Archive

Self-managing landlords who think they don’t have the same compliance obligations as agents could face serious repercussions, Trading Standards chiefs have...

Bristol-based lettings management company Iletpro Ltd has been ordered to pay a total of £2,700.06 in fines and costs for failing...

A lettings agent who also runs a tenant complaint insurance service has renewed his attack on landlords and local authorities. Ajay Jagota...

Purplebricks says its head of lettings has left after just eight months - and just days after a crisis involving tenant deposits. A Purplebricks...

A lettings agency has been prosecuted by Birmingham council for unlawfully evicting a tenant. Principal Homes is based at Great Barr and was...

One of the local authorities with the tightest clampdowns on letting agents has issued a statement celebrating its successes. Tower Hamlets council in...

A landlord who persistently broke residential lettings rules has been banned from operating in a landmark legal ruling. Julie Stoddern, of Camborne,...

A landlord who built unlawful extensions to a family home and squeezed up to 14 people into the rooms has forfeited...

Two landlords - one of them an agent - have been given fines totalling £135,000 and must pay costs for failing to...

A 24 month community order and 200 hours of unpaid work are the price being paid for an unlawful eviction.  Buy to...

One person had to be rescued from a fire after their landlord failed to ensure they had a working fire alarm...

The Court of Appeal has ruled in favour of the government’s controversial Right To Rent scheme, overturning a decision reached last...

Liverpool’s Labour council, which was prevented by the government from extending its city-wide licensing scheme for another five years, is seeking...

A lettings agency and its director have pleaded guilty to renting out an overcrowded house in the first case brought to...

A Liberal Democrat MP is seeking to amend the Renters’ Reform Bill to make it illegal for tenants to be offered...

The clampdown on referral fees, until now concentrated on the sales sector, will extend to letting agents too. James Munro, head of...

A landlord has been ordered to pay nearly £6,000 in fines and costs after pleading guilty to harassing and financially exploiting...

The government has given the green light to a council’s huge licensing scheme, set to cover 18 of its 20 wards...

A room-finding portal, along with the owners of a London lettings agency and management firm, must pay over £100,000 for letting...

The government says it’s working on an online digital Right To Rent status checking service for agents and landlords to use,...

A council has prosecuted five private landlords who failed to get licences for the properties they let out. Oldham council says its...

A judge has ordered two landlords to pay a total of £14,858 for illegally renting out an unlicensed house without working...

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has backed a five year extension for a massive London council landlord licensing...

Another Labour council wants to introduce a city-wide landlord licensing scheme - a proposal that would require government approval to implement. Last...

A landlord in one of the most scenic parts of Devon had been served with a £18,000 civil penalty because he...

A newspaper in Liverpool has sharply criticised the government for refusing to allow the city council to continue a huge landlord...

The owner of a Derbyshire property must pay out more than £3,000 after being found guilty of failing to comply with...

A landlord has been banned for two and half years after repeatedly putting tenants’ lives at risk by letting unsafe housing. This...

A dawn raid by enforcement officers from a London council has discovered 17 men sleeping on mattresses in a three bedroom...

A landlord has been hit with court fines for a fourth time for failing to properly manage his rental properties.  Landlord Jack...

A rogue landlord and the property company he ran have been fined £22,000 for dishing out ‘sham licences’ to tenants in...

A rented home in Mansfield was found to have serious health and safety hazards, including a leaking roof and a lack of smoke...

One of the industry’s leading trade bodies has revealed that the number of laws creating an obligation on landlords in the...

A long-term legal critic of selective licensing is warning that letting agents could be held jointly accountable with the landlords, -...

A call has been made for the best letting agencies and other rental sector professionals to show how they comply with...

A rogue landlord who divided his three-bedroom home in central London into eight flats has ended up with a bill of...

The most controversial local council rental licensing scheme in the country has been deemed a success - at least by the...

London Trading Standards has made the startling claim that 46 per cent of almost 2,000 agents it has surveyed are falling...

A joint operation between Avon and Somerset Police and North Somerset council has uncovered a string of issues connected with rental...

A man who claimed he needed a council house but was actually a landlord has been ordered to pay back more...

Another local authority has announced that it wants to introduce another selective licensing scheme and designate its entire patch for HMO...

A campaign by HM Revenue & Customs to encourage buy to let investors to ‘fess up’ to their unpaid tax has...

Both sides of the Right To Rent debate are squaring up for their latest court battle. Earlier this year the High Court...

The number of landlords admitting to not paying tax has soared in the past year, according to new data. During 2018/2019, 16,110...

A buy to let investor has been fined £4,800 and ordered to pay £2,200 in costs for failing to keep his...

The government has agreed that a council in London where all 51 councillors are Labour should go ahead with a five...

The Tenancy Deposit Scheme says that success of its information centre shows that the industry wants more information on the deposit...

A rogue landlady has been hit with a fine of £24,000 after conning her tenants and the local authorities with a...

The Association of Residential Lettings Agents says it backs a new Trading Standards-led body which will enforce the Fees Ban starting  on...

A Freedom of Information request by The Guardian newspaper has produced the startling admission from government that not even one landlord...

A lettings sector trade body says EU citizens may face problems getting private rented accommodation after Brexit. And the body - the...

A buy to let investor who hid families in windowless rooms after failing to get planning permission for a block of...

A lettings agent who stole over £350,000 is reported to have been told to pay back…£1. Local media in the south of...

With the government already on the ropes over Brexit, there’s a call today for one of its flagship immigration policies to...

A leading trade body says the argument that councils have insufficient powers to tackle rogue operators isn’t supported by the facts...

A rogue lettings agent has been fined over £72,000 after being found guilty of 15 separate offences relating to three illegally established houses...

There’s been general support for last week’s judgment by the High Court that the government’s Right To Rent policy breaches human...

The High Court has ruled that the government’s Right to Rent scheme breaches human rights law. Under the Right to Rent landlords are...

The Tenants’ Fees Bill has now become law, receiving formal Royal Assent yesterday afternoon - and within minutes, the government issued...

Councils have been accused of routinely pursuing the most serious enforcement option open to them if they find a local licensing...

In an announcement made just hours before much of the industry started its Christmas break, the government has clarified its guidance...

The High Court today begins a Judicial Review of the government’s controversial Right to Rent scheme. The scheme began operating nationwide in...

Famous buy to let landlord Judith Wilson has been fined £10,000 and ordered to pay almost £15,000 costs for failing to...

Two thirds of local authorities in England and Wales brought no prosecutions against private landlords in 2017/18 according to research by the...

We regularly carry stories about fines for landlords and letting agents who have apparently broken council or national laws - but...

Nottingham council - which recently introduced one of the largest and most controversial selective licensing schemes in the country - now...

One of Britain's highest profile landlords is to be sentenced on December 11 - and she must show the court details of...

A council says it has been preparing prosecution and penalty notices “for hundreds of private landlords that have failed to apply...

The heavy-handed administration of selective licensing schemes is driving out buy to let investors. That’s the claim from David Kirwan of Kirwans...

The Home Secretary has been asked by a leading lettings sector trade organisation to ensure hard copy documents are given to...

A man who submitted false VAT returns for the Lincoln franchise branch of Martin & Co for a period of six...

A buy to let investor that let at least eight people from six different families rent space in his three-storey property...

The Labour-led local authority in Hackney has issued a statement pledging fines or even bans if landlords fail to get appropriate...

Two private landlords have been found guilty of managing Houses in Multiple Occupation with dangerous and sub-standard conditions, following a successful...

The landlord of an HMO who subjected his tenants to insanitary and unsafe living conditions has been told he will no...

A landlord in Reading has been handed a huge fine for serious breaches of fire safety regulations.  Philip Brotherton's company Cresctcourt Properties...

A landlord has been hit with a total fine of almost £40,000 for breaching House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) management regulations. David...

A letting agent responsible for a property in Huddersfield which caught fire and killed two young boys has been jailed for...

A gas safety engineer has pleaded guilty with a landlord of falsifying gas safety certificates for a string of private rental...

A buy to let investor has ended up with a bill for thousands of pounds after being found guilty of breaching...

The Residential Landlords Association has reiterated its support for a legal challenge to Right To Rent which is to be made...

A leading PropTech entrepreneur says he welcomes reforms currently moving through Parliament to professionalise the lettings sector - but he wants...

Letting agents have responded with enthusiasm to the government’s announcement over the Easter weekend that the industry would in future have...

The government has this morning - Easter Sunday - announced a crackdown on rogue letting agents in the shape of a...

The controversial Right To Rent policy has been attacked as having failed “to demonstrate its worth” in encouraging immigration compliance. Under Right...

A property management company has been landed with a legal bill of almost £2,000 after admitting that it failed to keep...

Brent Council has confirmed that the government has approved its request to extend the local selective licensing scheme. The local authority, which...

The city council in Nottingham claims it has taken action against no fewer than 561 unauthorised To Let boards under powers...

A London council is marking 125 successful prosecutions against agents, landlords and sub-letting tenants since 2016. The authority, Brent, says the convictions...

Landlords in Wales who manage their own properties are being reminded that they must submit their licence application to Rent Smart...

The Residential Landlords Association has reiterated its opposition to Right To Rent, and is backing two legal challenges to the measure. Letting...

Rent Smart Wales says it is “heartening” that there has been a substantial recent rise in the number of agents, properties...

There has been another prosecution under the controversial Rent Smart Wales regulations - although this time the landlord in question was...

One of the industry’s leading trade bodies wants the government to halt the Right To Rent programme after evidence shows some...

The director of a property management firm has been found guilty of nine offences of breaching regulations relating to a house...

Police officers have seized well over £6,000 worth of cannabis and drug manufacturing equipment after being tipped off by a letting...

The draft Bill to ban letting agents’ fees levied on tenants has been published - it’s to be called the Tenants’...

Almost 60 per cent of councils across Britain have not prosecuted any landlord for any offence in the past year according...

The Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration has started what is described as an official inspection of Right To Rent. Legislation...

Four landlords have been fined and ordered to pay costs totalling £232,155.68 in the first prosecutions of its kind brought by...

Letting agency Saxons has been fined more than £3,000 after pleading guilty to the offence of displaying an unauthorised To Let...

Letting agency Spicerhaart has been fined £2,670 after pleading guilty to operating an unlicensed house in multiple occupation.   A prosecution was brought...

A landlord has been prosecuted and ordered to repay over £5,000 to his tenants for letting an unlicensed House of Multiple...

A Scarborough buy to let investor has been found guilty of two offences under the Housing Act 2004 for non-compliance with...

This month’s prosecution of a letting agency for issuing ‘sham licences’ that suggested occupiers had no right to challenge eviction and...

More than 100 criminal prosecutions have been secured against landlords since the start of an enforcement crackdown by Brent council in...

A property campaigner says the failure of the police to investigate a lettings agent who was eventually convicted of fraud after...

Beleagured housing minister Alok Sharma has been told by a London council that his decision over an application for a borough-wide...

A landlord has been ordered to pay over £10,000 after pleading guilty to breaching three separate fire regulations. Charles Thornton was fined...

A management firm and corporate landlord have been hit with a £250,000 fine after a “potentially lethal” flat blaze in London -...

Agents and landlords with properties in Wales have been reminded they could be breaking the law if they're not signed up to...

A north London landlord who housed a family of five, including three children, in a cramped attic has been prosecuted by...

A buy to let expert says there should be stronger enforcement and streamlining of legislation in the private rental sector. In a...

A man who rented out rooms above a town centre bar has been banned from being a buy to let landlord...

A prominent campaigning letting agent has discovered that more than 6,000 tenants in one region alone have complained to local authorities...

The Residential Landlords Association has repeated its calls for a new housing court “to speed up justice for landlords and tenants.”   The...

A property company owner who waged a campaign of harassment and intimidation against a young mother he wanted to illegally evict...

A private landlord in Sheffield has been prosecuted for harassing a tenant and failing to manage his property adequately.   Nilendu Das was...

The landlord of an HMO above a Chinese takeway in Cornwall has been fined for failing to comply with the requirements...

A convicted Surrey letting agent who used his clients’ money to cover his business debts has been ordered to pay £25,000...

A series of prosecutions of rogue landlords by a London council has also seen a so-called ‘property manager’ fined a four-figure...

A landlord is facing prosecution for failing to comply with various HMO regulations.  For the last two days, Paul Turner has appeared...

The Residential Landlords Association has roasted the enforcement policies and provisions for the controversial Rent Smart Wales initiative which begins in...

  A council has taken a landlord to court for failing to licence his two buy to let properties under its selective...

Letting agents and landlords are being reminded to comply with an obligation to remove ‘to let’ signs in certain parts of...

A landlord that continually refused to sign up to a council’s selective licensing regime has been found guilty by the courts...

A landlord has been fined just £440 after he effectively left a tenant homeless.    Warrington Magistrates Court heard that Peter Lamont, the...

A London council will introduce two new licensing schemes in the New Year. These make it a legal requirement for landlords to obtain...

A council has issued a press release to say that a trio of prosecutions on private landlords combine to prove it...

A council has prosecuted a landlord, who was fined £600 plus £500 in council costs after pleading guilty to breaching building...

A raid on a house has uncovered appalling conditions including a Slumdog Millionaire-style shanty town shack made from wood offcuts, pallets...

There has been yet another prosecution over an unsafe house in multiple occupation.   Syed Masum Ali appeared in Stafford Magistrates Court and...

Burnley Council has brought a series of prosecutions against people responsible for unlicensed rented houses in the borough. The council has introduced...

  A letting agent who scammed dozens of tenants and landlords out of more than £220,000 of rents and deposits has been...

Two landlords have been fined after being found guilty of fire safety failings in their rental properties. Both prosecutions were brought by...

Havering council has successfully prosecuted a landlord who must now pay £101,300 for building illegal flats at her property. Jaghtar Khaira was...

The owner of a rented property in west London has received a penalty of more than £20,000 having pleaded guilty to...

A letting agent and four landlords face bills totalling more than £20,000 after being prosecuted by Islington Council for operating unlicensed...

The Residential Landlords’ Association has revealed what it calls “worryingly low levels of enforcement of rented housing regulations” by local authorities. Using...

A private landlord has been ordered to pay more than £1,000 after admitting operating in Burnley without a proper licence.  Matthew Hartley...

Lettings companies and an organised group of criminals described as a “gang of chancers” have been hit with fines and costs...

A landlord has become the first to be prosecuted by Waltham Forest council for failing to obtain one of its controversial...

The Local Government Association says recent prosecutions show that councils are cracking down on illegal evictions by landlords and their agents...

A landlord has been cautioned and has agreed to pay £1,000 compensation to a tenant, and pay £2,000 towards legal costs,...

New funding will help up to 65 councils tackle rogue landlords who let out substandard homes including the hated Beds In...

A landlord has been ordered to pay more than £400,000 after converting a property into flats without permission. Gilbert Garrick let the...

London Mayor and Tory leadership wannabee Boris Johnson wants rogue operators in the private rental sectors to be banned with repeat...

Letting agents and property managers of blocks with fire doors are being urged to take their responsibilities more seriously. The warning comes...

Newham Council has reported that in the two and a half years since its licensing scheme came into force it has...

A landlord has been handed a total fine of £75,215 for a number of offences, including failing to licence four houses...

A lettings agency has issued a warning to tenants to protect themselves following a claim that the city in which it...

A letting agent is angry that there has not been a single prosecution in his region as a result of agencies...

The publication Environmental Health News has secured the release of files showing the details of hundreds of convicted private landlords in...

A council in an area with one of the country’s largest private lettings sectors says it has launched investigations into more...

An amnesty on the licensing of houses in multiple occupation is being held in Barnet in north London following the successful...

A landlord has been prosecuted and fined for failing to carry out vital works on his rental property.  Victor Robbins of Leigh-on-Sea,...

A property consultancy specialising in licensing regimes for privately-let properties says there have been 580 housing prosecutions in London under the...