Despite once claiming it would abolish Section 21 evictions “on its first day in office”, Labour appears to have gone cool...
Archive
![Hate Crime - Anti-Second Home Posters reported to police](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Property%20Market/shutterstock_1524802199%20protest(1).jpg)
Anti-second home posters seen in parts of North Wales and on social media have been reported to the police as a...
16 May 2024
From: Breaking News
![Half of Tenants 'get stuck' if letting agents fail to solve problems](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Rental%20Market/TenantDispute-400x310.png)
Half of all private renters would not know where to turn to if a letting agent failed to address a problem...
30 April 2024
From: Breaking News
![Advice for agents on tenants with banned dog breeds](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Pets/ManWithDog-400x310.png)
Propertymark is highlighting new advice for agents and landlords given by Lets With Pets, the website of The Dogs Trust charity. The...
20 March 2024
From: Breaking News
![Powers to evict anti-social tenants set to be beefed up](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Rental%20Market/Eviction-400x310.png)
Propertymark has welcomed proposed reforms to evict tenants who show persistent anti-social behaviour. In 2018, a Northern Ireland Department of Justice consultation...
12 March 2024
From: Breaking News
![Agent stole over £40,000 from firm which hadn’t noticed missing money](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Property%20Market/shutterstock_309559970.jpg)
A letting agent who stole over £40,000 from her employer was caught when a bank queried the use of a company...
22 February 2024
From: Breaking News
![Report downplays ‘posh’ image of Build To Rent flats and tenants](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Rental%20Market/BuildToRent1-400x310.png)
A new report suggests that past impressions of Build To Rent and other institution-funded rental units as expensive and concentrating on...
19 February 2024
From: Breaking News
![Inspirational broadcast star to address Propertymark One](/upload/images/shutterstock_120719548.jpg)
Inspirational broadcaster and author Katie Piper is set to take to the stage at the Propertymark One Conference at the ExCel...
15 February 2024
From: Breaking News
![Generation Rent claims Black people victimised by “outdated” Vagrancy Act](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Property%20Market/PropertyNews3-400x310.png)
A group of rental activists claims that police in England are disproportionately using a 19th century law that criminalises rough sleeping...
28 December 2023
From: Breaking News
![Should letting agents police the quality of homes to rent?](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Rental%20Market/DamagedProperty-400x310.png)
A prominent housing expert has told MPs that letting agents could be used to police the standards off homes made available...
20 November 2023
From: Breaking News
![“Heavy Handed Banks” slammed for pooled client account crisis](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Property%20Market/PropertyStats-400x310.png)
Propertymark has responded to an HM Treasury consultation on anti-money laundering processes - and in doing so it’s slammed “heavy handed...
28 September 2023
From: Breaking News
![Bentley-driving lettings agent banned after smash](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Rental%20Market/Banned_400x310.png)
Local media on the south coast are reporting that a lettings agent crashed his Bentley into two parked cars and then...
26 September 2023
From: Breaking News
![Police urge agents to smoke out illegal cannabis farms](/upload/images/Rental%20Market/Cannabis-Plant-1-400x310.jpg)
Police are urging letting agents and landlords to act swiftly if they think one of their properties is being used as...
26 September 2023
From: Breaking News
![Sadiq Khan and Generation Rent advising police on handling evictions](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Rental%20Market/Eviction-400x310%20(1).png)
The Metropolitan Police has been advised by tenant activists and the London Mayor on developing rule changes for evictions. The changes include a presumption against...
29 August 2023
From: Breaking News
![Police warning to check rental units for cannabis factories](/upload/images/Rental%20Market/Cannabis-Farm-1-400x310.jpg)
Police are encouraging letting agents and landlords to regularly check properties following the discovery on a cannabis factory. Police attended the address...
21 August 2023
From: Breaking News
![Cannabis Farms - agents asked to smoke out culprits](/upload/images/Rental%20Market/Cannabis-Farm-1-400x310.jpg)
Five regional police and crime commissioners have written to letting agents highlighting the problems of cannabis farms in private rental properties. The...
21 July 2023
From: Breaking News
![Agents demand government clarity to combat Anti-Social Behaviour](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Rental%20Market/LearningAgents-400x310.png)
Propertymark is supporting a new Anti Social Behaviour Awareness campaign, calling for greater clarity from government on how agents and landlords...
07 July 2023
From: Breaking News
![HMRC ready to pounce on agents, claims ex-police AML expert](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Property%20Market/_AML%20_400x310.png)
Anti-money laundering consultancy FCS Compliance has announced its latest Webinar for agents using Rightmove. And with it comes a warning that the...
29 June 2023
From: Breaking News
![Police and agents must work to stop Sex For Rent scandal](/upload/images/shutterstock_1585338316.jpg)
Propertymark has made a strident set of demands of the government in a bid to end the so-called Sex For Rent...
08 June 2023
From: Breaking News
![Agents jailed for role in multi-million-pounds drugs crimes](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Rental%20Market/Arrested-UK-400x310.png)
Two agents who helped establish a multi-million-pound drugs ring in two cities have been jailed. Ossama Omar and Mohamed Latif ran Platinum...
21 April 2023
From: Breaking News
![Fraud - agency maintenance chief steals almost £100,000](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Property%20Market/Landlords%20%E2%80%93%20here%E2%80%99s%20how%20to%20spot%20fraudulent%20tenants(1).jpg)
A lettings agency maintenance manager stole almost £100,000 from her company - but has escaped prison. Farida Mughal was working at the...
19 April 2023
From: Breaking News
![String of dodgy letting agents expelled by Ombudsman](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Rental%20Market/Banned_400x310.png)
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
![Can courts cope with more eviction cases under new law?](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Rental%20Market/Eviction-400x310.png)
The letting agent’s trade body Propertymark is concerned that the court system could buckle if eviction case numbers rise as a...
29 March 2023
From: Breaking News
![Charity claims new eviction powers will punish the homeless](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Misc/Homeless-400x310.png)
A charity is claiming that new powers to evict anti-social private tenants could lead to more homelessness, while those already living...
28 March 2023
From: Breaking News
![Tragic case of agent who stole cash to clear son’s drug debt](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Rental%20Market/Arrested-UK-400x310.png)
A lettings agency manager stole nearly £140,000 from her company to help clear her son’s drug debt. Wendy Dare, 57, is now...
27 March 2023
From: Breaking News
![New eviction powers to get rid of anti social tenants](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Rental%20Market/Eviction-400x310.png)
Landlords and agents acting on their behalf are to be given more powers to evict unruly tenants who ruin neighbours’ lives...
27 March 2023
From: Breaking News
![Political wannabes wrong to blame holiday lets, claims top agent](/upload/images/shutterstock_1251325300.jpg)
A prominent lettings agent has criticised leading candidates for the leadership of the Scottish National Party for anti-holiday let policies. David Alexander,...
03 March 2023
From: Breaking News
![No blanket licensing required for short lets - Propertymark](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Property%20Market/_licensing-400x310.png)
Licensing for Airbnbs and similar short lets should be targeted in priority areas only and not the subject of blanket rules. That’s...
22 February 2023
From: Breaking News
![Agents Working Alone - vital safeguarding webinar today](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/PropTech/WiFi-400x310.png)
The Association of Independent Inventory Clerks is hosting a webinar this evening for letting agents and other industry employers responsible for...
01 December 2022
From: Breaking News
![Eviction court delays to rise as spending cuts bite - Law Society warning](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Rental%20Market/EvictionNotice-400x310.png)
Agents and landlords are to face even longer waits for eviction court cases following the spending cuts announced in the Autumn...
22 November 2022
From: Breaking News
![Warrant for arrest of letting agent who failed to appear in court](/upload/images/library/CourtCase-400x310.png)
A warrant backed without bail has been issued for the arrest of a lettings agent who failed to appear in court. Gareth Wills...
01 September 2022
From: Breaking News
![Agency boss threatened team with violence - gets suspended sentence](/upload/images/library/CourtCase-400x310.png)
The former director of a lettings agency has received a suspended jail sentence for making threats of violence against ex-colleagues in...
24 August 2022
From: Breaking News
![Times names politician involved in rogue letting agencies](/upload/images/Housing%20Market%20%26%20Property%20Images/360%20x%20280%20Inadash.jpg)
The Times has named a member of the City of London’s governing council as a key figure behind rogue letting agencies. Luis...
07 June 2022
From: Breaking News
![Airbnb demands end to Section 21 and creation of landlord register](/upload/images/Rental%20Market/eviction-image400x310.png)
Airbnb, so often criticised for operating in the largely-unregulated short lets market, has called on the UK government to scrap Section...
22 April 2022
From: Breaking News
![PropTech Today – supporting smarter, more streamlined enforcement with PropTech](/upload/images/PropTech%20%26%20Online/PropTech-TouchScreen-400x310.jpg)
Housing is back on the political agenda with a bang. The government’s new Levelling Up White Paper sets out sweeping reforms...
23 March 2022
From: Breaking News
![Agency Fraudster - Suspended sentence for agent embezzling £50,000](/upload/images/new-story-stock-images/CourtImage-400x310.jpg)
A lettings agency employee who diverted over £50,000 of landlords’ money into his own account has been given a suspended sentence. Paul...
08 February 2022
From: Breaking News
![2,000 complaints over Airbnb-style short lets in just one area](/upload/images/Locations/LondonMap400x310-min.png)
Westminster council wants central London to have the same powers as Paris and Amsterdam to stop anti-social behaviour caused by Airbnb...
07 February 2022
From: Breaking News
![Who’s going to police new higher standards for rental sector?](/upload/images/Logos/ARLA-PropertyMark-400x310.jpg)
ARLA Propertymark has identified a key weakness in the government’s ambitious plans to reform the private rental sector as part of...
03 February 2022
From: Breaking News
![Lib Dems want big rental sector controls ‘to solve housing crisis’](/upload/images/Politics%20(MPs%2C%20party%20logos%2C%20etc)/HousesofParliament-3-400x310.jpg)
The Liberal Democrats have proposed sharp restrictions on holiday rentals at the heart of the party’s plans to solve the housing...
11 January 2022
From: Breaking News
![Agent Alert - fake firm posing as legitimate lettings agency](/upload/images/Miscellaneous/scam%20alert.png)
A fake lettings operation has been uncovered by a leading legitimate agency - and now the National Trading Standards Estate and...
06 December 2021
From: Breaking News
![Police tips for agents on how to smoke out cannabis farms](/upload/images/Rental%20Market/Cannabis-Farm-1-400x310.jpg)
Police officers are this week raising awareness among agents about the signs of potential cannabis grows. The campaign is being led in...
17 November 2021
From: Breaking News
![Police confront man who stole To Let sign from property](/upload/images/new-story-stock-images/RentingImage-400x310.jpg)
Local media in Bournemouth report that a man was stopped by the police when he was seen after dark carrying a...
11 November 2021
From: Breaking News
![Gangmasters Raid: Police arrest at lettings agency](/upload/images/Rental%20Market/Court-Fine-400x310-min.jpg)
Media reports in Stoke on Trent say a man was arrested after a police raid on the Homes2Let lettings agency in...
05 November 2021
From: Breaking News
![Benefits of scrapping S21 outweigh problems, insists Shelter](/upload/images/Logos/shelter-logo400x310.png)
The chief executive of Shelter says the experience of Scotland shows that the scrapping of S21 eviction powers produces benefits that...
01 October 2021
From: Breaking News
!['Drugs, booby-traps and rentals' – an expanding issue for agents?](/upload/images/Rental%20Market/Cannabis-Farm-1-400x310.jpg)
Agents need to be diligent regarding the the growth of cannabis in rental properties and the devastating lengths tenants will go to...
21 September 2021
From: Breaking News
![Lettings agent jailed after £182,000 fraud](/upload/images/Housing%20Market%20%26%20Property%20Images/police-tape400x310.png)
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
![Rogue lettings - ex agent given suspended sentence for fraud](/upload/images/Rental%20Market/CourtCase-400x310.png)
A six-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, has been handed to a former lettings agent from Eastbourne for charges of...
16 September 2021
From: Breaking News
![Labour demands powers to control private rents](/img/default/lat.png)
London’s Labour Mayor, Sadiq Khan, has made a new call for power to cap private rents. He’s claimed that rents in the...
08 July 2021
From: Breaking News
![Tenant offers agents hush money over cannabis factory](/img/default/lat.png)
A rogue tenant has tried to bribe two letting agents with hush money after they discovered his cannabis growing factory. Anisi Hamollari,...
29 June 2021
From: Breaking News
![Agent spots illegal rental scam - and police refuse to get involved](/img/default/lat.png)
A lettings agent has told the BBC that he has spotted illegal rental scams using online platforms, but the police have...
28 June 2021
From: Breaking News
![Police called to protest outside lettings company office](/img/default/lat.png)
Police were called to a protect outside a lettings firm in Oxfordshire after a crowd picketed the office over a dispute...
16 June 2021
From: Breaking News
![Letting agents advised to ‘up their game’ on landlord ID checks](/img/default/lat.png)
Many letting agents fail to conduct the obligatory identity checks on landlord clients according to an industry supplier. Blinc UK says that...
11 May 2021
From: Breaking News
![Activists stage DSS protest outside agency office](/img/default/lat.png)
Activists from the Acorn renters' campaign group have held a protest outside a branch of Chancellors in Oxford. The group says the...
04 May 2021
From: Breaking News
![Banned! Court order prohibits investor from letting properties](/img/default/lat.png)
A landlord who persistently broke residential lettings rules has been banned from operating in a landmark legal ruling. Julie Stoddern, of Camborne,...
08 March 2021
From: Breaking News
![Arrests made as protesting activists try to enter lettings agency](/img/default/lat.png)
Local media in the Homes Counties report that two arrests were made after police were called by a lettings agency where...
05 March 2021
From: Breaking News
![Two agents and their firm must pay thousands compensation to landlord](/img/default/lat.png)
Two letting agents have been ordered to pay £16,000 to a landlord after their activities were found to be unregistered and...
24 February 2021
From: Breaking News
![A Fair Cop: no need to plant evidence in this rental property](/img/default/lat.png)
Essex Police Force has tweeted a pair of photographs that go to prove agents should check a property before going on a...
17 February 2021
From: Breaking News
![“Horrible crime” of illegal eviction probed by police](/img/default/lat.png)
A 24 month community order and 200 hours of unpaid work are the price being paid for an unlawful eviction. Buy to...
15 February 2021
From: Breaking News
![Agents 'should guide landlords through blizzard of licensing rules'](/img/default/lat.png)
Letting agents should help landlords through a blizzard of red tape and regulation cause by local licensing schemes, a PropTech entrepreneur...
10 February 2021
From: Breaking News
![Agency calls in police after activists protest outside branch](/img/default/lat.png)
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
![Angry calls for ‘exempt rental accommodation’ to face regulation](/img/default/lat.png)
There are growing calls for so-called ‘exempt accommodation’ to face the same controls that are exerted over the rest of the...
21 December 2020
From: Breaking News
![Gangmasters probe leads to property firm and director’s huge fines](/img/default/lat.png)
Restaurant staff were kept in “dangerous and overcrowded” conditions by a property company and its landlord-director, a court has heard. The company...
18 December 2020
From: Breaking News
![Agent left property front door open after routine inspection](/img/default/lat.png)
The This Is Money website is carrying a story of a London rental property where the front door was left open...
03 November 2020
From: Breaking News
![Fake lettings agent almost conned £1,500 out of tenants](/img/default/lat.png)
A fake lettings agent has been caught trying to cheat prospective tenants out of £1,500 which she claimed was a deposit...
26 October 2020
From: Breaking News
![Crooked agent escapes prison after stealing almost £30,000](/img/default/lat.png)
A crooked lettings agent stole almost £30,000 from dozens of clients to prevent his business from going bankrupt. Tim Catherall, of Nottinghamshire,...
28 September 2020
From: Breaking News
![Don’t get scammed - police force warns about bogus property ads](/img/default/lat.png)
A police force is warning potential tenants to check before handing over money after scammers conned people into making rent pre-payments...
23 September 2020
From: Breaking News
![Police bust major £400,000 drugs racket run by rogue landlord](/img/default/lat.png)
West Midlands Police have revealed that a major drugs racket being run by a rogue landlord from his properties in Coventry...
16 September 2020
From: Breaking News
![Online rental platforms should do more to stop criminal scams - call](/img/default/lat.png)
A new report demands that online rental platforms and portals allowing direct advertising by clients do more to deter fake landlords...
04 September 2020
From: Breaking News
![Pot-smoking agent escapes driving ban after court hears career risk](/img/default/lat.png)
A Derbyshire estate agent has escaped a driving ban after being found smoking cannabis in a car. Annabelle Lamb was spotted with...
13 August 2020
From: Breaking News
![‘Necessary’ licensing scheme still not agreed a full YEAR after consultation](/img/default/lat.png)
Back in March 2019 we covered the story that Weymouth council in Dorset wanted a landlord licensing scheme for a town...
04 August 2020
From: Breaking News
![Exposed - fake lettings agency with the Lithuanian connection](/img/default/lat.png)
Which? is warning prospective renters to beware scam lettings agencies and scam landlords following a case where £5,600 was conned out...
03 August 2020
From: Breaking News
![Agents Beware - what to do if you suspect a cannabis farm](/img/default/lat.png)
A law firm is warning that agents and landlords should carefully follow correct procedures if they suspect a rented property is...
03 August 2020
From: Breaking News
![Eviction ban puts domestic abuse victims at greater risk - claim](/img/default/lat.png)
The extension to the evictions ban will compound the suffering of victims of domestic violence and anti-social behaviour. That’s the view of...
16 June 2020
From: Breaking News
![Properties seized from landlord who held group of men as slaves](/img/default/lat.png)
A buy to let investor who kept a group of men as slaves – making them work 90-hour weeks in return...
04 June 2020
From: Breaking News
![Tenants shouldn’t always pay their own removal costs - commission](/img/default/lat.png)
A commission investigating affordable homes in the UK has called for annual private sector rent increases to be limited to a...
05 May 2020
From: Breaking News
12 March 2020
From: Breaking News
![Controversial council uses Foxtons-style ‘big data’ to police lettings](/img/default/lat.png)
The controversial Liverpool council licensing scheme is to be policed through the use of what the authority calls “cutting-edge big data...
06 March 2020
From: Breaking News
![Police hit ‘slavery’ landlord with landmark court order](/img/default/lat.png)
The West Midlands Police force says it’s secured what it calls a “landmark court order” against a rogue landlord who turned...
03 March 2020
From: Breaking News
![Porsche-driving agent crook repays just £43,000 of missing £241,000](/img/default/lat.png)
A jailed letting agent in a long-running legal saga has now been told she must repay her victims some £43,000 -...
25 February 2020
From: Breaking News
![Short lets like Airbnb out of control and activists want crackdown](/img/default/lat.png)
Generation Rent - an outspoken organisation sharply critical of lettings agents and many aspects of the private rental sector - is...
06 February 2020
From: Breaking News
![“Worse than Scrooge!” - angry judge makes landlord pay £20,000](/img/default/lat.png)
A landlord has been ordered to pay almost £20,000 and has been told by a judge that he was meaner than...
10 December 2019
From: Breaking News
![Tenants’ biggest election issue? Well, it’s not housing...](/img/default/lat.png)
One might have thought that if private rental tenants were as badly treated as some people suggest, housing would be their...
18 November 2019
From: Breaking News
![Don’t scrap licensing, streamline it says accreditation scheme](/img/default/lat.png)
The safeagent accreditation scheme says the next government should not scrap landlord licensing as some trade groups have requested, but should...
12 November 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
![Pervert photo request leads to landlord being denied a licence](/img/default/lat.png)
A landlord who made a perverted request to take photographs of a teenager in her underwear has had his request for...
29 October 2019
From: Breaking News
![Short Lets and Brothels: police force warns agents and landlords](/img/default/lat.png)
A police force has issued a warning to agents and owners of short-let properties to look for signs of modern slavery...
28 October 2019
From: Breaking News
![Cannabis alert for private rental sector as electricity thefts surge](/img/default/lat.png)
New analysis by Direct Line for Business reveals a surge in the number of police investigations into the theft of electricity,...
17 October 2019
From: Breaking News
![Best agents should demonstrate compliance to expose rogue operators](/img/default/lat.png)
A call has been made for the best letting agencies and other rental sector professionals to show how they comply with...
01 October 2019
From: Breaking News
![Police raid smokes out cannabis farm and string of lettings problems](/img/default/lat.png)
A joint operation between Avon and Somerset Police and North Somerset council has uncovered a string of issues connected with rental...
02 September 2019
From: Breaking News
![Police want landlords to share information about tenants](/img/default/lat.png)
Police in South Shields have called for the sharing of information about tenants in HMOs - and a council is considering...
29 August 2019
From: Breaking News
![MP to intervene over wound-up lettings agency owing £30,000](/img/default/lat.png)
An MP says he will raise with local police chiefs a series of claims from landlords and tenants concerning a lettings...
16 May 2019
From: Breaking News
![New regulatory body for Fees Ban likely to clamp down hard](/img/default/lat.png)
The Association of Residential Lettings Agents says it backs a new Trading Standards-led body which will enforce the Fees Ban starting on...
18 April 2019
From: Breaking News
![Rental fraud warning after shocking scam attempts](/img/default/lat.png)
Prospective tenants are being warned about a fraud scam that cons people into paying an advance fee to rent a property. The...
04 April 2019
From: Breaking News
![18-month probe into HMOs ends with fine for rogue operator](/img/default/lat.png)
An 18 month probe by different authorities has led to a £4,000 fine for an HMO owner in the Highlands. The local...
13 March 2019
From: Breaking News
![Right To Rent breaches human rights, High Court rules](/img/default/lat.png)
The High Court has ruled that the government’s Right to Rent scheme breaches human rights law. Under the Right to Rent landlords are...
01 March 2019
From: Breaking News
![Red Card for Red Light agent who ran a brothel rented from his firm](/img/default/lat.png)
The head of a Hertfordshire lettings agency has pleaded guilty to managing a brothel, according to a statement from the police. He’s...
26 February 2019
From: Breaking News
![Council admits it: 'We don't have staff to police private rental sector'](/img/default/lat.png)
A local authority in the Midlands has admitted what many people have believed for some time - despite a slew of...
22 February 2019
From: Breaking News
![Beds In Sheds scandal - 19 tenants found at four bedroom property](/img/default/lat.png)
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...
08 February 2019
From: Breaking News
![Council in media probe blames government for 'rogue' payments](/img/default/lat.png)
A council accused of paying over £500,000 to a landlord it had already ruled as unfit to rent out property is...