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
![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
![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
![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
![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
![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
![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
![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
![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
![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
![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
![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
![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
![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
![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
![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
![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
![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
![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
![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
![Dawn raid finds 17 tenants crammed into sub-let HMO](/img/default/lat.png)
A dawn raid by enforcement officers from a London council has discovered 17 men sleeping on mattresses in a three bedroom...
29 November 2019
From: Breaking News
![The next generation of renters has arrived. Are you ready to find them a home?](/img/default/lat.png)
You don’t need to go far for news about the UK lettings market. From the banning of tenant fees to proposed...
27 November 2019
From: Sponsored Content
![Labour’s shock £100,000 fines for substandard rental properties](/img/default/lat.png)
Labour has given shocking new details of its proposals for the private rental sector including £100.000 fines if properties are deemed...
25 November 2019
From: Breaking News
![Mandatory licensing, long tenancies, rent controls advocated by LibDems](/img/default/lat.png)
The Liberal Democrats is the first of the major parties to release its party manifesto for the December 12 manifesto, and...
21 November 2019
From: Breaking News
![Penalty notices may be issued after 500-plus complaints by tenants](/img/default/lat.png)
A local council claims it has received over 500 complaints from private rental tenants since the start of April - approaching...
19 November 2019
From: Breaking News
![Don’t scrap licensing, streamline it says accreditation scheme](/img/default/lat.png)
The safeagent accreditation scheme says the next government should not scrap landlord licensing as some trade groups have requested, but should...
12 November 2019
From: Breaking News
![London Labour Mayor repeats his call for rent controls](/img/default/lat.png)
London’s Labour Mayor, Sadiq Khan, has returned to his campaign to win powers which would allow him to impose rent controls. Khan...
08 November 2019
From: Breaking News
![Government backs council licensing, gives millions more for enforcement](/img/default/lat.png)
The government has given an extra £3.8m to councils to come up with ways of catching rogue landlords - and in...
05 November 2019
From: Breaking News
![Industry wants short-let controls, review of landlord tax and stamp duty eased](/img/default/lat.png)
The Association of Residential Letting Agents and the National Association of Estate Agents have issued their manifesto for next month’s General...
05 November 2019
From: Breaking News
![Tenants should speak out against rogue landlords, urges council](/img/default/lat.png)
A seaside council has issued over £15,000 in fines to owners of unlicensed HMOs. Torbay council in south Devon adds that “a...
23 October 2019
From: Breaking News
![Section 21 reform slammed with warning it may backfire on tenants](/img/default/lat.png)
Government plans to end so-called ‘no fault’ evictions may backfire and not improve tenants’ security at all. That’s the warning from Osbornes...
15 October 2019
From: Breaking News
![Local authorities provided with rogue agent and landlord enforcement toolkit](/img/default/lat.png)
The government has this week published a learning toolkit for local authorities to help them with enforcement against rogue landlords and...
03 October 2019
From: Breaking News
![Housing Minister backs first-ever Banning Order used on rogue landlord](/img/default/lat.png)
A Shropshire man has become the first in England to be banned from being a landlord. In a case brought by Telford...
19 September 2019
From: Breaking News
![Corbyn's council appoints a private renters' champion](/img/default/lat.png)
A Labour councillor on Islington council - which is controlled by the party and has Jeremy Corbyn as a local member...
17 September 2019
From: Breaking News
![ARLA wants agents and tenants to access rogue landlord database](/img/default/lat.png)
The Association of Residential Letting Agents wants agents and tenants to have access to the government’s high profile but so far...
09 September 2019
From: Breaking News
![Labour council issues Fixed Penalty Notice on buy to let investor](/img/default/lat.png)
Birmingham council has issued its first civil penalty against a House in Multiple Occupation landlord - and it says that move...
03 September 2019
From: Breaking News
![Council uses drone to identify illegal rental ‘beds in sheds’](/img/default/lat.png)
A council has used a drone with a thermal imaging camera to identify illegal ‘sheds’ where tenants are being rented beds...
03 September 2019
From: Breaking News
![£140,000 in fines for buy to let couple failing to maintain properties](/img/default/lat.png)
A husband and wife pair of buy to let investors have been prosecuted after letting out a property that contained serious...
29 August 2019
From: Breaking News
![Labour reveals five point plan to organise tenants against landlords](/img/default/lat.png)
The Labour Party appears to be entering the arena of organising private rental sector tenants who have grievances. Party leader Jeremy Corbyn...
19 August 2019
From: Breaking News
![Government gives Labour council £200k for new rental clampdown](/img/default/lat.png)
A Labour council which has become famous for its critical approach to the private rental sector has now been given almost £200,000...
14 August 2019
From: Breaking News
![Banned sales agents ‘could be setting up rogue lettings firms’ - claim](/img/default/lat.png)
The Association of Residential Lettings Agents says it fears the government needs to do more to prevent the possibility of banned...
23 July 2019
From: Breaking News
![Concern as government hints at wider scope for ‘rogues database’](/img/default/lat.png)
There’s been a sceptical response to news leaked from government over the weekend suggesting that a database of rogue landlords would...
22 July 2019
From: Breaking News
![Government slated by Tory MP and agency chief over Sections 21 and 24](/img/default/lat.png)
The chairman of Hunters estate agency, who is also a Conservative MP, has hit out at the government over its handling...
12 July 2019
From: Breaking News
![Over 200 breaches of tenant deposits’ law, research shows](/img/default/lat.png)
In the past 18 months more than 200 landlords from across Scotland have been found to be in breach of a...
12 July 2019
From: Breaking News
![Agent convicted after ignoring council requests over licensing](/img/default/lat.png)
A managing agent has been convicted by a local council for failing to properly license his property. Leon Hill, of Leighton Buzzard,...
10 July 2019
From: Breaking News
![Managing agent and landlords in court for 25 HMO offences](/img/default/lat.png)
A managing agent and several landlords have been fined almost £5,000 after forcing tenants to live in unacceptable conditions in a...
24 June 2019
From: Breaking News
![Anti-agent activists want £10k to create app to 'mobilise' supporters](/img/default/lat.png)
An activists’s group which in the past has held protests immediately outside letting agents’ offices is appealing for £10,000 to develop...
21 June 2019
From: Breaking News
![Anti-rental activists in bust up with council over landlord licensing](/img/default/lat.png)
A group of activists has expressed outrage over a council’s private rental licensing scheme, claiming it is too small to catch...
20 June 2019
From: Breaking News
![Free property listings for agents on new student accommodation platform](/img/default/lat.png)
A new PropTech start-up that claims to make student house-hunting easier is offering free listings to lettings agents with London properties. Polygon...
02 May 2019
From: Breaking News
![Buy To Let with no windows and no heating lands couple in court](/img/default/lat.png)
Two rogue landlords have been convicted of failing to comply with a Prohibition Order on the rental property they owned. Sandeep Jarjapu...
01 May 2019
From: Breaking News
![Husband and wife must pay £8,000 after 17 beds found in bungalow to let](/img/default/lat.png)
A husband and wife must pay joint fines, penalties and costs totalling over £8,000 after complaints about a bungalow they owned...
23 April 2019
From: Breaking News
![Banning Orders Flop: not even one issued after 12 months](/img/default/lat.png)
A Freedom of Information request by The Guardian newspaper has produced the startling admission from government that not even one landlord...
17 April 2019
From: Breaking News
![Council crackdown on buy to let rogues gets new online back-up](/img/default/lat.png)
The government has beefed up its support for councils identifying and prosecuting rogue landlords. Yesterday the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local...
10 April 2019
From: Breaking News
![Civil Penalty Notices served on pair who failed to improve buy to lets](/img/default/lat.png)
Two buy to let investors have been fined thousands of pounds after failing to carry out improvements to unfit rental properties. Adur...
05 April 2019
From: Breaking News
![Revealed: councils’ feeble enforcement against rogue operators](/img/default/lat.png)
Figures given through a Parliamentary answer have revealed just how bad councils in England are at policing and enforcement action against...