Archive

Political parties should stop bickering and instead work together to improve the private rental sector. That’s the view of the Lettings industry...

Property management and facilities firm Pinnacle is to become the leading managing agent for Legal & General Affordable Homes. In recent weeks, the...

Propertymark wants the government to cool down on its enthusiasm for brownfield development. It says in a response to a consultation that...

Property logbook company Chimni is trialling a new form of Digital Property Logbook aimed at the Lettings markets.   The new logbooks...

Agents have expressed their anger at permanent rent controls proposed by the SNP and Green Party politicians running the Scottish Government. The...

England’s county councils want the next government to set out a long-term plan for housing, as a new report claims there’s...

Propertymark has urged the Scottish Government to resolve the country’s ongoing housing emergency. The news comes as Scottish Labour MSP Mark Griffin...

It’s not easy for anyone - even professionals like lettings and estate agents - to keep up with the blizzard of...

An umbrella group called London Councils has expressed “extreme concern” at the government’s decision to stop letting local authorities keep money...

Airbnb - which recently announced it’s sharing some information about its landlord hosts with HMRC - is now sharing data with...

Countryside campaigning charity CPRE has given a warm welcome to Michael Gove’s clampdown on short lets. Earlier this week Housing Secretary Michael...

There’s growing anger over restrictions on private homeowners using their properties via Airbnb and other short let platforms. Earlier this week Housing...

Housing Secretary Michael Gove has this morning announced wholesale changes to planning and regulations surrounding short lets. His proposals include: - planning permission...

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

The government has done a U-turn on its original policy to relax HMO regulations on private rental properties used by asylum...

The Renters Reform Bill cannot succeed without proper engagement with letting agents and landlords, Propertymark argues.    According to a Freedom of Information...

Scottish councils must engage with letting agents and landlords if radical rental reforms have any chance of working. Propertymark argues that the...

A Knight Frank survey of 50 house builders shows a staggering 70 per cent support for Labour to win the next...

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

Housing Secretary Michael Gove has given what some commentators have interpreted as a sign that private rental sector licensing from councils...

Propertymark has responded to two consultations on the proposals to introduce electrical safety standards and smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in...

Rightmove has released its annual league table of busiest rental locations. Wrexham is this year’s busiest, with each home available to rent...

Propertymark has laid out its proposals to the Scottish Government ahead of its 2024-25 Budget next week. The letting agents’ trade body...

Measures contained in the Renters Reform Bill will fail without sufficient resources to ensure they can be enforced. The warning comes from...

Low-income renters will get a boost next spring - but a pressure group wants more government help for this sector. The Chancellor’s...

A new report claims that Airbnb has generated tens of thousands of jobs in the UK and enables people to work...

Propertymark has told politicians that an additional homes tax will not succeed in increasing housing supply. Timothy Douglas, head of policy and...

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has used his Autumn Statement to reveal measures affecting both the rental market and the wider property industry.  The Local Housing...

A prominent housing expert has told MPs that letting agents could be used to police the standards off homes made available...

Changes put forward to the Renters Reform Bill to crack down on rogue landlords, protect vulnerable residents and improve the safety of...

A new report suggests London’s Build To Rent sector is being held back by a “stark inconsistency” from local councils in...

The latest annual report on Build To Rent in London again talks of issues with costs and delivery. A report from the...

A business consortium is calling for bold measures to encourage landlords and owner occupiers to retrofit their homes, with the introduction...

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

A new manifesto calling for rent controls and a raft of other measures is accusing the current rent rises of being...

A survey of local authorities in some of the poorest areas of the country - bodies which enforce many private rental...

A body largely consisting of councils wants more controls over Airbnbs and other short lets - and it wants local authorities...

Almost a quarter of England and Wales will become less affordable to buyers by 2025, it’s been claimed. The findings - from...

The private rental sector could play a far greater role in helping to end homelessness in Scotland, according to a new...

Professional cleaning firm Prompt Cleaners has created a league table of regions and local authorities where renting is cheapest and dearest. The...

A hate campaign against AirBnb appears to have been launched in a Welsh village. Newspaper reports say a sticker reading 'Death to...

The letting agents’ trade body ARLA Propertymark is urging the government to regulate Airbnb and other short let platforms but to...

Airbnb has issued a statement responding to the call for a clampdown on short lets demanded by Labour’s outspoken London Mayor,...

A sales agency specialising in disposing of buy to let portfolios says it’s now received an averaged 240 enquires a month...

The head of a consultancy that handles lettings agency acquisition has given her views on what a General Election might mean...

New research shows a 41 per cent reduction in the number of London properties available for private rent since the Covid-19...

A long-standing and respected property firm has slammed the government for presiding over the “mess” of taxes applied to holiday lets...

London letting agents and landlords have so far been hit with more than £900,000 in fines in the first half of...

The issue of ‘rent for sex’ - tenants offered free or discounted rent in return for sexual favours - is now...

New data from the Office for National Statistics, based on the 2021 Census results, show growth in the number of holiday...

Ukrainians in the UK will be helped into private rental homes as part of a £150m government injection.  The funding will be...

A seasoned property lawyer who has specialised in residential landlord and tenant law for 22 years says she is embarrassed at...

The Nationwide Foundation - a charitable foundation founded by the Nationwide Building Society - says the Renters Reform Bill should be...

A left-leaning think tank which says it champions ‘left-behind Londoners’ is demanding a turbo-charged version of selective licensing to be run...

Landlords are urged to be cautious and do extensive research before signing up to a letting agent in the face of...

Foxtons is to give its agents access to a compliance management and checking service. Fran Giltinan, Managing Director - Property Management &...

Labour is considering raising the buy to let and holiday home stamp duty surcharge above the current three per cent if...

A group of activists is trying to raise £15,000 to campaign for local councils to clampdown on AirBnb and other short...

The letting agents’ trade body Propertymark has slammed the current lack of consistency of council tax on HMOs. It describes today’s system...

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

New powers have been revealed to tackle what the Welsh Government calls the ‘problem’ of second homes.  A statement from the Senedd...

Propertymark has renewed its call for Local Housing Allowance  - which has remained static since 2020 - to be increased. It says...

Labour’s much-publicised pledge to freeze council tax for the next year excludes empty buy to let properties and second homes it...

Airbnb says any new rules for short lets in Wales should protect hosts and the benefits they bring to the tourism...

Landlords and agents acting on their behalf are to be given more powers to evict unruly tenants who ruin neighbours’ lives...

Propertymark is speaking out about problems with some conversions of commercial property into residential.The warning comes in the trade body’s response...

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

The law is clear – agencies in England, Scotland and Wales need a valid client money protection (CMP) policy to protect...

Licensing for Airbnbs and similar short lets should be targeted in priority areas only and not the subject of blanket rules. That’s...

A PropTech expert is warning that letting agents can expect hefty fines if they fail to comply with complex Client Money...

The rapid recovery in London rents post-Covid has seen the capital’s tenants leave in record numbers, according to new research from...

Propertymark has told the government it should have three priorities for next month’s Budget. 1. Improving welfare system for vulnerable and low-waged...

The average house price in Wales reached a new peak of £249,076 at the end of 2022 but cost of living...

Knight Frank is partnering with licensing compliance firm Kamma. The growth of discretionary licensing schemes across the 408 local authorities in the...

Propertymark has written to Housing Secretary Michael Gove outlining its concerns about the latest licensing scheme proposal from a local council. The...

Agents have expressed their anger at the government effectively scrapping any meaningful house building targets. Housing Secretary Michael Gove scrapped the mandatory...

A consultation proposing a steep rise in council tax for second homes has won strong public support. Flintshire council in north Wales...

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

A senior Savills figure, who chairs the trade body known as The Lettings Industry Council, has issued a warning to the...

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

Propertymark says letting agents should have clear policies and priorities to help ensure properties are kept to the highest standards possible.  The...

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

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has delivered his long-awaited Autumn Statement - the fiscal event which he says will lead to “all of...

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

Rishi Sunak has won the Conservative leadership campaign and is set to become Prime Minister tomorrow. Over the summer Sunak set out...

The first step within the UK to officially monitor Airbnb-style short lets comes into effect on Saturday, which is October 1. Scotland’s...

Increased demand and investor appetite for purpose built Single Family Rental schemes have seen this niche market grow at scale, according...

A controversial database which will allow widespread access to the identities of rogue letting agents and landlords has been backed by...

The UK Short Term Accommodation Association says the Scottish Government’s backing of a bid to control short lets in Edinburgh could...

Zoopla is warning that low-income renters across England are facing a ‘housing black hole’ due to soaring rents and the freeze...

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

A series of BBC reports over the weekend highlighted what the broadcaster calls “a brewing cost-of-living crisis:” triggered by high rents. Citing...

The government is relying on the private rented sector to bolster its high-profile Homes for Ukraine programme - despite a series...

Agents are being dragged into a debate over whether locals should be given priority to rent or buy, as a result...

A lettings agency says the cost of living crisis calls into question the viability of a selective licensing scheme in its...

Speculation in national newspapers suggests that the government is considering giving local mayors some powers over parts of the private rented...

One of Britain’s largest cities wants to regulate Airbnb and other short let platforms. The proposed scheme in Glasgow follows legal changes...

A tourism chief has likened new anti-holiday let regulations to those of a Stalinist dictatorship. Ashford Price, secretary of the Welsh Association...

New research by Savills suggests that on-street car parking could increase both the capital values and rental potential of properties. The agency...

Letting agents should consider how the properties they manage can become more energy efficient, says Propertymark. And they should tap into new...