Archive

The ongoing debate over ground rents within Government is rapidly becoming a Parliamentary farce that could soon lead to an economic...

A coalition of higher education and student housing organisations have called on the government to make further changes to the Renters...

Michael Gove’s Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities hit back overnight at critics of the government’s Renters Reform Bill. The Bill...

A new guide from Propertymark explains the rights which private rental tenants have - and sets out how they can challenge...

Propertymark has urged the Scottish Government to resolve the country’s ongoing housing emergency. The news comes as Scottish Labour MSP Mark Griffin...

Propertymark is urging the government to tackle the problem of banks closing down undesignated or pooled client accounts of letting agents. HM...

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

Propertymark says the regulation of property agents and the creation of a statutory Code of Practice can improve the transparency of...

The Information Commissioner’s Office has issued advice to agencies on how to comply with data protection law.  The UK data protection regulator...

Rent controls as currently in force in Scotland and under consideration in Wales will not be put into effect in England,...

Propertymark says it hopes that a Welsh Government White Paper proposing that nine devolved housing tribunals are consolidated into a single...

Thousands of pounds of landlords’ money may be lost as a result of the administration of high-profile London lettings agency Douglas...

The Competitioin and Markets Authority is to probe five activities involving letting agents and landlords and their responsibilities to private tenants. Sarah...

The private rental sector could play a far greater role in helping to end homelessness in Scotland, according to a new...

New figures released this morning from The Property Ombudsman show that the overwhelming number of disputes in the past year involved...

The increasing likelihood that the private rental sector will be obliged to allow more pets into lets simply demonstrates the need...

Propertymark is supporting a new Anti Social Behaviour Awareness campaign, calling for greater clarity from government on how agents and landlords...

Any lettings portfolio should receive ongoing care and maintenance. A disorganised portfolio, weighed down by junk data, loose ends or lax...

Introduce yourself A: My name is Sean Hooker. I have worked for the HFIS group for sixteen years, originally helping set...

A new tool is being marketed by industry supplier Landmark with the claim that it helps agents “assess climate change risk.” The...

The agency and landlord responsible for letting a two-bedroom flat in Dagenham have been found guilty in court for providing extremely...

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

Buy to let specialist lender Fleet Mortgages says almost every region of the UK is now seeing increased yields for investors.  The...

Letting agents in Scotland are angry at the Scottish Government for increasing the tax surcharge on buyers of buy to lets...

This may be 2022’s least surprising research finding - most property professionals want interest rates to fall. A webinar poll undertaken by...

The allAgents review website has removed a claim suggesting it had been ‘endorsed’ by The Times and the Sunday Times newspapers. The...

Small and medium sized lettings agencies which have had running disputes with banks are being offered a lifeline - but must...

The Property Ombudsman has reported a big rise in enquiries over last year and a huge rise since the pre-Covid year,...

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

Many agencies have long-standing and unresolved banking complaints, for example regarding client accounts: now it’s been declared they have only six...

An end-of-tenancy PropTech platform set up by a high profile agent has announced a major enhancement to its service. The Depository was...

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

Automated lettings and management platform teclet - which is owned by OnTheMarket - has completed another integration with a PropTech supplier. This...

New details from a survey conducted by industry organisations concerning pets in rental properties show the extent of the problem. Some 537...

At Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS), we're committed to making the deposit protection process as pain-free as possible. From our beginning of...

Two of the most respected figures in the lettings sector are calling on agents, landlords and tenants to consider the future...

Agents have voiced their reservations over aspects of the widespread rental sector reform announced by the government in the Queen’s Speech. Yesterday...

The Queen’s Speech has confirmed that a radical re-shaping of the rental sector in England is being pushed ahead by the...

Who are you and what does it say on your business card? Clifford Thomas – Sales Director at The Letting Partnership What is...

Propertymark is the latest part of the lettings sector to fight back against criticism and claims of extreme evictions made by...

An activist group that has staged many protests against letting agents must pay just under £100,000 in costs and damages to...

The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan wants is introducing a new qualification and training for borough council housing enforcement officers to...

One of the leading lettings agencies in Liverpool has issued a warning about the city’s controversial new licensing scheme. The Labour council...

The coming year should be about promoting harmony in the lettings market says the head of an agency that’s now part of a...

The lettings agency boss at the centre of a major industry takeover has fired a warning shot about rent controls and...

Only 15 per cent of adults are confident the housing crisis will be resolved in their lifetime. New research among 2,000 individuals...

The classic winter time arguments between tenants and agents over what is damp and what is mildew can be resolved by...

A letting agency has been issued with penalty notices worth £3,000 for operating illegally. Back in 2014 it became a legal requirement...

New figures from the Ministry of Justice show a dramatic long-term decline in the number of possessions in the private rental...

ARLA Propertymark has thrown its weight behind a new dispute resolution service as a quicker and less expensive alternative to court...

Landlords in Wales have been told that rules giving tenants six months’ notice to vacate a property will remain in place...

When it comes to gathering evidence for deposit disputes, the need for thoroughness is understandable. However, on occasion some landlords take...

Lettings once again dominated the complaints received by The Property Ombudsman according to its latest annual report - out today but...

Earlier this week Propertymark revealed it had co-signed an open letter criticising proposed government cuts to benefits.  That open letter was co-signed...

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

Propertymark has given its support to a free and independent dispute resolution service, the Business Banking Resolution Service, which is being offered to...

A new maintenance management app connecting agents and their tenants allows the tracking of repairs. Refectio compiles tenants’ faults onto a dashboard,...

Westcountry agency Stags has been the subject of a low level complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority. The complaint concerned fees not...

ARLA Propertymark says a new government online checker to help private tenants establish what repairs they may be entitled to should...

The government has launched an online checker in a bid to avoid disputes between landlords and tenants over the entitlement for...

The government has surprised observers by announcing that compulsory mediation over Covid-related arrears would happen in the commercial sector - but not...

The government has surprised observers by announcing that compulsory mediation over Covid-related arrears would happen in the commercial sector - but not...

The Association of Residential Letting Agents’ wing of Propertymark is demanding to see the results of a mediation project initiated by...

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

The government has revised its guidelines for its new mediation scheme, which it says will avoid some possessions now that the...

The DPS is hosting free dispute webinars to enable landlords and letting agents to navigate the dispute resolution process. More than 2,000...

The government has at last released details of its mediation scheme - this was hinted at when Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick...

Letting agents have only 10 days to open segregated client accounts or they could face being expelled by their client money...

Real estate as an industry has remained unchallenged throughout all of these years. For the industry worth more than 217 trillion...

As we emerge out of the pandemic there is a growing need for agents to reflect on how the lettings business...

The Law Society is raising concerns about the government’s mediation scheme announced at the time of the last eviction ban decision. The...

Propertymark has thrown its weight behind an idea from Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick to create a mediation service to arbitrate in...

The ban on bailiff-enforced evictions for private renters has been extended in England and Wales. This will be until February 21 “at...

A lettings agent has spoken out at a local council landlord licensing scheme, suggesting it might just be nothing more than...

The last year was one which none of us will forget both personally and professionally. Every aspect of life has been...

The role of lettings agents has never been more crucial to landlords and tenants than it is now and will be...

The government has set out confirmation of the new regulations and protocols that agents and landlords will have to follow if...

The average rent across the UK is now £985 per calendar month, up some 2.1 per cent on four weeks ago...

A council has won a planning appeal banning the use of a property for short lets - considered a landmark case...

The Property Redress Scheme, one of the two government-authorised redress services, claims its new mediation option is a success. In March this...

Online lettings agency Upad is offering to refund users whose rental listings did not appear on Zoopla and PrimeLocation as they...

A senior lettings expert with almost four decades experience says evictions should not be considered during the virus crisis, irrespective of the...

A service called Landlord Advice UK is offering free no-obligation consultations with landlords dealing with evictions over the coming months. Under the...

The Welsh Government has temporarily increased the notice period landlords must provide from three months to six months to end Assured...

The government has outlined new court procedures to address the expected backlog of cases when eviction proceedings resume on August 24. For...

Campaigning charity Shelter says it is “doubling up” its efforts to make sure letting agents comply with anti-discrimination legislation when it...

A new service claims it could help to avoid arrears by mediating in disputes between tenants and landlords or their agents. The...

A legal expert says the Court of Appeal ruling on S21 possession orders last week has resolved one of the most...

The UK’s largest property franchise group says the current Coronavirus crisis shows precisely how robust its franchise business model is. In a...

Labour’s proposal to extend the current ban on private rental sector evictions could end up with some landlords in financial ruin.  Landlord...

Deposit alternative service Flatfair has launched a tool for letting agents to help administer arrears run up by tenants during the...

One of the official redress operators - Property Redress Scheme - has launched a tenancy mediation service for agents, landlords and...

A real estate litigation partner at a leading law firm is warning that the Coronavirus crisis could lead to an 18...

The Association of Residential Letting Agents says the key for getting through the virus crisis is good communications, both with clients...

Hello and welcome to the latest Conquering Corona - our guide for agents to get through these challenging times. Please let us...

The controversial Acorn group of anti-letting agent activists has been accused of intimidation of female staff during a protest outside and...

A newspaper claims that a short lets management firm that handles properties let on Airbnb and similar platforms is scrambling for...

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

The Association of Residential Letting Agents says the number of tenants successfully negotiating rent reductions has hit an all time low...

Poor communication remains the chief reason for disputes between agents, landlords and tenants at check-out time according to the latest research. A...