Archive

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

A major agency has told the government to get on with ensuring the Renters Reform Bill is passed into law as...

A government-supporting newspaper says the Renters Reform Bill will be back in the House of Commons next week. Observers have been expecting...

A prominent lettings agency claims the Renters Reform Bill is not proving a deterrent to buy to let investors. The Leaders Romans...

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

Tenant groups and charities reacted angrily over the Easter weekend to the proposed changes to the Renters Reform Bill being advocated...

The government has written to Conservative MPs promising changes to the Renters Reform Bill to ease concerns over its anti-landlord bias. Jacob...

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 welcomed proposed reforms to evict tenants who show persistent anti-social behaviour.   In 2018, a Northern Ireland Department of Justice consultation...

Labour says it will keep the controversal Right To Buy policy in England if it wins this year’s General Election. This is...

The boss of a prominent UK lettings and property management agency says new regulations planned for the industry are to be...

Propertymark has urged the Scottish Government to build more affordable homes. The latest data from the Scottish Government itself shows that the...

Michael Gove’s Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill, currently going through Parliament, has won praise from the industry body The Property Institute. There...

A trade body representing short lets operators has slammed government housing failures. The Short Term Accommodation Association says it’s analysed local authority...

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

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

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

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...

Elliot Leigh - an agency that is the largest guaranteed rent provider in London and Essex - has completed phase one...

Landlords of more than 5,000 homes must register for a license and ensure their tenants have good quality housing or face...

The Scottish Government does not intend to abandon its licensing scheme for Airbnbs and other short term lets, nor to delay...

New research reveals that there is an estimated £21.4 billion worth of holiday homes in England and Wales with the South...

After numerous stories of councils and letting agencies at each others’ throats over To Let boards, Trading Standards and other controversies,...

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

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

A trade body has criticised the various UK governments for “rushing blindly” into poorly-constructed regulation of short lets. The angry words from...

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...

A trade body says inventories are set to play an increasingly important role in the private rental sector as fire regulations...

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

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

A council is introducing a service which it claims will help identify properties which cannon future be used as private rental...

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

A council has prosecuted an agency and landlord for not producing the right paperwork. Luton local authority has prosecuted Poplar Homes Ltd...

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

A property firm has been fined £8,000 for operating an HMO on one of Britain’s most famous roads. Westminster council has won...

A new block of apartments on the banks of a photogenic canal has been given the planning green light - but...

A local authority in West Sussex is proposing to build its own Airbnb four bedroom house on the site of old...

A young family have started 2023 in their new permanent home after a London council recovered the property from an illegal...

A landlord has pleaded guilty to four offences which involved the creation of fake letting agencies in order to help him...

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

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

The number of long-term empty homes has risen in every region of the UK during 2022 according to new government figures. The...

A new scheme offering landlords the opportunity to lease property through a local authority has been launched.   Leasing Scheme Wales: Gwynedd gives...

A holiday letting agency has criticised the introduction of licensing for short term rentals in Scotland as “poorly thought-through and ill-timed”.  Iain...

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

The owners of second homes in a key short lets and tourist hotspot are set to have to pay a premium...

Landlord numbers may have dropped in recent months but a longer term analysis shows the reverse. Total Landlord Insurance analysed the current...

The law around the requirement for smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in rental properties will change in England on October 1. Propertymark...

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

Holiday lets and second homes in one hotspot in the UK have not, after all, impacted on house prices and affordability,...

Fourteen Trading Standards authorities across a swathe of England are embarking on an enforcement project to check lettings agency compliance.  The Central England...

A consultation over the summer looks set to be the first part of a radical change to the structure of communal...

Local and central government is losing out on millions of pounds of council tax income this year because of the business...

Zoopla is warning that the recent sharp rise in rents has stretched affordability with the average rent now accounting for 37...

A local authority is launching an investigation into what housing options there are for younger people within its patch, and whether...

A so-called ethical lettings agency run jointly by two local authorities is handling private rental properties but is charging landlords just...

Westminster council wants central London to have the same powers as Paris and Amsterdam to stop anti-social behaviour caused by Airbnb...

Wales and Scotland are ahead of the game when it comes to limiting the impact of short term lets on the...

A senior Welsh politicians has urged anyone who has fallen behind in paying rent because of the pandemic to contact their...

A report prepared by housing experts in Manchester shows a massive surge in the number of Airbnbs in the city -...

Landlords selling up or converting to short lets have led to a growing housing crisis, according to a trade body of...

Shelter - so often critical of the private rental sector - has instead turned its fire on the government over what...

The government says it’s finalising plans for a new tax regime to apply to additional homes, and in particular those used...

A local authority has launched a free service seeking to avoid evictions. New Forest council says its new 'Call Before You Serve' programme is a free service providing...

Propertymark has told the government that imposing the same solution to the Net Zero challenge on all of the private rental...

New research published by Build To Rent operator L&G reveals what it believes to be a crisis surrounding rental properties, affordable...

Councils across Scotland have been given £10m to provide grants to tenants who have Covid-related arrears and risk eviction. The grants will...

A local authority in Essex is cracking down on what it claims to be the increase of illegally positioned estate agent...

A bizarre fine imposed on a managing agent by a local authority appears to have been reversed because the council flouted...

The capital appreciation of the past year proves that there’s no better investment than bricks and mortar, according to an agency...

Bury council in Greater Manchester has adopted new measures to fine agents or landlords up to £30,000 if their properties fail...

There was much publicity this week for the efforts of the Welsh Government to deter the letting of second homes. Now it...

A new £10m grant will be introduced in part of the UK to help private rented tenants struggling to pay rent...

A politician in one of the poorest parts of the UK wants his local authority to declare a ‘housing emergency’. Cornish councillor...

A local authority has explained its role in ensuring that a private landlord could arrange for an electrical safety inspection to...

Campaign group Generation Rent has set out a 10-point plan for reform of the private rental sector in favour of tenants. Its...

A Labour council in London is taking the unusual measure of threatening landlords with community protection notices - associated with anti-social...

Agents are being warned about a crackdown on compliance issues surrounding rental property management. No Letting Go, the country’s largest provider of...

Some 39 agents and landlords have had banning orders over the past three years according to a report in The Guardian. Under the...

Changes to electrical safety standards rules applying to existing tenancies came into force at the start of the Easter break and...

The private rental sector has new electricity regulations taking effect next week, putting the emphasis on agents and landlords. The Electrical Safety...

ARLA Propertymark is reminding agents about the controversial Breathing Space legislation coming into effect on May 4. The new rules are known as...

A huge trading standards operation clamping down on lettings agents who fail to abide by Client Money Protection rules has been...

A clampdown on letting agents who fail to safeguard landlords’ and tenants’ money is now underway.  A statement from the National Trading Standards...

A new property identification system which has won the backing of ARLA Propertymark and substantial parts of the industry has said...

Restaurant staff were kept in “dangerous and overcrowded” conditions by a property company and its landlord-director, a court has heard. The company...

Another local authority is considering a clampdown on the spread and condition of HMOs. Bath and North East Somerset Council, which is...

Opposition Labour councillors on a local authority says HMOs should only be let if each bedroom has an en suite bathroom.  The...

The new trade group representing short lets operators is asking the government to make sure the short lets sector is specifically...

A local authority is launching a six month probe into rooms let out but exempt from rental sector regulation. The project is...

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

Trading Standards in one region of the UK is staging Twitter quizzes aimed at students, and asking about agents’ fees surrounding...

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

One in eight homes coming onto the rental market in inner London since May has previously been an Airbnb or other...

A local authority is urging letting agents within its boundary to get in touch before serving eviction notices on private tenants. Gedling council...

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