answer yet to issues of damage and costs

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

05 October 2022

From: Breaking News

No major rental reform debate at Tory Party conference

There appears to be no space for discussion on the government’s private rental sector reform policies at the Tory Party conference...

30 September 2022

From: Breaking News

Stamp Duty Cuts take effect immediately

Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has announced that stamp duty will be cut.  In future there will be no stamp duty on the first...

23 September 2022

From: Breaking News

Immediate Eviction ban must be introduced says government adviser

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

22 September 2022

From: Breaking News

New housing minister confirmed - a former estate agent

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

21 September 2022

From: Breaking News

Government sharply criticised over affordable homes failures

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

13 September 2022

From: Breaking News

New ministers appointed to housing department

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

12 September 2022

From: Breaking News

Agency warns government - don’t forget small scale landlords

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

07 September 2022

From: Breaking News

Agents want pilot project to test scrapping of S21

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

31 August 2022

From: Breaking News

Commissioners step in to council with controversial private rental scheme

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

25 August 2022

From: Breaking News

Confirmed - Renters Reform Bill coming this session of Parliament

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

24 August 2022

From: Breaking News

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