The government has set in motion a Parliamentary procedure meaning the notice periods for evictions in England return to normal from...
Archive
10 September 2021
From: Breaking News
![Charging for Viewings? Trading Standards revises advice](/upload/images/Housing%20Market%20%26%20Property%20Images/UK-Cash-20-400x310.jpg)
The controversy over whether a new PropTech service can be used by agents to charge people to view a property to...
19 August 2021
From: Breaking News
![Rogue Agents' Database: still no response to formal consultation](/upload/images/new-story-stock-images/CourtImage-400x310.jpg)
There has still been no formal response to a government consultation on the database of rogue agents and landlords, 25 months...
11 August 2021
From: Breaking News
![Government told to 'big up' agents role in helping fix rental repairs](/img/default/lat.png)
ARLA Propertymark says a new government online checker to help private tenants establish what repairs they may be entitled to should...
29 June 2021
From: Breaking News
![Government launches online checker for private rental repairs](/img/default/lat.png)
The government has launched an online checker in a bid to avoid disputes between landlords and tenants over the entitlement for...
25 June 2021
From: Breaking News
![Show Us The Results: Agents demand mediation pilot evidence](/img/default/lat.png)
The Association of Residential Letting Agents’ wing of Propertymark is demanding to see the results of a mediation project initiated by...
04 June 2021
From: Breaking News
![Government revises Mediation guidelines for ‘life after eviction ban’](/img/default/lat.png)
The government has revised its guidelines for its new mediation scheme, which it says will avoid some possessions now that the...
01 June 2021
From: Breaking News
![Possession cases FALLEN during pandemic, not risen - government](/img/default/lat.png)
Official figures show that far from seeing a rise during the pandemic, there has been what the government calls “a massive...
25 May 2021
From: Breaking News
![Activists slam “reckless” end to eviction ban after 15 months](/img/default/lat.png)
The head of the tenants’ campaign group Generation Rent has condemned the government as “reckless” for ending the eviction ban on May...
13 May 2021
From: Breaking News
![Agents Alert: Updated government guidance on possession action](/img/default/lat.png)
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has issued updated guidance to include the recent extension of the bailiff enforcement...
14 April 2021
From: Breaking News
![Government reveals details of arrears mediation scheme](/img/default/lat.png)
The government has at last released details of its mediation scheme - this was hinted at when Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick...
08 April 2021
From: Breaking News
![Agents demand radical overhaul of eco-targets for rental sector](/img/default/lat.png)
Agents and other industry players have penned an open letter to government demanding a radical overhaul of targets for energy efficiency in the...
07 April 2021
From: Breaking News
![Fly the flag! Union Jacks must be shown during viewings](/img/default/lat.png)
The government has told estate agents to ensure at least one Union Jack is present in properties during both physical and...
01 April 2021
From: Breaking News
![MPs say “no more” to last-minute panic eviction bans](/img/default/lat.png)
An influential group of MPs wants an end to repeated last minute extensions to the ban on evictions and instead wants financial support...
31 March 2021
From: Breaking News
![Government tweaks Covid guidance for rental sector ahead of new rules](/img/default/lat.png)
The government has revised its official guidance for the private rental sector and local authorities in the light of imminently-changing Coronavirus advice. The...
25 March 2021
From: Breaking News
![Agents’ alert over electricity checks as government digs in over deadline](/img/default/lat.png)
Letting agents have been told to document all arranging, planning and scheduling of work related to electrical checks in a bid...
01 February 2021
From: Breaking News
![Paws for controversy - government wants pet-friendly tenancy contracts](/img/default/lat.png)
The controversial subject of pet-friendly tenancies has been grabbed by the scruff of the neck by the government. The Ministry of Housing,...
29 January 2021
From: Breaking News
![Agents slam “socially irresponsible” councils pushing licensing](/img/default/lat.png)
ARLA Propertymark has hit out at a growing number of local councils introducing licensing schemes, calling it “socially irresponsible” to do...
20 January 2021
From: Breaking News
![Renters Reform Bill minister quits government after “devastating news”](/img/default/lat.png)
One of the housing ministers with responsibility for the introduction of the controversial Renters Reform Bill in the near future has...
18 January 2021
From: Breaking News
![Labour in Commons onslaught about Coronavirus evictions](/img/default/lat.png)
Two Labour MPs have made extensive claims about the number of evictions from the private rental sector likely to happen if...
15 January 2021
From: Breaking News
![Scrapping of S21 and new transferable deposits likely “very soon”](/img/default/lat.png)
The long-awaited Renters' Reform Bill, promised 14 months ago, is likely to be introduced to the House of Commons “very soon.” The...
14 January 2021
From: Breaking News
![Agents back new Mediation scheme between landlords and tenants](/img/default/lat.png)
Propertymark has thrown its weight behind an idea from Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick to create a mediation service to arbitrate in...
11 January 2021
From: Breaking News
![Rental market open for business in new Tier 4 areas](/img/default/lat.png)
Weekend statements from the government and Housing Secretary have made it clear that the rental market remains open for business even...
21 December 2020
From: Breaking News
![Controversial council files new version of licensing proposal](/img/default/lat.png)
A controversial Labour council that locked horns with the government over landlord licensing is now submitting a new proposal for its...
15 December 2020
From: Breaking News
![Agents Alert - new How To Rent Guide issued by government](/img/default/lat.png)
The government has issued a new How To Rent Guide - the critical document that both letting agents and landlords have...
10 December 2020
From: Breaking News
![Stand by for referral fee restrictions, letting agents warned](/img/default/lat.png)
Agents are being warned to prepare now for likely controls on referral fees, following recommendations made to the government by the...
27 October 2020
From: Breaking News
![Probe into rental rooms exempt from mainstream rental regulations](/img/default/lat.png)
A local authority is launching a six month probe into rooms let out but exempt from rental sector regulation. The project is...
22 October 2020
From: Breaking News
![Section 21 still intact, one year after government pledged abolition](/img/default/lat.png)
It’s a year today since the closure of the formal government consultation into scrapping Section 21 powers for agents and landlords. In last...
12 October 2020
From: Breaking News
![Government demolishes “misleading” Generation Rent eviction claim](/img/default/lat.png)
The government has accused campaign group Generation Rent of peddling “unreliable and misleading” figures about potential evictions in the private rental...
23 September 2020
From: Breaking News
![In full - all the new tenancy notice periods and rules](/img/default/lat.png)
Agents and landlords must now give tenants six months’ notice before they can evict, except in the most serious of cases,...
01 September 2020
From: Breaking News
![Exactly what the ban extension means to agents and tenants](/img/default/lat.png)
The Law Society has set out exactly what the extension of the eviction ban, announced on Friday, means to agents, landlords...
24 August 2020
From: Breaking News
![Labour likens evictions ban ending to Tories’ exams fiasco](/img/default/lat.png)
Labour’s housing spokeswoman says “after the incompetent handling of the exams fiasco, the government must act now to avoid more chaos...
20 August 2020
From: Breaking News
![Redress operator bigs up its own mediation service](/img/default/lat.png)
The Property Redress Scheme, one of the two government-authorised redress services, claims its new mediation option is a success. In March this...
18 August 2020
From: Breaking News
![Eviction ban ending: government tries to soothe critics](/img/default/lat.png)
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has given Letting Agent Today a statement trying to soothe critics of its...
06 July 2020
From: Breaking News
![Government ‘working to ensure evictions return smoothly’ - minister](/img/default/lat.png)
The government says it’s currently working to ensure the eviction process returns smoothly when the ban expires in late August. In the...
02 July 2020
From: Breaking News
![Agents and landlords delighted that eviction ban will end next month](/img/default/lat.png)
ARLA Propertymark has expressed its pleasure that the eviction ban, already extended by two months, will now expire at the end...
02 July 2020
From: Breaking News
![Boom for ARLA Propertymark as members manage half the market](/img/default/lat.png)
Some 47 per cent of all properties in the private rental sector in England are now managed by ARLA Propertymark member...
01 July 2020
From: Breaking News
![Government slammed by law expert over electrical checks chaos](/img/default/lat.png)
Confusion over Electrical Inspection Condition Reports, created by inaccurate statements from the government, has been slammed by a housing law expert. Last...
30 June 2020
From: Breaking News
![Government withdraws new electrical safety guidance for rental sector](/img/default/lat.png)
The government has withdrawn its latest electrical safety checks guidance for the private rental sector, with immediate effect. However, there remains...
19 June 2020
From: Breaking News
![New safety checks may hit thousands of rental properties, fears ARLA](/img/default/lat.png)
The government has released new guidance regarding electrical safety checks - and there's a worry it may include thousands of additional...
19 June 2020
From: Breaking News
![Government issues guidelines for electrical checks from July 1](/img/default/lat.png)
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has issued guidelines ahead of new electrical safety checks coming into force for...
02 June 2020
From: Breaking News
![Eviction ban ‘not to be extended beyond late June’ - claim](/img/default/lat.png)
A landlord website claims the current ban on evictions is not to be extended beyond its scheduled close of June 29...
20 May 2020
From: Breaking News
![Virus: Safety of tenants is key responsibility of agents says government](/img/default/lat.png)
Tenants’ safety should be letting agents’ first priority in the new era of activity during the Coronavirus pandemic. In a new document...
14 May 2020
From: Breaking News
![Suspend electricity checks, postpone licensing, aid renters - ARLA demands](/img/default/lat.png)
ARLA Propertymark has made a series of demands on the government in the light of the Coronavirus crisis. In a formal written...
07 May 2020
From: Breaking News
![Council branded irresponsible by lettings body for ignoring virus guidance](/img/default/lat.png)
Coventry council has been branded as irresponsible by a leading trade body for allegedly ignoring government advice on licensing schemes during...
06 May 2020
From: Breaking News
![Agents have one week to submit Corona views to MPs’ investigation](/img/default/lat.png)
Agents and other property professionals have a week to submit their views to an enquiry into the impact of Coronavirus on...
24 April 2020
From: Breaking News
![Labour council seeks Judicial Review of landlord licensing refusal](/img/default/lat.png)
Liverpool’s Labour council, which was prevented by the government from extending its city-wide licensing scheme for another five years, is seeking...
06 April 2020
From: Breaking News
![All court possession orders suspended immediately](/img/default/lat.png)
All court possession orders are being suspended from today as part of the changes to the private rental sector to cope...
27 March 2020
From: Breaking News
![Maintenance work CAN be carried out in homes says government](/img/default/lat.png)
The government has yet to give explicit guidance relating to private rental maintenance, but new advice this morning appears to shed...
25 March 2020
From: Breaking News
![Government tells agents to shut offices immediately](/img/default/lat.png)
Propertymark has been told the agents should shut their offices immediately - they are not “essential businesses” under the new Coronavirus...
24 March 2020
From: Breaking News
![Total ban on evictions for three months, with blessing of trade groups](/img/default/lat.png)
The government has announced a complete ban on evictions in the private and social sectors for any tenant affected by the...
19 March 2020
From: Breaking News
![Referral Fee clampdown confirmed for lettings agents too](/img/default/lat.png)
The clampdown on referral fees, until now concentrated on the sales sector, will extend to letting agents too. James Munro, head of...
28 February 2020
From: Breaking News
![Victory for buy to let as minister stops another licensing scheme](/img/default/lat.png)
The government has rejected a council’s bid to extend its licensing scheme for privately rented housing. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local...
28 February 2020
From: Breaking News
![Labour council links rogue landlord case to its dispute with government](/img/default/lat.png)
A buy to let investor has been hit with a bill of almost £9,500 after being accused of allowing a tenant...
26 February 2020
From: Breaking News
![Government policy on rental sector is a failure says trade body](/img/default/lat.png)
The government has failed the private rental sector says the Residential Landlords Association. In a statement released even before the resignation of...
14 February 2020
From: Breaking News
![Pet-friendly tenancies could make landlords go walkies - claim](/img/default/lat.png)
Pet-friendly tenancies of the kind envisaged by the government could oblige some private landlords to quit the sector, it’s claimed. Over the...
10 February 2020
From: Breaking News
![Humiliation for government as rogues’ database is largely ignored](/img/default/lat.png)
The government’s hugely-publicised database for rogue letting agents and landlords has been running for almost two years and has…wait for it…just...
07 February 2020
From: Breaking News
![Pause for thought before accepting pets, agents advised](/img/default/lat.png)
Agents and landlords are advised to think carefully before allowing tenants to keep pets, despite a government push to relax restrictions. The...
06 February 2020
From: Breaking News
![Renters’ Reform Bill: still no date set for legislation](/img/default/lat.png)
The Renters’ Reform Bill worries many in the private rental sector but the government says there is still no date for...
05 February 2020
From: Breaking News
![Government U-turn on the way over Labour licensing scheme?](/img/default/lat.png)
Liverpool’s Labour mayor says he is confident that the city will, after all, be able to renew its city-wide licensing scheme. Housing...
03 February 2020
From: Breaking News
![Government backs huge licensing scheme extension until 2025](/img/default/lat.png)
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has backed a five year extension for a massive London council landlord licensing...
28 January 2020
From: Breaking News
![Labour council wants city-wide licensing and possible £12m windfall](/img/default/lat.png)
Another Labour council wants to introduce a city-wide landlord licensing scheme - a proposal that would require government approval to implement. Last...
24 January 2020
From: Breaking News
![Newspaper’s amazing call for massive landlord licensing scheme](/img/default/lat.png)
A newspaper in Liverpool has sharply criticised the government for refusing to allow the city council to continue a huge landlord...
21 January 2020
From: Breaking News
![Labour outrage at licensing scheme extension being rejected](/img/default/lat.png)
The fallout continues over the government’s shock refusal to allow Liverpool council to continue its huge landlord licensing scheme. Yesterday we reported that...
15 January 2020
From: Breaking News
![Industry delight at government rejection of licensing extension](/img/default/lat.png)
Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has rejected a bid by Labour-controlled Liverpool council to extend its licensing scheme for five years. Government approval...
14 January 2020
From: Breaking News
![Council to spend £250,000 of public cash setting up lettings agency](/img/default/lat.png)
Durham county council wants to spend just over £250,000 setting up a lettings agency to place tenants with private landlords. The authority...
13 January 2020
From: Breaking News
![Labour council fails to apply for funds to enforce rental regulations](/img/default/lat.png)
A Labour council serving one of the largest private rental communities in the country is reported to have failed to have...
09 January 2020
From: Breaking News
![Labour group says move to end pet ban doesn’t go far enough](/img/default/lat.png)
A ginger group that supports the Labour party says the government’s bid to stop pet bans is meaningless and does not...
08 January 2020
From: Breaking News
![Ending pet ban part of “mission to improve life for tenants” says minister](/img/default/lat.png)
The government - which over the weekend made a surprise move to try to stop landlords banning tenants from keeping pets...
06 January 2020
From: Breaking News
![Labour mocks government’s new funding to combat rogue agents](/img/default/lat.png)
The Labour party has mocked the government’s £4m new funding for councils to combat rogue agents and landlords as “puny.” A statement...
06 January 2020
From: Breaking News
![Tenancy agreements to be overhauled to end pet bans](/img/default/lat.png)
Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick is to overhaul the model tenancy contract to make it easier for tenants to have pets. A surprise statement from the...
04 January 2020
From: Breaking News
![New government cash for rental sector ‘nowhere near enough’](/img/default/lat.png)
The government has announced an additional £4m in funding for local councils to combat rogue agents and landlords - but it’s...
03 January 2020
From: Breaking News
![Shelter and Generation Rent jump for joy at scrapping of Section 21](/img/default/lat.png)
The government’s Queen’s Speech has confirmed what the industry has effectively been expecting for some months. There will be a new lifetime...
20 December 2019
From: Breaking News
![Council opens lettings agency in town with scores of private agencies](/img/default/lat.png)
Luton council has opened Lets Squared, a High Street lettings and estate agency using public funds - even though the town...
12 December 2019
From: Breaking News
![“Not enough!” - new cash to police rental sector deemed insufficient](/img/default/lat.png)
A leading trade body says the government’s latest injection of funds to help local councils root out rogue operators in the...
06 November 2019
From: Breaking News
![Government backs council licensing, gives millions more for enforcement](/img/default/lat.png)
The government has given an extra £3.8m to councils to come up with ways of catching rogue landlords - and in...
05 November 2019
From: Breaking News
![Selective licensing overhaul needed quickly, government told](/img/default/lat.png)
The government is being urged to speed up the release details of the future it sees for selective licensing following revelations...
25 October 2019
From: Breaking News
![Second law firm hits out at government Section 21 proposals](/img/default/lat.png)
Another law firm has sharply criticised the government’s proposals to abolish Section 21 eviction powers for landlords. Devonshires says the government should...
16 October 2019
From: Breaking News
![Section 21 reform slammed with warning it may backfire on tenants](/img/default/lat.png)
Government plans to end so-called ‘no fault’ evictions may backfire and not improve tenants’ security at all. That’s the warning from Osbornes...
15 October 2019
From: Breaking News
![Government blasted for 'incoherence' on tax, landlords, rents and supply](/img/default/lat.png)
The government has been criticised yet again for what is described as its “incoherent” approach to the private rental sector. David Miles,...
11 September 2019
From: Breaking News
![Longer tenancies: government could announce decision as soon as next month](/img/default/lat.png)
Housing minister Esther McVey has hinted that the government may finally decide as soon as next month on whether to introduce...
09 September 2019
From: Breaking News
![Blocked! Government refuses to back council licensing plan](/img/default/lat.png)
The government has blocked a council rolling out selective licensing across no fewer than 3,000 homes in its patch. Under Stoke on...
13 August 2019
From: Breaking News
![Shelter complains to Boris Johnson about a lettings agency](/img/default/lat.png)
Campaigning charity Shelter has made a remarkable attack on a lettings agency, accusing it of “an abuse of power” over its...
05 August 2019
From: Breaking News
![Bailiffs to carry mandatory body-worn cameras to deter aggression](/img/default/lat.png)
The Ministry of Justice has announced that body-worn cameras must be worn by bailiffs recovering debt from individuals. The ministry adds that...
23 July 2019
From: Breaking News
![Concern as government hints at wider scope for ‘rogues database’](/img/default/lat.png)
There’s been a sceptical response to news leaked from government over the weekend suggesting that a database of rogue landlords would...
22 July 2019
From: Breaking News
![Revealed: revolutionary proposals for agency regulation, licensing and training](/img/default/lat.png)
The government has published proposals for far-reaching changes to the way estate and letting agents are regulated, trained and licensed. The proposals...
18 July 2019
From: Breaking News
![Replacing leasehold with Commonhold – government responds at last](/img/default/lat.png)
While we wouldn’t be so bold as to say the government gets its daily fix of property news from the Today...
18 July 2019
From: Breaking News
![Replacing leasehold with commonhold: government fails to respond](/img/default/lat.png)
Throughout April and May, we ran a high-profile campaign across our sites, Landlord Today, Estate Agent Today, Letting Agent Today and...
15 July 2019
From: Breaking News
![Government considers ‘deposit passports’ in yet another rental reform](/img/default/lat.png)
The government is considering the idea of a deposit passport for use by tenants when they move from one property to...
28 June 2019
From: Breaking News
![Selective licensing: 12 big changes being considered by government](/img/default/lat.png)
An independent review into selective licensing in the private rental sector makes a series of recommendations to tighten processes, with the...
26 June 2019
From: Breaking News
![U-turn Hypocrites! Government accused of reneging on rental sector pledge](/img/default/lat.png)
A trade body has accused the government of going back on its promise not to introduce a national register of landlords. The...
26 June 2019
From: Breaking News
![Agents’ outrage over government handling of Fees Ban documents](/img/default/lat.png)
Agents have reacted angrily to the way in which the government released a new set of rental documents updated to include...
03 June 2019
From: Breaking News
![Fees Ban is here: but will it achieve what the government wants?](/img/default/lat.png)
The Tenant Fees Act comes into effect in England tomorrow - but a senior lettings expert is questioning whether it will...
31 May 2019
From: Breaking News
![Section 21: trade body receives record response to consultation call](/img/default/lat.png)
Over 6,000 people have responded to the Residential Landlord Association’s survey asking what a post-Section 21 private rented sector should look...
17 May 2019
From: Breaking News
![Union wants its members to ensure Section 21 is actually scrapped](/img/default/lat.png)
A trade union says the government’s intention to scrap Section 21 eviction powers for landlords is “a huge victory” - but...
29 April 2019
From: Breaking News
![Section 21 fall-out continues: trade group launches its own consultation](/img/default/lat.png)
The official government consultation period on the scrapping of Section 21 eviction begins shortly, but now a leading lettings sector trade...
23 April 2019
From: Breaking News
![Banning Orders Flop: not even one issued after 12 months](/img/default/lat.png)
A Freedom of Information request by The Guardian newspaper has produced the startling admission from government that not even one landlord...
17 April 2019
From: Breaking News
![Alternative to Section 21 “not fit for purpose” says lettings group](/img/default/lat.png)
The government’s wish to use a modified Section 8 as an alternative to Section 21 for landlords seeking possession of their...
16 April 2019
From: Breaking News
![Only 129 agents respond to consultation on S21 and longer tenancies](/img/default/lat.png)
The government consultation process which fuelled its decision to axe Section 21 eviction powers and move towards longer tenancies received only...