Zoopla lettings chiefs have told the government it should tighten up its imminent Renters Rights Bill by demanding all lettings agents...
Archive
![Bidding Wars not the problem - they’re just a symptom](/upload/images/shutterstock_1948159747.jpg)
A prominent lettings agent says banning agents and landlords conducting bidding wars for a rental property is not addressing the real...
19 July 2024
From: Breaking News
![Trade union demands wholesale rental reform in new report](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Rental%20Market/Happy(F)Landlord-400x310.png)
The trade union UNISON has partnered with activist group Generation Rent to demand root-and-branch reform of the private rental sector. Four key...
16 July 2024
From: Breaking News
![Banned - Agency cannot let homes for four years; put on rogues’ database](/upload/images/shutterstock_2017550609(1).jpg)
A council has placed a Banning Order on a lettings agency operating unlicensed Houses in Multiple Occupation. Trophy Homes Ltd was hit...
29 April 2024
From: Breaking News
![Labour pledge to build thousands of “rent control homes”](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Developments/Construction-400x310.png)
London Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan says he will build 6,000 “affordable” rental homes by 2030 - with their rents capped. Khan, standing...
08 April 2024
From: Breaking News
![Agents listed on rogues’ database and fined over HMO failures](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Rental%20Market/Fine-3-400x310.png)
Managing agents in London have been instructed to pay a £15,000 fine for operating a House in Multiple Occupation without the...
27 March 2024
From: Breaking News
![Shelter demands radical changes to Renters Reform Bill](/upload/images/shutterstock_1750387934.jpg)
Shelter is asking for public support for radical changes to the Renters Reform Bill, now going through Parliament. The campaigning charity is...
26 February 2024
From: Breaking News
![Agents’ desperate plea to prevent exodus of student landlords](/upload/images/shutterstock_646163290.jpg)
Propertymark has called on the UK Government to prevent a mass exodus of student landlords. The news comes as a poll conducted...
14 February 2024
From: Breaking News
![Belvoir agents have access to private rental licensing data](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Property%20Market/_licensing1-400x310.png)
Franchise giant Belvoir is the latest agency group to sign a deal with geospatial technology firm Kamma. The partnership will offer all...
29 November 2023
From: Breaking News
![Government announces changes to Renters Reform Bill](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Property%20Market/PropertyNews-400x310.png)
Changes put forward to the Renters Reform Bill to crack down on rogue landlords, protect vulnerable residents and improve the safety of...
15 November 2023
From: Breaking News
![Agency slams four councils for policies which directly hit rental supply](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Rental%20Market/LearningAgents-400x310.png)
The lettings agency Winkworth has taken the unusual step of criticising policies of a series of councils. The councils are all Labour...
30 October 2023
From: Breaking News
![Labour Mayors want unlimited council tax on empty properties](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Property%20Market/Taxes-400x310.png)
London Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan is calling on the government to allow him to levy effectively uncapped council tax bills on...
02 August 2023
From: Breaking News
![Renters Reform Bill is chance to professionalise sector - PropTech chief](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Rental%20Market/AgentHouseInHand_400x310.png)
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
![Huge fines for agency and management company over safety failures](/upload/images/Fine(1).jpg)
A management company and a lettings agency involved in running a London HMO have been prosecuted for fire safety failures. Monsoon Properties...
12 June 2023
From: Breaking News
![Phil Spencer urges letting agents to go on the offensive](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Special%20Logo's/Phil%20Spencer.png)
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
![Activists protest outside agents’ offices demand ‘no bidding’](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Rental%20Market/RentalDemand-400x310.png)
The anti-agent pro-renter group Acorn has protested outside some agents’ offices in Bristol demanding an end to rival bids for properties...
26 January 2023
From: Breaking News
![Fake letting agencies created to avoid identifying landlord](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Property%20Market/HouseMarketConfusion-400x310.png)
A landlord has pleaded guilty to four offences which involved the creation of fake letting agencies in order to help him...
13 January 2023
From: Breaking News
![Gove told of agents’ worries about rash of council licensing schemes](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Property%20Market/_licensing1-400x310.png)
Propertymark has written to Housing Secretary Michael Gove outlining its concerns about the latest licensing scheme proposal from a local council. The...
04 January 2023
From: Breaking News
![Agents and Labour back Gove’s clampdown on private rental sector](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Rental%20Market/RightToRent1-400x310.png)
Propertymark has given its backing to a clampdown by Housing Secretary Michael Gove on private landlords - although landlords themselves appear...
25 November 2022
From: Breaking News
![Ignore Critics! Rental reform popular with vast majority of industry - claim](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Property%20Market/Compliance-2-400x310.png)
The large majority of players in the lettings industry wants the rental reform programme outlined by the government, an agent claims. Laura...
23 November 2022
From: Breaking News
![Another London council ponders licensing scheme with fees](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Property%20Market/_licensing1-400x310.png)
Wandsworth council in south London is considering a review into the feasibility of introducing discretionary landlord licencing. A statement from the authority...
07 October 2022
From: Breaking News
![Rogue agent database must be expanded insists top industry figure](/upload/images/PropTech%20%26%20Online/Digital-Online-400x310.jpg)
An accreditation scheme says the government database of rogue letting agents should be expanded. The government is committed to creating a new Property...
27 September 2022
From: Breaking News
![Named and Shamed! Letting agents back controversial database](/upload/images/Housing%20Market%20%26%20Property%20Images/MillennialTenantHome-2-400x310.jpg)
A controversial database which will allow widespread access to the identities of rogue letting agents and landlords has been backed by...
23 September 2022
From: Breaking News
![ARLA reveals new President to take Propertymark position](/upload/images/Logos/ARLA-PropertyMark-400x310.jpg)
David Votta from the Kent-based Votta Sales and Lettings has been revealed as the new ARLA Propertymark President. He has been in...
21 June 2022
From: Breaking News
![Don’t delay Renters Reform Bill again - agents warn government](/upload/images/Housing%20Market%20%26%20Property%20Images/Property-Newspaper-400x310.jpg)
ARLA Propertymark is warning the government that it should not delay further on its long-awaited Renters Reform Bill, because of the...
17 May 2022
From: Breaking News
![Activists slam councils for failing to regulate agents and landlords](/upload/images/Housing%20Market%20%26%20Property%20Images/UKHouses2-400x310.png)
An activist group in London has launched a scathing attack on councils which it claims have been ineffective in regulating rogue...
04 April 2022
From: Breaking News
![Criminal record checks may be introduced as part of HMO rules](/upload/images/Rental%20Market/Handcuffs2-400x310.jpg)
A council says it’s considering introducing criminal record checks on individuals who apply to run HMOs as part of a wide-ranging...
24 March 2022
From: Breaking News
![Another council has started consultations about stiffer controls on HMOs](/upload/images/Rental%20Market/LandlordLicensing-4-400x310.jpg)
Walsall council is proposing additional licensing to improve conditions and management of HMOs in five wards where there are high numbers...
10 March 2022
From: Breaking News
![Rent Controls Now! Major newspaper backs activists’ campaign](/upload/images/Rental%20Market/rental-sector26615.png)
One of the country’s major regional newspapers has launched a campaign for the urgent introduction of rent controls. The Bristol Evening Post,...
08 March 2022
From: Breaking News
![Lettings firm fined over “atrocious” rental accommodation](/upload/images/new-story-stock-images/CourtImage-400x310.jpg)
A lettings company has been caught up in a case where rental accommodation has been described as “atrocious” and a landlord...
25 February 2022
From: Breaking News
![Rent Control momentum building rapidly across UK](/upload/images/Locations/WalesFlag-400x310.jpg)
Politicians across the UK appear to be growing more vocal in their support for rent controls. The Welsh nationalist party Plaid Cymru...
17 February 2022
From: Breaking News
![Clampdown on agents by council officers with qualifications](/upload/images/Locations/GreaterLondon-400x310.jpg)
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan wants is introducing a new qualification and training for borough council housing enforcement officers to...
17 February 2022
From: Breaking News
![Further Rental Reform White Paper scheduled for the spring](/upload/images/Politics%20(MPs%2C%20party%20logos%2C%20etc)/HousesofParliament-3-400x310.jpg)
It’s now been made clear that there will be a detailed White Paper in the spring explaining radical changes to the...
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
![Agents Alert - radical rental reforms shift power to tenants](/upload/images/Politics%20(MPs%2C%20party%20logos%2C%20etc)/MichaelGove2-400x310.png)
The government’s new Levelling Up White Paper, revealed this morning, includes a radical reshaping of the private rental sector. Section 21 eviction...
02 February 2022
From: Breaking News
![Licensing: PropTech suppliers buddy up to improve compliance](/upload/images/PropTech%20%26%20Online/OnlinePropertySearch-3-400x310.jpg)
PropTech suppliers Kamma and CoreLogic UK have teamed up to help improve the process of buy to let lending and compliance. Kamma...
08 December 2021
From: Breaking News
![Angry agent renews attack on landlords and councils](/upload/images/Rental%20Market/RentalMarket400x310.jpg)
A lettings agent who also runs a tenant complaint insurance service has renewed his attack on landlords and local authorities. Ajay Jagota...
03 December 2021
From: Breaking News
![London agents hit with more and larger fines by local councils](/upload/images/Rental%20Market/Fined-400x310.jpg)
Council-imposed fines on letting agents and landlords that fall foul of licensing regulations have risen dramatically in the past month alone. Research...
25 November 2021
From: Breaking News
![Council boasts of court cases and fines against letting agents](/upload/images/Rental%20Market/Court-Fine-400x310.jpg)
One of the local authorities with the tightest clampdowns on letting agents has issued a statement celebrating its successes. Tower Hamlets council in...
19 October 2021
From: Breaking News
![Agents demand funds to clamp down on rogue operators](/upload/images/Rental%20Market/Court-Fine-400x310.jpg)
ARLA Propertymark is calling on the government to properly fund local authorities so they can combat rogue operators in the private...
08 October 2021
From: Breaking News
![‘Treat us fairly’ say UK landlords in call to Michael Gove](/upload/images/Politics%20(MPs%2C%20party%20logos%2C%20etc)/MichaelGove-400x310.jpg)
A new survey has revealed that just 11% of people think Michael Gove, who was announced as the new Housing Secretary...
22 September 2021
From: Breaking News
![HMO property agency and landlord hit with fine and costs](/upload/images/Rental%20Market/Fined400x310.jpg)
A landlord and the property company of which he is director have been convicted and ordered to pay more than £17,000...
13 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
![Letting agent’s huge fine is largest in five year compliance clampdown](/upload/images/Rental%20Market/Fine-2-400x310.jpg)
An analysis of the Mayor of London’s Rogue Landlord and Letting Agent Checker shows that since it was introduced in 2018...
05 August 2021
From: Breaking News
![Agent accuses landlords of ‘not taking responsibilities seriously’](/img/default/lat.png)
A controversial lettings agent who has set up a business to sell rental insurance has accused landlords of not taking their...
19 July 2021
From: Breaking News
![Council’s civil penalty threat over electrical safety in rental properties](/img/default/lat.png)
Bury council in Greater Manchester has adopted new measures to fine agents or landlords up to £30,000 if their properties fail...
15 July 2021
From: Breaking News
![Media publish photographs of agency’s filthy property after big fine](/img/default/lat.png)
The local media in Manchester have published photographs of a property operated by a lettings agency was found to have multiple...
09 June 2021
From: Breaking News
![Online agency’s new guide to avoid tenants falling victim of scams](/img/default/lat.png)
The online lettings platform Mashroom has set out a list of guidelines it’s offering to prospective tenants to avoid them falling...
04 June 2021
From: Breaking News
![Banning Orders: just 39 issued, three years after implementation](/img/default/lat.png)
Some 39 agents and landlords have had banning orders over the past three years according to a report in The Guardian. Under the...
06 April 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
![Council seeking info on agencies that worked with rogue landlord](/img/default/lat.png)
A council says it’s looking for lettings agencies that worked with a rogue landlord who's been issued with a four year banning order. Bristol...
03 March 2021
From: Breaking News
![London council says licensing regimes ‘make renting fairer’](/img/default/lat.png)
A London council describes two new licensing schemes as ‘making renting fairer’ - even though they are launched during the pandemic. Islington’s Labour...
17 February 2021
From: Breaking News
![Agency director and landlord hit with massive fines](/img/default/lat.png)
Two landlords - one of them an agent - have been given fines totalling £135,000 and must pay costs for failing to...
16 February 2021
From: Breaking News
![London council wants to double the size of HMO licensing regime](/img/default/lat.png)
Lambeth council is consulting agents, landlords and others on its latest licensing proposals for Houses in Multiple Occupation. The new proposals would...
19 January 2021
From: Breaking News
![Lettings firm and director fined for inadequate living conditions](/img/default/lat.png)
A lettings firm has been ordered to pay over £18,000 after failing to provide adequate living conditions for his tenants. Chelmsford magistrates...
11 November 2020
From: Breaking News
![Letting agents must be regulated now insists the Nationwide](/img/default/lat.png)
A new report from the Nationwide and campaigning charity Shelter puts letting agents in the dock over the standards in the...
06 November 2020
From: Breaking News
![London council wants new bureaucracy to manage private renting](/img/default/lat.png)
A London council has launched a strategy it claims will protect private tenants and ensure they live in good quality and...
23 September 2020
From: Breaking News
![Shock bid to block evictions to be made this week in House of Lords](/img/default/lat.png)
A Liberal Democrat Baroness says she is to make a last-ditch bid in the House of Lords tomorrow to stop evictions...
22 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
![Suspended sentences after rental property carried “risk of death”](/img/default/lat.png)
Two suspended sentences, community service, a fine and disqualification from being a director - those form the penalty for a rogue...
10 September 2020
From: Breaking News
![Civil penalty notices served on landlords who cannot be named](/img/default/lat.png)
Two landlords have been served with civil penalty notices for operating unlicensed HMOs. The notices were from Wellingborough council; one was for...
09 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
![Private tenants urged to check if they can get a rent rebate](/img/default/lat.png)
A London council is telling its private rental sector residents to use a new tool to check whether they may be...
27 August 2020
From: Breaking News
![Rogue landlord must pay over £20,000 and “up his game” in future](/img/default/lat.png)
A landlord taken to court by a council has ended up with a bill in excess of £20,000. Dennis Goodwin of Highbury...
21 August 2020
From: Breaking News
![Blistering attack on ‘big name letting agent’ by anti-rental activist](/img/default/lat.png)
The author of a book described as being about “insecure renters haemorrhaging cash” has used her newspaper column to make a...
19 August 2020
From: Breaking News
![Shocking large scale tax evasion by landlords - claim](/img/default/lat.png)
Rogue landlords have been accused of tax evasion which could cost the Treasury as much as £1.73 billion a year. The accusation...
05 August 2020
From: Breaking News
![Section 21: Lib Dems want government to finally scrap it](/img/default/lat.png)
A Liberal Democrat bid is underway to accelerate the government timetable to scrap Section 21. The Renters’ Rights Bill put forward by government...
27 July 2020
From: Breaking News
![Labour claims there are “illegal evictions by letting agents”](/img/default/lat.png)
London Mayor Sadiq Khan, has told the government of “illegal evictions by letting agents” - without specifying the incidents he refers...
14 July 2020
From: Breaking News
![Licensing scheme scaled back after government rejects original](/img/default/lat.png)
The council in Liverpool is likely to propose a scaled-back private rental licensing scheme after its original suggestion was rejected by...
13 July 2020
From: Breaking News
![Rent Repayment Orders - council reveals action against landlords](/img/default/lat.png)
The council at the centre of one of the planning controversies involving Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has issued a warning to...
30 June 2020
From: Breaking News
![Landlords ordered to repay nearly £5,000 after council probe](/img/default/lat.png)
Two Bristol landlords have been ordered to repay nearly £5,000 following investigations by the council’s so called rogue landlord unit. One, Lucy...
24 June 2020
From: Breaking News
![Banned! Rogue landlord stopped after string of offences](/img/default/lat.png)
A westcountry landlord is only the second in England to have received a banning order preventing him from letting or managing...
18 June 2020
From: Breaking News
![Repayment order means £11,000 in rent being returned to tenants](/img/default/lat.png)
Rent to the value of £10,982.25 is to be returned to tenants by a landlord who was operating without a licence. Mrs...
05 June 2020
From: Breaking News
![Labour council defies government advice and attacks “dodgy operators”](/img/default/lat.png)
Government advice to local authorities to sit tight with new licensing proposals during the Coronavirus pandemic appears to have been ignored...
27 May 2020
From: Breaking News
![Suspended jail sentence after rental property’s safety failure](/img/default/lat.png)
A landlord from Plymouth has been sentenced after failing to maintain gas appliances and failing to have landlord’s gas safety checks...
18 March 2020
From: Breaking News
12 March 2020
From: Breaking News
![£87,000 fine after rental flats declared “serious risk to life”](/img/default/lat.png)
A buy to let investor has been found guilty of letting out poor quality living accommodation that was said to pose...
10 March 2020
From: Breaking News
![Activists angry at councils not taking action over 'unsafe' homes](/img/default/lat.png)
Pressure group Generation Rent claims half of London’s councils did not fine any landlords for letting out unsafe homes in the...
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
![Nine years’ rent confiscated after flats declared illegal](/img/default/lat.png)
A landlord has been ordered to pay back no less than £190,000 - equivalent to nine years’ rent - after he...
27 February 2020
From: Breaking News
![Tenant ‘financially exploited and harassed’ by landlord, claims council](/img/default/lat.png)
A landlord has been ordered to pay nearly £6,000 in fines and costs after pleading guilty to harassing and financially exploiting...
27 February 2020
From: Breaking News
![Council steps in to prevent tenants having to use outside staircase](/img/default/lat.png)
A council’s intervention has stopped a landlord forcing his private tenants to use an external staircase to enter their home -...
27 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
![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
![Labour council wants rent controls in London borough](/img/default/lat.png)
A London Labour council wants to introduce rent controls to its borough. The South London Press reports that Lambeth councillors have voted through...
06 February 2020
From: Breaking News
![Multiple prosecutions as council names and shames rogues](/img/default/lat.png)
A council has prosecuted five private landlords who failed to get licences for the properties they let out. Oldham council says its...
05 February 2020
From: Breaking News
![Fatal fire in unlicensed house leads to fine and entry on rogues database](/img/default/lat.png)
A judge has ordered two landlords to pay a total of £14,858 for illegally renting out an unlicensed house without working...
30 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
![Banning Orders could rise this year after councils win extra cash](/img/default/lat.png)
Councils that have been awarded additional cash injections by government could use their windfalls to enhance their enforcement of the private...
20 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
![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
![Trade bodies back latest rogue agent and landlord clampdown](/img/default/lat.png)
The Association of Residential Letting Agents and The Guild of Property Professionals have both given their backing to the government’s latest...
06 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
![No timetable for controversial Renters’ Reform Bill](/img/default/lat.png)
No date has been set by government for the second reading of the Renters' Reform Bill 2019-20. The Bill was announced in...
27 December 2019
From: Breaking News
![Did court case cost more than the fine for this rogue landlord?](/img/default/lat.png)
A rogue landlord has been fined £1,384 for failing to get a council licence for two buy to let properties. The case...
27 December 2019
From: Breaking News
![Move out in one hour! Intimidating landlord to be sentenced](/img/default/lat.png)
A rogue landlord has been found guilty of unlawful harassment and misleading and aggressive practices, and will be sentenced next month. Ragoopathy...
24 December 2019
From: Breaking News
![Banned! Man cannot be letting agent or landlord for 30 months](/img/default/lat.png)
A landlord has been banned for two and half years after repeatedly putting tenants’ lives at risk by letting unsafe housing. This...
18 December 2019
From: Breaking News
![Allow lenders to see rogue landlord database, says mortgage chief](/img/default/lat.png)
A prominent buy to let mortgage chief says lenders should be able to access the rogue landlord database launched last year. John...