Archive

A London council has been found to have operated an unpublicised consultation exercise for a licensing proposal - and is now...

London’s Westminster council - with 43 per cent of housing stock in the private rental sector - has launched a consultation on...

Activists from the so-called renters’ union Acorn have held a protest outside the office of a lettings agency in Oxford. A photograph...

A London council has dropped plans to restrict the creation of HMOs, a full 12 months after a consultation on the...

Changes to the codes of practice surrounding Right To Rent are introduced on November 2, and tomorrow there’s a useful webinar to...

A major north of England local authority wants to introduce landlord licensing for HMOs where three or four tenants live, following analysis...

A new PropTech tool called Lettings Intelligence is being launched this week with the claim that it is “revolutionising the way that lettings...

A London council has launched a strategy it claims will protect private tenants and ensure they live in good quality and...

A consultation process by the Scottish Government may herald stricter restrictions on Airbnb and similar short let platforms north of the border. The...

Two landlords have been served with civil penalty notices for operating unlicensed HMOs.  The notices were from Wellingborough council; one was for...

A private rental licensing consultancy has spotted that an additional licensing scheme run by a London borough council has now lapsed...

A new private rental licensing regime in a London borough is being described as “a major step forward in improving living...

Oxford council, which has 49 per cent of its housing stock in the private rental sector, is starting a formal consultation...

A proposed licensing regime in Kent has been abandoned because of fears it would drive landlords away. Medway council proposed a scheme...

A London council is telling its private rental sector residents to use a new tool to check whether they may be...

The controversial Labour-led council in Liverpool has started a lengthy consultation process over its latest proposals for landlord licensing. The authority was...

Charnwood council in the East Midlands is proposing to introduce two different licensing schemes for private landlords, with agents and others...

Greenwich council in London has resuscitated a proposal to extend its existing selective licensing regime, put on ice during the Coronavirus...

Rogue landlords have been accused of tax evasion which could cost the Treasury as much as £1.73 billion a year. The accusation...

Back in March 2019 we covered the story that Weymouth council in Dorset wanted a landlord licensing scheme for a town...

David Cox’s departure as chief executive of ARLA Propertymark last Friday was well signposted, particularly when he was advised he could...

A local authority has extended its consultation process for a selective licensing system which, if it goes ahead, would see some...

The council in Liverpool is likely to propose a scaled-back private rental licensing scheme after its original suggestion was rejected by...

A senior Conservative peer and consumer campaigner has written an article strongly defending the private rental sector, agents and landlords. Baroness Altmann...

Four buy to let investors have each been fined £10,000 for letting out unlicensed HMOs. The unlicensed properties , all in the...

David Smith - a solicitor specialising in residential property, agency and regulatory law - today launches a book advising property professionals...

A council in London, where landlords yields and margins are already tight, says it wants to charge £550 for a renewed...

The council at the centre of one of the planning controversies involving Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has issued a warning to...

Harrow council in north London has launched a formal consultation on its plan to renew its landlord licensing scheme in the...

Residents at home during lockdown who may have seen families crammed into overcrowded HMOs are being asked to report the properties...

Government advice to local authorities to sit tight with new licensing proposals during the Coronavirus pandemic appears to have been ignored...

ARLA Propertymark has made a series of demands on the government in the light of the Coronavirus crisis.  In a formal written...

A group of local landlords and others in the private rental sector are challenging a local authority’s licensing proposals with their...

Coventry council has been branded as irresponsible by a leading trade body for allegedly ignoring government advice on licensing schemes during...

Several local authorities at different stages of implementing rental licensing schemes have put their proposals on ice until the Coronavirus crisis...

Research by the National Residential Landlords Association and the Which? consumer body has revealed that some 53 councils in England alone...

A London council has pressed ahead with the launch of a borough-wide additional licensing scheme despite the lockdown and uncertainty created...

Liverpool’s Labour council, which was prevented by the government from extending its city-wide licensing scheme for another five years, is seeking...

A local authority has postponed the extension of its private rental sector licensing regime - but it’s warning agents not to...

The landlords’ newly-merged trade body has renewed its call for the government to do more to help the private rental sector...

Not-for-profit accreditation service safeagent says the government should ensure councils delay the introduction of all new private rental sector licensing schemes...

A lettings agency and its director have pleaded guilty to renting out an overcrowded house in the first case brought to...

A council says it’s considering lending funds for improvement to landlords who “behave fairly and appropriately” - and buy into a...

The government has been called upon to issue specific Coronavirus guidance for the rental sector. The chief executive of the Association of...

A local authority has taken the unusual step of saying that a £600 surcharge will be added to the licensing costs...

A buy to let investor has been found guilty of letting out poor quality living accommodation that was said to pose...

The controversial Liverpool council licensing scheme is to be policed through the use of what the authority calls “cutting-edge big data...

The government has rejected a council’s bid to extend its licensing scheme for privately rented housing. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local...

Another council is consulting on introducing a selective licensing scheme - and again it claims it will “create better housing for...

A typical buy to let property pays over £600 in fees a year according to a new study released today. Insurance company...

A buy to let investor has been hit with a bill of almost £9,500 after being accused of allowing a tenant...

A London council says nearly half of the Airbnb-style short let properties available in its patch last year exceeded their legal...

The government has given the green light to a council’s huge licensing scheme, set to cover 18 of its 20 wards...

The government has failed the private rental sector says the Residential Landlords Association. In a statement released even before the resignation of...

A room-finding portal, along with the owners of a London lettings agency and management firm, must pay over £100,000 for letting...

Enfield council in London has confirmed that it will introduce borough-wide additional licensing. It is also seeking consent from the government to...

A council has prosecuted five private landlords who failed to get licences for the properties they let out. Oldham council says its...

A landlord has ended up with fines totalling over £90,000 after repeatedly ignoring a council’s selective licensing regime. Stephen Ige pleaded guilty...

Liverpool’s Labour mayor says he is confident that the city will, after all, be able to renew its city-wide licensing scheme. Housing...

A judge has ordered two landlords to pay a total of £14,858 for illegally renting out an unlicensed house without working...

A leading trade body is voicing concern over yet another council private rental sector licensing scheme - with particular worry over...

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has backed a five year extension for a massive London council landlord licensing...

A London council has caught out a rogue lettings agency for illegally operating two properties, with issues ranging from gas safety...

New research claims that one in every 50 homes in the capital is let on a short-term platform like Airbnb or...

Another Labour council wants to introduce a city-wide landlord licensing scheme - a proposal that would require government approval to implement. Last...

Officers from a local council simultaneously staged 10 dawn raids on properties owned by unlicensed landlords. All the terraced homes, in Slough,...

The new body representing short let digital platforms like Airbnb and the large number of associated companies that have sprung up...

A newspaper in Liverpool has sharply criticised the government for refusing to allow the city council to continue a huge landlord...

A trade body has come out against a council’s HMO licensing scheme, claiming that its consultation period was too short -...

A council is lobbying the government to ask for landlords using Airbnb and other short let platforms to be charged business...

A leading agency in a part of the UK where local government wants to clamp down on the spread of Airbnb...

The fallout continues over the government’s shock refusal to allow Liverpool council to continue its huge landlord licensing scheme. Yesterday we reported that...

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has rejected a bid by Labour-controlled Liverpool council to extend its licensing scheme for five years. Government approval...

The Association of Residential Lettings Agents has thrown its weight behind an initiative by the Scottish Government to control the growth...

The government has announced an additional £4m in funding for local councils to combat rogue agents and landlords - but it’s...

Oldham council is the latest to seek an extension of a selective licensing scheme beyond its mandatory five year term -...

A rogue landlord has been fined £1,384 for failing to get a council licence for two buy to let properties. The case...

A compliance consultant has explained why a local council’s penalty on a rogue landlord - initially £31,499 - was slashed to...

The owner of two properties has been fined £35,000 for breaches of the selective licensiing regime in his local area.  At a...

A dawn raid by enforcement officers from a London council has discovered 17 men sleeping on mattresses in a three bedroom...

A landlord has been hit with court fines for a fourth time for failing to properly manage his rental properties.  Landlord Jack...

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

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

The Liberal Democrats is the first of the major parties to release its party manifesto for the December 12 manifesto, and...

An inventories supplier is advising that the growing number of sub-letting scams can be reduced by regular property visits by agents...

A controversial private rental licensing regime that has already made the headlines for the wrong reasons has now been branded a...

Just over a fifth of lettings agents questioned in a major industry survey are concerned that may not be complying with...

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

The safeagent accreditation scheme says the next government should not scrap landlord licensing as some trade groups have requested, but should...

A leading trade body says the government’s latest injection of funds to help local councils root out rogue operators in the...

The government has given an extra £3.8m to councils to come up with ways of catching rogue landlords - and in...

The Association of Residential Letting Agents and the National Association of Estate Agents have issued their manifesto for next month’s General...

Welsh housing minister Julie James is to address agents, landlords and other property professionals at the Residential Landlord Association’s Future Renting...

One of the industry’s leading trade bodies has revealed that the number of laws creating an obligation on landlords in the...

A landlord who made a perverted request to take photographs of a teenager in her underwear has had his request for...

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

A landlord has been found guilty of failing to license an HMO - and has ended up with a bill of...

The government is being urged to speed up the release details of the future it sees for selective licensing following revelations...

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

A long-term legal critic of selective licensing is warning that letting agents could be held jointly accountable with the landlords, -...

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

Former QPR and Nottingham Forest striker Dexter Blackstock has been fined over £25,000 and branded a rogue landlord after admitting 12 licencing offences. He...

Research by safeagent - the new name for the National Approved Letting Scheme - has found over 130,000 unlicensed properties in...

An umbrella organisation representing councils is calling for greater freedom to introduce more and larger rental sector licensing schemes, without the...

A prominent trade body is urging its members and the wider industry to back a crowdfunding exercise to pay for a...

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

The rental sector needs to prepare for the demographic challenge of an increasingly older population, says the head of a high...

safeagent’s Rent Smart Wales training course has been given the scheme’s top ‘High Assurance’ rating following its latest audit. Rent Smart Wales,...

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

Landlords in a part of Teesside are to be allowed to operate a “collaborative” licensing scheme after a council backed down...

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

It can be done - a council has U-turned on plans for a licensing scheme for landlords. The move by Hounslow council...

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

Belvoir says consolidation between lettings and sales agencies across the industry is likely to increase as a result of greater regulation...

With the country in febrile election mode, it’s perhaps unsurprising that the Association of Residential Letting Agents has got in on...

A local council says it has now successfully prosecuted a landlord for flouting the law that protects the health and safety...

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

The government has blocked a council rolling out selective licensing across no fewer than 3,000 homes in its patch.  Under Stoke on...

PropTech, and specifically Artificial Intelligence, could help letting agents better cope with new demands created by further industry regulation. That’s the view...

A local authority is being warned that its landlord licensing and accreditation scheme is potentially unlawful. The Residential Landlords Association, which represents...

Another local authority has announced that it wants to introduce another selective licensing scheme and designate its entire patch for HMO...

A tenant pretending to be landlord has been ordered to pay more than £21,000 after he carved up five family homes...

Warwick district council has issued its first civil penalty to the landlord of an HMO. Glenn Gamblin, the landlord of the property...

Over-regulation of short-term let accommodation in some areas of rural Scotland could pose a risk to rural tourism, a business organisation...

The government has published proposals for far-reaching changes to the way estate and letting agents are regulated, trained and licensed. The proposals...

The concept of a so-called rental property passport would rapidly improve the quality of accommodation and landlords, and would be far...

A managing agent has been convicted by a local council for failing to properly license his property. Leon Hill, of Leighton Buzzard,...

Local authorities are failing in their duty to prosecute criminal letting agents, the National Landlords Association (NLA) has warned. The NLA says...

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

A London council wants to extend its private rental sector licensing scheme - and in doing so is boasting of the...

A rogue landlord has been ordered to pay over £60,000 after - in the words of the council - “being found...

An independent review into selective licensing in the private rental sector makes a series of recommendations to tighten processes, with the...

A trade body has accused the government of going back on its promise not to introduce a national register of landlords. The...

A buy to let investor who let out an unsafe and unlicensed property in London has now been hit with a...

A group of activists has expressed outrage over a council’s private rental licensing scheme, claiming it is too small to catch...

A lettings sector trade body has written to a council accusing it of initiating an “unlawful” fee structure for a licensing...

A London council has successfully prosecuted a so-called “dodgy operator” landlord for failing to comply with fire safety regulations and carry...

Consultation is underway to extend a landlord licensing scheme in a London borough where a third of households rents privately.  Three types...

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

The National Landlords Association says it’s concerned the Fees Ban coming into effect in just two days’ time may limit access...

Six months on from the introduction of stricter licencing for Homes in Multiple Occupation, awareness “remains limited” according to one of...

With the Tenant Fee Ban obliterating a key income stream, letting agents should be looking at ways they can increase the...

A rogue landlady has been hit with a fine of £24,000 after conning her tenants and the local authorities with a...

The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) is threatening Oxford Council with a judicial review of its landlord and letting agent accreditation scheme. The...

Revenue raised by landlord licensing schemes should be used to enforce rental sector regulation, according to PayProp. It says that the money...

A buy to let investor has been left with a £2,000 bill and a criminal conviction after letting out his property...

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

A senior figure at a deposit replacement service says the current flurry of changes in the private rental sector are positive. Daniel...

The Association of Residential Lettings Agents says it backs a new Trading Standards-led body which will enforce the Fees Ban starting  on...

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

A housing minister has pledged that more key reforms for the private rental sector will be revealed soon, despite Brexit political...

A buy to let investor has been hit with a £4,000 fine plus costs of over £5,000 after failing to license...

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

The Renting Homes (Fees etc) (Wales) Bill passed its final hurdle in the Welsh Assembly yesterday evening. This has similar policies to...

Leicester is the latest council to begin consultations on selective licensing in six parts of the city - with the threat...

The implementation and costs of landlord licensing schemes in Britain are a lottery. That’s the conclusion of a new analysis of licensing...

A dawn raid on unlicensed HMOs in north London last week were the latest sign of a crackdown on rogue operators...

Haringey council is the latest local authority in the capital to create a borough-wide additional licensing scheme for HMOs. It claims the...

A leading trade body says the argument that councils have insufficient powers to tackle rogue operators isn’t supported by the facts...

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...

Another controversial scheme licensing landlords who let their homes out may face legal challenge. Middlesbrough council’s formal consultation on the introduction of...

A local authority in the Midlands has admitted what many people have believed for some time - despite a slew of...

More local authorities have announced that they want to increase the size of the areas covered by their existing selective licensing...

A legal firm has renewed its criticism of local authority licensing schemes, accusing them of “persecuting” landlords. David Kirwan, managing partner at...

A landlord has been ordered to pay over £5,000 in fines and costs in a licensing dispute with a local council.  Almas...

A lettings agency and its director have been fined a total of £30,000 for failing to licence HMOs and giving sham...

Hounslow council wants its additional licensing scheme for HMOs - due to expire in May 2019 - to be extended for...

Council enforcement officers have raided a house in Wembley, north London, and found 19 tenants paying a landlord £1,000 a week. Brent council’s...

A landlord who failed to comply with orders to improve the standard of a property has had to pay over £7,500...

A buy to let investor has lost possession of his flat after converting it into an Illegal House in Multiple Occupation...

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

Councils have been accused of routinely pursuing the most serious enforcement option open to them if they find a local licensing...

A council has prosecuted a buy to let investor for not making necessary improvements to his property. The landlord, Balwinder Singh Chandi,...

A local authority has taken the unusual step of issuing a celebratory press release stating that it issued penalty notices adding...

Some 79 per cent of landlords are only servicing the interest on their mortgages, not paying down their loans, according to...

Shock figures released by an insurance company suggest that councils are woefully unable to police new regulations regarding mandatory HMO licensing. Figures...

One of London’s most enthusiastic councils for additional and selective licensing has pushed back the date for enforcement action against landlords...

Two thirds of local authorities in England and Wales brought no prosecutions against private landlords in 2017/18 according to research by the...

The head of a lettings agency has launched a petition in opposition to a bid by a local council to extend...

Nottingham council - which recently introduced one of the largest and most controversial selective licensing schemes in the country - now...

A buy to let investor has been forced to close down two rat infested homes he owns in Rotherham after they...

Local press reports say that one of the country’s most controversial buy to let licensing schemes has seen thousands of applications...

The Residential Landlords Association is threatening a council with a judicial review because of unresolved concerns over the authority’s selective licensing...

A council says it has been preparing prosecution and penalty notices “for hundreds of private landlords that have failed to apply...

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

The heavy-handed administration of selective licensing schemes is driving out buy to let investors. That’s the claim from David Kirwan of Kirwans...

Havering council in London has issued £261,750 in penalty notices to what it calls ‘criminals’ operating in the private rental sector.  Between...

A landlord has been ordered to pay £452 after he breached the terms of his licence in an area of County...

A poll of 1,250 landlords suggests that far from being concerned about the profitability of buy to let, almost 80 per...

Since one London local authority introduced private rental sector licensing in 2013 an extra £5,002,203 in council tax has been collected...

A managing agent who used ‘ghost tenants’ as a front so that she could cram 16 people into one overcrowded house...

A London agency has been fined for the second time in 11 months. Local media in Barking, east London, report that Primelodge...

A post on a landlord website suggests that a new trade body is being set up to challenge the dominance of...

A landlord who rented out an unlicenced HMO has been fined more than £22,000 after the local council found five people...

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

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

There’s less than a week to go to the introduction of new rules broadening the range of houses including in mandatory HMO...

More than 77,000 UK landlords will be shelling out a combined £95 million this month, as new occupancy laws come into...

The Association of Residential Letting Agents has issued a reminder to the industry of the need to understand and abide by...

A lettings agent who let a tiny room behind a kitchen in a property in London has been ordered to pay...

It is now just three weeks until licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) is extended. The new rules, which will require...

The council behind a controversial private rental sector licensing scheme is trying to justify its introduction on health and safety grounds. On...

Agents and landlords are being advised to check the status of their HMO licenses in the London Borough of Harrow following...

The Residential Landlords Association has told another council that its plans to introduce selective licensing in areas of its town are...

A local authority has taken the unusual step of naming seven buy to let landlords prosecuted in the past month in...

The proportion of visitors to Edinburgh using Airbnb surged 70 per cent in 2017 compared to the previous year. Commercial agency Colliers,...

A leading PropTech entrepreneur says lettings agents should be more vocal in providing the government with feedback on council rental licensing...

More big fines have been handed out in recent legal action regarding buy to let investors who have not stuck by...

A London landlord has been ordered to pay over £13,000 for breaching the conditions of his licence as a result of...

It appears that take-up of an apparently compulsory licensing scheme in one city has been shockingly low - and the scheme...

The Residential Landlords’ Association says proposals from Great Yarmouth council to introduce selective licensing in one part of the town contains...

An investor has been fined £2,525 after failing to licence her property and allegedly providing inadequate living conditions for her tenants. Adeola...

From August 1 Nottingham council is introducing a new selective licensing regime covering an estimated 32,000 privately rented homes. This is an...

A tenant who was ripping off other tenants in an overcrowded bungalow "death trap" has been fined tens of thousands of...

Councillors in Stockton-on-Tees are under pressure to rethink plans to introduce Selective Licensing of private rented housing in two areas of...

The Association of Residential Letting Agents has heaped praise on a local authority which has fined 27 lettings and managing agents...

ARLA Propertymark has launched a new database to help its agent members keep abreast of compliance issues in the lettings sector.  The...

A petition has appeared on the government’s e-petition website calling for a review of a city council’s newly-introduced selective licensing system. Nottingham...

A buy to let mortgage firm says it’s likely that there will be a spike in refinancing enquiries as landlords meet...

Letting agents and others in the private rental sector have responded to the latest government intervention - a review into how...

The government has announced a review to assess how selective licensing is used and find out how well it is working...

Countrywide - which is making the lettings sector a key part of its ‘back to basics’ programme - is proposing to...

An agent has been banned from letting properties under ‘fit and proper person’ legislation in Scotland, following an incident in which...

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

Rental compliance platform GetRentr has raised over £500,000 from investors including a private equity firm and private individuals. GetRentr uses artificial intelligence...

ARLA has branded the government’s long-awaited database of rogue landlords as “pointless” because it will not be made public. The Ministry of...

Foxtons is warning that the private rental sector - traditionally a strong earner for the company even in times of challenging...

A 10 week consultation period begins today on selective licensing in the central area of Blackpool - with the council threatening...

Two landlords have been hit with hefty court fines for failing to comply with a local licensing scheme. The pair are the...

The government has set out new measures to mitigate against overcrowded and dangerous living conditions of private tenants in shared homes. From...

The National Landlords Association has revealed a seven-point plan which would allow the Welsh Government greater powers over the private rental...

A survey by consumer group Which?, working with landlords’ associations, reveals that 70 local authorities now have selective or additional licensing...

The government has pledged to begin a review of the selective licensing across the private rental sector once MPs return from...

The Residential Landlords’ Association is upset at the government’s confirmation that the extension of mandatory HMO licensing will come into force...

The local media in Bristol are reporting that landlords in the city are complaining that they face backruptcy if a hugely...

The Court of Appeal has ruled that councils cannot use selective licensing conditions to impose new standards on private rented homes. In...

Bristol council is consulting on a licensing scheme which could see buy to let investors paying £1,660 for a five year...

A local authority has fined four landlords who failed to licence a total of seven properties under its selective licensing scheme. Hastings...

Brent Council has confirmed that the government has approved its request to extend the local selective licensing scheme. The local authority, which...

Two buy to let investors have been fined a total of more than £27,000 under enforcement powers introduced in Burnley to...

The government has given the go ahead to what will be one of the UK’s largest selective licensing scheme outside of...

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

This is a rare story: a council has dropped a plan for a lettings licensing scheme as a result of 900...

A London council is marking 125 successful prosecutions against agents, landlords and sub-letting tenants since 2016. The authority, Brent, says the convictions...

A lettings agency apparently trying to get around HMO regulations has been prosecuted for licensing and housing offences.  Easy Let Agency let...

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

A London council has been the first in the country to use the Proceeds of Crime Act for a breach in...

Two landlords and two tenants were fined a total of over £11,000 after losing their appeal against housing convictions concerning property...

Research by NALS has revealed extensive increases in the cost of licensing of lettings properties and landlords by local authorities in...

The select committee monitoring the Department of Housing, Communities and Local Government will continue its deliberations today on the government’s ban...

The chief operating officer of a leading PropTech company says government proposals to increase mandatory licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation...

Rent Smart Wales says it is “heartening” that there has been a substantial recent rise in the number of agents, properties...

Letting Agent Today understands that Foxtons has been asked to appear at a hearing staged by a London council to prove...

The government has announced new minimum space requirements for private lettings in a bid to reduce problems of overcrowding. In addition to...

The Association of Residential Letting Agents and other trade bodies have not yet responded to the government’s announcement over the holiday...

The government has released more details on long-discussed proposals to tighten up licensing in the private rental sector. It wants landlords in...

HM Revenue & Customs has launched a consultation on adding tax checks to private rental sector licensing schemes - in other...

The selective licensing scheme operated by Newham council in London is reported to have won government backing to be extended until...

A database of rogue letting agents and landlords and new banning orders, first promised in the Housing and Planning Act announced...

The Conveyancing Association has made a wide-ranging response to the government’s call for evidence on the regulation of letting and managing...

The National Landlords Association has unveiled a new tool which could help agents and landlords keep across the ever-rising number of...

A buy to let investor who failed to purchase a £542 licence for his HMO has been ordered to pay almost...

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

Rent Smart Wales, the licensing and training regime which is now a year old, has taken an agent and a landlord...

A local authority currently consulting on private rental licensing is using improved energy efficiency as one of the criteria for landlords...

A London council is inviting letting agents in its boundaries to a briefing session tomorrow morning ahead of the introducing of an...

The National Landlords Association reports that Bournemouth council has taken the unusual step of rejecting a proposal to introduce a landlord licensing...

Almost 60 per cent of councils across Britain have not prosecuted any landlord for any offence in the past year according...

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

Four landlords have been fined and ordered to pay costs totalling £232,155.68 in the first prosecutions of its kind brought by...

The powerful and all-party Communities & Local Government Select Committee of MPs has launched a new enquiry into improving the quality...

Greenwich is the latest council to make it compulsory for planning consent to be given before converting homes into Houses in...

A letting agent named in a case concerning a rat-infested House in Multiple Occupation in Leytonstone, East London, has been fined...

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

Letting Agent Today understands that senior industry figures are working on the framework of a new attempt at regulation, including measures...

Letting agency Spicerhaart has been fined £2,670 after pleading guilty to operating an unlicensed house in multiple occupation.   A prosecution was brought...

A landlord has been prosecuted and ordered to repay over £5,000 to his tenants for letting an unlicensed House of Multiple...

Greenwich is licensing all Houses in Multiple Occupation from October 1 - just the latest London council to tighten its private...

A Scarborough buy to let investor has been found guilty of two offences under the Housing Act 2004 for non-compliance with...

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

A council claims that up to 13,000 private landlords are “of interest” to HM Revenue and Customs, where there are alleged...

Redbridge council in London is offering 50 per cent off the cost of its private rental sector licensing scheme until September...

More than 100 criminal prosecutions have been secured against landlords since the start of an enforcement crackdown by Brent council in...

A new licensing scheme in Nottingham has moved a step closer with the proposal being sent to the government for approval.    The council’s...

Council officers discovered men living mattress to mattress inside a run-down flat above a commercial premises during a dawn raid.   Police and...

Beleagured housing minister Alok Sharma has been told by a London council that his decision over an application for a borough-wide...

A new charter has been launched to promote the rights of tenants in a London borough where, for the first time...

Yet another local authority is considering introducing selective licensing of private rental property. Luton council has issued a statement saying that within...

Bristol council is resuscitating a so-called ‘rental standard’ which it expects local letting agents to meet. Back in January 2016 Letting Agent...