Archive

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

Councils that have been awarded additional cash injections by government could use their windfalls to enhance their enforcement of the private...

The fallout continues over the government’s shock refusal to allow Liverpool council to continue its huge landlord licensing scheme. Yesterday we reported that...

The Labour party has mocked the government’s £4m new funding for councils to combat rogue agents and landlords as “puny.” A statement...

The Association of Residential Letting Agents and The Guild of Property Professionals have both given their backing to the government’s latest...

The government has announced an additional £4m in funding for local councils to combat rogue agents and landlords - but it’s...

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

You don’t need to go far for news about the UK lettings market. From the banning of tenant fees to proposed...

Labour has given shocking new details of its proposals for the private rental sector including £100.000 fines if properties are deemed...

The Liberal Democrats is the first of the major parties to release its party manifesto for the December 12 manifesto, and...

A local council claims it has received over 500 complaints from private rental tenants since the start of April - approaching...

The safeagent accreditation scheme says the next government should not scrap landlord licensing as some trade groups have requested, but should...

London’s Labour Mayor, Sadiq Khan, has returned to his campaign to win powers which would allow him to impose rent controls. Khan...

The government has given an extra £3.8m to councils to come up with ways of catching rogue landlords - and in...

The Association of Residential Letting Agents and the National Association of Estate Agents have issued their manifesto for next month’s General...

A seaside council has issued over £15,000 in fines to owners of unlicensed HMOs.  Torbay council in south Devon adds that “a...

Government plans to end so-called ‘no fault’ evictions may backfire and not improve tenants’ security at all. That’s the warning from Osbornes...

The government has this week published a learning toolkit for local authorities to help them with enforcement against rogue landlords and...

A Shropshire man has become the first in England to be banned from being a landlord.  In a case brought by Telford...

A Labour councillor on Islington council - which is controlled by the party and has Jeremy Corbyn as a local member...

The Association of Residential Letting Agents wants agents and tenants to have access to the government’s high profile but so far...

Birmingham council has issued its first civil penalty against a House in Multiple Occupation landlord - and it says that move...

A council has used a drone with a thermal imaging camera to identify illegal ‘sheds’ where tenants are being rented beds...

A husband and wife pair of buy to let investors have been prosecuted after letting out a property that contained serious...

The Labour Party appears to be entering the arena of organising private rental sector tenants who have grievances. Party leader Jeremy Corbyn...

A Labour council which has become famous for its critical approach to the private rental sector has now been given almost £200,000...

The Association of Residential Lettings Agents says it fears the government needs to do more to prevent the possibility of banned...

There’s been a sceptical response to news leaked from government over the weekend suggesting that a database of rogue landlords would...

The chairman of Hunters estate agency, who is also a Conservative MP, has hit out at the government over its handling...

In the past 18 months more than 200 landlords from across Scotland have been found to be in breach of a...

A managing agent has been convicted by a local council for failing to properly license his property. Leon Hill, of Leighton Buzzard,...

A managing agent and several landlords have been fined almost £5,000 after forcing tenants to live in unacceptable conditions in a...

An activists’s group which in the past has held protests immediately outside letting agents’ offices is appealing for £10,000 to develop...

A group of activists has expressed outrage over a council’s private rental licensing scheme, claiming it is too small to catch...

A new PropTech start-up that claims to make student house-hunting easier is offering free listings to lettings agents with London properties. Polygon...

Two rogue landlords have been convicted of failing to comply with a Prohibition Order on the rental property they owned. Sandeep Jarjapu...

A husband and wife must pay joint fines, penalties and costs totalling over £8,000 after complaints about a bungalow they owned...

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

The government has beefed up its support for councils identifying and prosecuting rogue landlords. Yesterday the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local...

Two buy to let investors have been fined thousands of pounds after failing to carry out improvements to unfit rental properties. Adur...

Figures given through a Parliamentary answer have revealed just how bad councils in England are at policing and enforcement action against...

Two landlords have been ordered to pay more than £30,000 for breaching fire safety and over-occupancy licence conditions at their House...

A buy to let investor has been landed with a fine and costs of over £20,000 because he failed to apply...

New figures from a leading trade body suggest that councils across England have cut by a quarter the amount they are...

Just when you thought there could not be any more rival licensing or accreditation systems in the private rental sector, a...

Hounslow council wants its additional licensing scheme for HMOs - due to expire in May 2019 - to be extended for...

The news this week that even individual private landlords must join a redress scheme is just the latest in an onslaught...

More than 50 councils across the country will share nearly £2.4m of extra government funding to crack down on rogue landlords. Among...

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

Three brothers and a property management company have received fines and a confiscation order, and must pay costs, following what a...

A local authority has taken the unusual step of issuing a celebratory press release stating that it issued penalty notices adding...

The owner of a buy to let property already shut by police has been fined by a court in Devon.  In June...

A local authority claims that a court decision may set a legal precedent for other councils across the UK using the...

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

A couple from east London who illegally converted a town centre office block into 14 flats have been ordered to pay...

Agents and landlords have united against what is being seen as the latest attack on the private rental sector by the...

The head of a lettings agency has launched a petition in opposition to a bid by a local council to extend...

A government minister says the phrase ”rogue landlord” is too “cuddly” and he wants buy to let investors who broke the...

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

A buy to let investor has been forced to close down two rat infested homes he owns in Rotherham after they...

A lettings trade body has welcomed extra government funding for English councils to clamp down on criminal landlords. But the Residential Landlords...

Local authorities across the UK are to get another £2m to crack down on rogue operators in the buy to let...

The party conferences of the two main political parties threw up some interesting developments with regards to housing and the rental...

The Labour MP who chairs the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee in the House of Commons is pressing the government...

Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell has made a clear pledge to tighten regulations surrounding the private rental sector. In an interview with The...

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

Havering council in London has issued £261,750 in penalty notices to what it calls ‘criminals’ operating in the private rental sector.  Between...

The Guardian says the government is committed to making a datebase of rogue letting agents and landlords available to tenants. The newspaper quotes...

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 policy director of the Residential Landlords Association (RLA) is calling on local councils to use the 'extensive powers' they have...

A local authority has taken the unusual step of naming seven buy to let landlords prosecuted in the past month in...

Negative media portrayals of the buy to let sector could help to tip Britain into a housing crisis, claims an online...

A London council has agreed to a TV crew taking part in a raid on an overcrowded and unlicensed HMO. The surprise...

More big fines have been handed out in recent legal action regarding buy to let investors who have not stuck by...

Which?, the consumer body that appears to be taking an increasingly-aggressive line against letting agents and landlords, has now issued a...

From August 1 Nottingham council is introducing a new selective licensing regime covering an estimated 32,000 privately rented homes. This is an...

A tenant who was ripping off other tenants in an overcrowded bungalow "death trap" has been fined tens of thousands of...

Councillors in Stockton-on-Tees are under pressure to rethink plans to introduce Selective Licensing of private rented housing in two areas of...

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

A respected property lawyer says she wants a change in the law to prevent unscrupulous landlords from offering accommodation in return for sex.  Liz...

A students’ union is the latest body to partner a review platform allowing renters to give their verdict on dealing with...

Property expert Kate Faulkner says the massive surge in new regulations, legislation and fiscal measures aimed at the private rental sector...

A head tenant who changed the locks on a property that was illegally sublet to no fewer than 35 men has...

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

A council leader in London, so outraged after a bust of a rogue lettings property, has asked: “What kind of monster...

Renee Wells, on behalf of Just Landlords, has compiled a list of what letting agents can do to ensure that tenants...

Spicerhaart says that with the lettings agency industry under attack there is a danger of some within the sector focussing too...

A lettings agency has been fined over £20,000 for failing to licence an overcrowded semi detached house in London. The fine was...

The government has been told is should simply adopt some Labour rental policies or risk losing the next General Election -...

A TV show on Channel 5 this evening may well serve as a warning to letting agents about the dangers of...

Council officers staged a dawn raid to uncover an unlicensed HMO in north London. The team discovered 10 men and women sleeping...

A statement from the government has repeated its determination to clean up the private rental sector through a series of measures,...

A rogue lettings agency which is no longer trading is to be featured in a TV documentary this evening on Channel...

ARLA has branded the government’s long-awaited database of rogue landlords as “pointless” because it will not be made public. The Ministry of...

Two landlords have been hit with hefty court fines for failing to comply with a local licensing scheme. The pair are the...

A couple who illegally converted an office block into 14 flats have been found guilty for disregarding planning laws - and...

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

Crooked landlords and letting agents were convicted of stealing £1,162,037 of tenant’s cash in 2017 – a rise of 14 per...

Two buy to let investors have been fined a total of more than £27,000 under enforcement powers introduced in Burnley to...

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

Two landlords and two tenants were fined a total of over £11,000 after losing their appeal against housing convictions concerning property...

Romans has thrown its weight behind the banning orders being introduced in April which could see rogue letting agents and landlords...

The Association of Residential Letting Agents and other trade bodies have not yet responded to the government’s announcement over the holiday...

The government has released more details on long-discussed proposals to tighten up licensing in the private rental sector. It wants landlords in...

The first London boroughs are now rolling out the Greater London Authority’s ‘Rogue Landlord and Agent Checker’ - allowing tenants to...

Prime minister Theresa May has repeated that the current government will not introduce rent controls in the private sector. The issue of...

The landlord of an HMO has been fined £3,300 for failures to meet his obligations, particularly regarding fire safety. At Northampton magistrates...

A database of rogue letting agents and landlords and new banning orders, first promised in the Housing and Planning Act announced...

The Conveyancing Association has made a wide-ranging response to the government’s call for evidence on the regulation of letting and managing...

The National Landlords Association reports that Bournemouth council has taken the unusual step of rejecting a proposal to introduce a landlord licensing...

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

A lettings agency chief who monitors legal action against rogue agencies and landlords says almost £850,000 of deposits have been stolen...

The Secretary of State for Wales has called on the Welsh Government to take measures against what he calls “unjust fees...

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

The powerful and all-party Communities & Local Government Select Committee of MPs has launched a new enquiry into improving the quality...

PropTech firm PayProp has welcomed the latest measures to clamp down on rogue elements within the lettings industry - but warns...

The National Landlords’ Association says the extra £2 billion in funding made available by the government for additional affordable housing may...

The head of a property management company is calling on the government to introduce a tenants' register which would help rogue...

A family of rogue landlords who crammed 31 tenants into a 'Slumdog Millionaire'-style shanty home have this month been found guilty...

The Liberal Democrats want a raft of additional controls on the private rented sector aimed at addressing what it describes as...

The Conservatives should introduce rent controls to kick-start a seaside town renaissance, suggests an organisation set up originally by the David Cameron...

The National Approved Lettings Scheme has called for the London Mayor’s new rogue agents’ database to be extended to include those...

Letting agents who have broken the law are set to be ‘named and shamed’ by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan,...

The Residential Landlords Association has broken ranks with the Association of Residential Letting Agents by opposing an ARLA-backed public database of...

A trade body has suggested that the General Election on June 8 may lead to a government with new priorities, meaning...

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says she has been “horrified” to read allegations of some property owners offering rent-free accommodation in...

A body representing 370 councils in England and Wales wants the government to close a legal loophole which allows the conversion...

The government has issued a new statement saying unequivocally that letting agents’ fees on tenants will be banned in England -...

An advice website claims that more than half of the privately rented properties in the selective licensing area imposed by a...

A trade body has backed government plans to introduce so-called ‘banning orders’ for rogue letting agents and landlords, but it says...

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

The government has announced in its Housing White Paper that it is still “working with industry experts” to consider whether Client...

A senior Labour politician in a London borough has branded so-called ‘rip off landlords’ as “the scourge of London.”   Councillor Laila Butt,...

One of London’s leading politicians has created guidelines to help individuals ‘secret shop’ in a bid to expose what she claims...

A leading personal finance journalist - and a former editor of Landlord Today - has used the columns of right wing...

Sheffield council claims it receives 2,000 complaints relating to private rental sector conditions each year - and in one month it...

The National Landlords Association has rejected a central plank of London mayor Sadiq Khan’s plan for housing - the introduction of yet more...

The government has launched an official consultation process on a package of measures to crack down on what it calls ‘rogue...

A council believes that a landlord was “putting tenants’ lives in danger” because he did not have local authority licenses for...

Unsafe gas appliances have been found in 21 per cent of privately-rented flats and houses according to Gas Safe Register.   Investigation data...

Councils in eight of London's 32 boroughs have failed to prosecute even a single landlord for providing unsafe accommodation during the...

Age UK says the number of older people renting in the private sector is set to soar in the near future...

Two landlords must pay a combined total of over £300,000 following legal action by a central London council.    Westminster council claimed that...

A pair of landlords have been slapped with a hefty fine for allowing people to live in damp-riddled rooms without fire...

The BBC is claiming that vulnerable families are being exploited by rogue landlords in Glasgow - including in the constituency for...

Two private landlords have been found guilty of failing to obtain the appropriate licenses for their properties.   Jagtar and Jagdish Kandola, who...

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

Yet another council private rental sector licensing scheme is being drawn up with the claim that it will improve standards of...

Two landlords have received fines totalling £3,000 – and were ordered to pay costs of nearly £2,000 - after failing to...

Citizens Advice claims that 2,087 people asked it for help after being threatened with what it describes as ‘illegal eviction’ in...

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

Bexley council in south east London says it is going to announce what it describes as a “crackdown” on HMOs next...

An investment company claims government and councils should do more to stamp out so-called rogue landlords who, it says, are giving...

A row has broken out between landlords and the council in Oxford, where the local authority is considering a private rental...

An industry body is warning new London Labour mayor Sadiq Khan not to think he is helping renters by tying up...

There was a series of raids on HMOs led by a local authority early one morning at the end of last...

A landlord has been prosecuted for both illegal sub-letting and illegal eviction at the same time - an occurrence which is...

Before new London mayor Sadiq Khan has had his first working day in office, his proposals for a private rental sector...

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

A leading trade body has called for the Housing and Planning Bill now going through parliament to be widened to include...

The 1,000th person has been trained as part of Rent Smart Wales, the compulsory scheme that says it aims to raise...

Two buy to let investors who breached planning regulations by converting a house into seven studio flats have been ordered to...

The demonisation of agents continues with the launch of a web-based application designed to “enable local authorities to take action against rogue...

An unauthorised outhouse with a concealed entrance constructed at the back of a residential property in west London - one of...

Haringey Council in North London is the latest local authority to launch its own letting agency for private tenants. Move 51⁰ North...

Some 66% of landlords predict more rental sector turbulence in this week's Budget, according to research by property crowdfunding platform The...

Labour’s candidate for the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has published his manifesto which returns to the party’s recent themes of...

The internet classified listings service Gumtree will meet with the Residential Landlords Association to discuss scams in which fraudsters posing as...

Enforcement officers from Barking and Dagenham council, one of the most active in chasing up private rental sector issues, has discovered...

A campaign group which last year held protests outside letting agents’ offices in Bristol is claiming victory in persuading the city’s...

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

Labour MP Karen Buck is accusing local authorities of taking a ’softly, softly’ approach to rogue letting agents and landlords. Buck, whose...

MPs have given their backing to a government proposal to ban rogue letting agents and landlords who repeatedly break private rental...

Eviction specialist company Landlord Action wants the government to complement its action against rogue letting agents and tenants with a ‘rogue...

The Housing and Planning Bill returns to the House of Commons tomorrow when the remaining stages of the legislation resume after...

It may be almost Christmas but the government is this week unveiling new laws to combat what it sees as the...

Two landlords of HMOs have been prosecuted for failing to license their properties - and now have to pay fines of...

An organisation representing councils wants a government database covering all housing-related convictions to deter rogue landlords switching from one area to...

The Citizens Advice Bureau consumer charity has stepped up its campaign about poor standards in the private rental sector. It claims private...

SAFEagent is calling on the government to use the passage of the Housing Bill through Parliament to make a Client Money...

A property investment search portal has launched an online petition via the UK Parliament website, calling for a national register of...

Generation Rent, the lobby group which recently narrowly escaped folding because of a lack of financial support, wants the public to...

One council’s attempt to crack down on rogue landlords has been branded a "complete failure" because half of its HMOs are...

The Department of Communities and Local Government has published a summary of the 600 responses it has received to its recent...

The Residential Landlords Association is calling on MPs to support a measure being proposed in the House of Commons that would...

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

The specialist eviction company Landlord Action says it is in full support of the government’s latest proposal to crack down on...

The government is proposing a national minimum bedroom size and a re-defining of what constitutes a House in Multiple Occupation in...

Two rogue landlords who collected rent from more than 30 tenants in five sub-standard houses all on the same street have...

A council has set up an anti-fraud tool to prevent social housing being illegally sub-let under the pretence of being private...

There has been a mixed response from the private rental industry following the announcement that Right To Rent checks will become mandatory...

A landlord has admitted letting sub-standard HMOs to 30 people without being registered with his local authority. Plymouth landlord John Mayer pleaded...

A senior Conservative MP is urging the government to give councils the power to issue rogue landlords with on-the-spot fines. Oliver Colville,...

It’s been a bad weekend for the image of the private rental sector with a series of reports and press stories...

Labour MP Karen Buck want private tenants to be able to sue their landlords if they rent in what are considered...

The PRS, one of three authorised redress schemes, is backing a ‘Fair Lettings’ campaign being introduced by Camden council in London. It...

The Associational of Residential Letting Agents has spoken up in favour of most of the provisions in the new Housing and...

Eviction specialists at Landlord Action are raising concerns as to whether there are sufficient resources, especially at local council level, to...

An opinion poll's findings, released to back up a call for tougher controls in the private rental sector, suggests 71 per...

A body representing over 370 local councils in England and Wales wants more powers to control the private rental sector, letting...

Housing minister Brandon Lewis has made it clear that Build To Let - the investment by institutions to build and then...

New student tenants have been urged to be vigilent and not fall victim to fake online letting agents and landlords. The National...

Campaigning charity Shelter has renewed its attack on the private rental sector, claiming that 125,000 tenants have suffered abusive behaviour from...

A letting agency has announced its support for new rules which will allow landlords to evict illegal immigrants without a court...

Enforcement officers have swooped on three addresses in east London in the latest bid to clampdown on rogue landlords and so-called...

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

The Citizens Advice charity is urging people to lobby for more controls over the private rental sector, letting agents and landlords,...

Students in rented housing are being let down by a small number of bad landlords and a failure by local authorities...

Letting agents and other industry professionals are being consulted ver changes to the sector’s regulation - including possible blacklisting of rogue...

A couple from Cambridgeshire have been fined £10,000 and ordered to hand over in excess of £75,000 after repeatedly renting out...

There has been a mixed reaction to the government’s announcement that agents and landlords face jail if they fail to conduct...

Agents and landlords who fail to identify and evict tenants who are illegal immigrants face up to five years in jail...

The Channel Five series Nightmare Tenants, Slum Landlords - which ends its first series this evening at 9pm - has been...

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...

Yet another council is proposing a licence on properties let out in the private rental sector - this time suggesting one...

I don't think there is one person in lettings and property management who isn't alarmed at the scenes just over the...

Father and son rogue landlords have been fined for failing to register their property as a house in multiple occupancy. Sabbir and...

A newspaper claims that Labour leadership hopeful Andy Burnham will this week announce that, should he head the party and eventually...

A Tory MP is today introducing a Bill that will make it much easier for authorities to identify criminal landlords. The measure...

The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) is calling for more effective action to find the minority of landlords who are criminals. The Association...

In 2007, the government introduced a compulsory deposit protection scheme as part of the Housing Act 2004 to help protect tenants...

The National Landlords Association has accused the Citizens Advice report of using “loose definitions to compound a perception that private housing...

The Residential Landlords Association is calling for better enforcement of existing laws and regulations to protect tenants in private rented housing. In...

The Citizens Advice organisation has returned to the attack on the private rental sector, accusing rogue landlords of raking in £5.6...

A Conservative government means good news in the shape of a reduction in bureaurcracy for the private rental sector - but...

Property industry figures opposed to Labour plans to impose three year tenancies and rent caps should lobby candidates in a bid...

Labour’s onslaught on the private rental sector continues, with the party now setting out how it will implement its rent controls...