Michael Gove’s Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities hit back overnight at critics of the government’s Renters Reform Bill. The Bill...
Archive
A new guide from Propertymark explains the rights which private rental tenants have - and sets out how they can challenge...
23 April 2024
From: Breaking News
The government’s failure to act on the Regulation of Property Agents (RoPA) working party - chaired by Lord Richard Best and...
22 April 2024
From: Breaking News
A prominent lettings agency claims the Renters Reform Bill is not proving a deterrent to buy to let investors. The Leaders Romans...
15 April 2024
From: Breaking News
Propertymark is urging agents to get ahead of the curve and be ready for the next big initiative - Regulation. Propertymark has...
02 April 2024
From: Breaking News
The substantial majority of tenants are completely unaware of the Renters Reform Bill, it’s been alleged. A survey of over 2,000 private...
02 April 2024
From: Breaking News
A lettings agency has been expelled from The Property Ombudsman scheme following itsfailure to pay £1,100 out of an adjudicated award...
26 March 2024
From: Breaking News
The all-party House of Lords Industry and Regulators Committee has urged the government to get on with establishing a regulator of...
22 March 2024
From: Breaking News
The excessive enforcement of council rules on private landlords while social housing is so poorly run will be ‘the next Post...
12 February 2024
From: Breaking News
The long-awaited Third Reading of the controversial Renters Reform Bill will not happen this week according to the Leader of the...
29 January 2024
From: Breaking News
Propertymark's latest research report suggests some letting agents want radical changes to the Renters Reform Bill now going through Parliament. The aim...
25 January 2024
From: Breaking News
Labour is using a Bill currently going through Parliament as a backdoor method to introduce the regulation of lettings, estate and...
19 January 2024
From: Breaking News
The Housing Ombudsman - currently active in the social housing sector but tipped to take a wider role involving private renting...
29 December 2023
From: Breaking News
A London lettings agency has been expelled from The Property Ombudsman for not paying compensation to a landlord following a failure...
14 December 2023
From: Breaking News
Propertymark has set out its pro-agency position on a range of issues contained in the Renters Reform Bill, currently trundling through...
07 December 2023
From: Breaking News
The Information Commissioner’s Office has issued advice to agencies on how to comply with data protection law. The UK data protection regulator...
06 December 2023
From: Breaking News
A senior Propertymark official will today tell MPs of the industry’s concerns about the Renters Reform Bill. The Bill has reached the...
14 November 2023
From: Breaking News
A leading PropTech entrepreneur has written to MPs outlining detailed plans that he believes would ensure the controversial Renters Reform Bill...
26 October 2023
From: Breaking News
More details have emerged of what appears to be a sort of stay of execution for Section 21 eviction powers. The abolition...
23 October 2023
From: Breaking News
A prominent industry supplier is urging agents and landlords to lobby MPs to suggest improvements to the Renters Reform Bill. PayProp UK...
21 September 2023
From: Breaking News
The Head of the National Trading Standards Scams Team is one of two new non-executive directors at The Property Ombudsman. Louise Baxter...
12 September 2023
From: Breaking News
A new report on the state of the lettings industry suggests figures are growing fearful of the impact of the Renters...
12 September 2023
From: Breaking News
The Nationwide Foundation - a pressure group funded by the Nationwide - says more effective enforcement is required for the private...
15 August 2023
From: Breaking News
Private landlords and lettings agents are being offered free advice and information at a networking event. Cumberland council says property owners and...
11 August 2023
From: Breaking News
A rogue lettings agency in London has been expelled from The Property Ombudsman scheme but is still thought to be trading. Hawks...
10 August 2023
From: Breaking News
PropTech platform Goodlord has launched a one hour online course explaining the controversial Renters Reform Bill. The aim is to equip letting...
04 August 2023
From: Breaking News
New figures released this morning from The Property Ombudsman show that the overwhelming number of disputes in the past year involved...
03 August 2023
From: Breaking News
The Property Redress Scheme has released its latest list of expelled agents - mostly for rental misdemeanours and/or failure to pay...
24 July 2023
From: Breaking News
The increasing likelihood that the private rental sector will be obliged to allow more pets into lets simply demonstrates the need...
19 July 2023
From: Breaking News
It appears almost certain that the Second Reading of the Renters Reform Bill - expected some weeks ago - will not...
14 July 2023
From: Breaking News
The Renters Reform Bill is being discussed by MPs this afternoon - although not as part of its long-running passage through...
10 July 2023
From: Breaking News
The Renters (Reform) Bill rewrites many of the rules that the private rented sector has played by for decades. This may...
07 July 2023
From: Sponsored Content
Thousands of listing for rental properties on two popular websites explicitly say children or pets are not welcome. A BBC analysis of...
05 July 2023
From: Breaking News
The Renters Reform Bill can be the perfect opportunity for the industry to become more professional - just so long as...
13 June 2023
From: Breaking News
I was surprised the other day to read statistics from the English Housing Survey about how many landlords use letting agents. In...
05 June 2023
From: Breaking News
The controversial Renters Reform Bill is not the anti-landlord charter that some in the h system claim it to be. That’s the...
18 May 2023
From: Breaking News
The pro-tenant anti-landlord Renters Reform Bill has at last been published by the government which first promised it in 2019. It has...
17 May 2023
From: Breaking News
In a surprise move, Housing Secretary Michael Gove has given the stand-in leader of activist group Generation Rent a prime role...
17 May 2023
From: Breaking News
Consumer champion Martin Lewis - the man behind the Money Saving Expert website and TV shows - has backed the Renters...
17 May 2023
From: Breaking News
Housing Secretary Michael Gove says the long-awaited Renters Reform Bill, first promised in 2019, will finally be introduced into Parliament this...
09 May 2023
From: Breaking News
The Property Redress Scheme, one of two government-approved redress services, has produced a list of recently-expelled agencies. All agencies must be a...
26 April 2023
From: Breaking News
Several lettings agents have been expelled from The Property Ombudsman scheme; they are amongst eight named as having been kicked out...
06 April 2023
From: Breaking News
The government has taken the first step to introducing a mandatory ombudsman scheme which private landlords must join. This is effectively the...
29 March 2023
From: Breaking News
Introduce yourself A: My name is Sean Hooker. I have worked for the HFIS group for sixteen years, originally helping set...
23 March 2023
From: 60 Second Interview
The Property Ombudsman has ruled that a letting agency’s ban on renting to a family with children was discriminatory against women...
23 March 2023
From: Breaking News
A combination of regular inspections and pro-active installation of ventilation can help to reduce the risk of dangerous damp and mould...
03 March 2023
From: Breaking News
Propertymark has hit out at a proposal from a group of MPs that there should be a single Ombudsman covering the...
13 February 2023
From: Breaking News
It’s been revealed that agents have been kicked out of The Property Ombudsman in recent months for failing to pay compensatory...
27 January 2023
From: Breaking News
UK banks are closing client accounts held by established letting agents and refusing to open accounts for new businesses. The Problem A growing...
19 December 2022
From: Sponsored Content
The Observer newspaper has investigated the way letting agents apply so-called zero deposit schemes - and claims that in some cases...
05 December 2022
From: Breaking News
Small and medium sized lettings agencies which have had running disputes with banks are being offered a lifeline - but must...
21 November 2022
From: Breaking News
The Property Ombudsman has reported a big rise in enquiries over last year and a huge rise since the pre-Covid year,...
02 November 2022
From: Breaking News
The time taken to introduce legislation reforming the private rented sector is triggering an exodus of landlords, a lettings industry chief...
28 October 2022
From: Breaking News
Officials from the Welsh Government and the head of the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agent team are to address...
21 October 2022
From: Breaking News
Five agencies have been expelled from The Property Ombudsman scheme - all for compliance failures. The first is Home Trader Properties, in...
04 October 2022
From: Breaking News
Many agencies have long-standing and unresolved banking complaints, for example regarding client accounts: now it’s been declared they have only six...
12 August 2022
From: Breaking News
The two main reasons that an agency decides to outsource are to reduce costs and to have the ability to focus...
01 August 2022
From: Sponsored Content
Agents have only four weeks to respond to a committee of MPs’ ‘call for evidence’ ahead of an investigation into the...
25 July 2022
From: Breaking News
Six agencies have been excluded from The Property Ombudsman for failing to pay compensation to wronged complainants. One was the Belvoir...
13 July 2022
From: Breaking News
Senior figures in the agency industry have backed new guidance from the National Trading Standards Estate and Lettings Agent Team regarding...
13 July 2022
From: Breaking News
It looks as if the private rental sector will contract as a result of the threat of new regulations contained in...
04 July 2022
From: Breaking News
The sweeping reforms for the private rental sector announced by the government at the end of last week do not go...
21 June 2022
From: Breaking News
The government has released the full details of what it calls the Fairer Private Rented Sector White Paper. This is to form...
16 June 2022
From: Breaking News
A prominent lettings industry supplier has asked whether the earlier-than-expected arrival of the rental reform white paper was a distraction from...
16 June 2022
From: Breaking News
A Parliamentary group currently investigating the possible implementation of rent controls is to be joined by a senior figure from Propertymark. The...
07 June 2022
From: Breaking News
Two of the most respected figures in the lettings sector are calling on agents, landlords and tenants to consider the future...
31 May 2022
From: Breaking News
Sean Hooker, head of redress at the Property Redress Scheme, will discuss the latest rental reform proposals and answer letting agents'...
19 May 2022
From: Breaking News
The government is admitting that its rental reform agenda is aimed primarily at the north of England - which just happens...
12 May 2022
From: Breaking News
Agents have voiced their reservations over aspects of the widespread rental sector reform announced by the government in the Queen’s Speech. Yesterday...
11 May 2022
From: Breaking News
The Queen’s Speech has confirmed that a radical re-shaping of the rental sector in England is being pushed ahead by the...
10 May 2022
From: Breaking News
Propertymark says one lasting legacy of the Grenfell Tower tragedy is that agents letting properties in high rise blocks must engage...
06 May 2022
From: Breaking News
The two main reasons that an agency decides to outsource are: 1.) To reduce costs 2.) To have the ability to focus on...
27 April 2022
From: Sponsored Content
Private rental property conditions and the enforcement of regulations by councils and government have all been in the firing line from...
13 April 2022
From: Breaking News
An hour-long webinar this week aims to inform agents how to deter property fraud by greater emphasis on compliance, due diligence...
24 January 2022
From: Breaking News
Two agencies have been expelled from The Property Ombudsman scheme for failing to pay compensation awards. Thamlet Estates, based in east London,...
20 January 2022
From: Breaking News
A member of staff at a Connells-owned branch has been quoted as saying the agency had “no lawful basis” for passing...
14 January 2022
From: Breaking News
A London-focussed lettings agency group has paid £2,000 as a result of breaching the Tenant Fees Act. The issue relates to the...
23 December 2021
From: Breaking News
A checklist for agents to help ensure they steer clear of unwanted fines or claims has been provided by the Guild...
20 October 2021
From: Breaking News
Six agencies have been expelled from The Property Ombudsman for failing to pay compensatory awards - five of them for offences...
11 October 2021
From: Breaking News
A lettings agent has been jailed for three years for defrauding tenants and landlords out of more than £182,000. Lee Clarke, 42,...
20 September 2021
From: Breaking News
Lettings once again dominated the complaints received by The Property Ombudsman according to its latest annual report - out today but...
24 August 2021
From: Breaking News
The Property Ombudsman and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors are seeking views of agents, landlords and tenants on a new...
13 August 2021
From: Breaking News
A lettings agent who wants tenants to take out policies to fund complaints against agencies and landlords has branded the social...
28 June 2021
From: Breaking News
The Association of Residential Letting Agents' wing of Propertymark says the recent expulsion of three agents from The Property Ombudsman demonstrates the...
04 May 2021
From: Breaking News
Another lettings agency has been expelled from The Property Ombudsman scheme for failing to pay an outstanding compensation award - but...
16 April 2021
From: Breaking News
A lettings agency that failed to pay a compensation award ordered by The Property Ombudsman has been expelled from the scheme...
15 April 2021
From: Breaking News
A lettings agent in Slough, called Saville Park Ltd, has been excluded from The Property Ombudsman for failing to pay an outstanding award of £300. TPO received a complaint from tenants...
15 April 2021
From: Breaking News
The latest shock resignation from Propertymark leaves the lettings agency sector rudderless - although enthusiasm for the organisation has arguably never...
18 February 2021
From: Breaking News
A new property identification system which has won the backing of ARLA Propertymark and substantial parts of the industry has said...
15 January 2021
From: Breaking News
A lettings agency has called in the police after a protest involving anti-agent activists demanding compensation for past tenants. The Eastern Daily...
24 December 2020
From: Breaking News
An overwhelming 98 per cent of agents who are members of The Property Ombudsman scheme pay compensation when an investigation is...
01 December 2020
From: Breaking News
A newspaper claims a lettings agency is battling allegations of overcharging customers and using fake companies to carry out maintenance work. The Daily Record...
30 November 2020
From: Breaking News
Agents have another 12 months to make referral fees more transparent according to an update from the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting...
19 November 2020
From: Breaking News
An organisation that wants rent controls, the scrapping of Section 21 and what it calls “indefinite tenancies” claims to have 4,000...
16 October 2020
From: Breaking News
North of England lettings agency Matthew & Evans Rentals has been kicked out of the Property Redress Scheme, one of the two...
28 September 2020
From: Breaking News
Three agents have been expelled by The Property Ombudsman for failing to pay compensation awards. In the case of Foremost Lettings Ltd...
26 August 2020
From: Breaking News
Registration is open for The Property Ombudsman’s annual conference, being held as a webinar later this month. The event can be watched...
10 June 2020
From: Breaking News
There’s been a substantial 20 per cent rise in formal complaints about agents taken up by The Property Ombudsman. The figures refer...
11 May 2020
From: Breaking News
The Property Ombudsman has announced the expulsion of eight agencies, all for contravening TPO codes of practice. Most of the expulsions were...