A new borough-wide landlord licensing scheme is set to launch in the London borough of Brent on April 1, the council...
Archive
Labour has waded into the increasingly-fractious debate over the Renters Reform Bill. Activists in groups such as the Renters Reform Coalition and...
29 February 2024
From: Breaking News
![Huge number of new rental licensing schemes set for 2024](/upload/images/shutterstock_1937885968.jpg)
A survey of local council private rental licensing schemes says 19 selective and additional licensing schemes and consultations will be taking...
09 February 2024
From: Breaking News
![Will 2024 see the end of private rental sector licensing?](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Property%20Market/_licensing-400x310.png)
Housing Secretary Michael Gove has given what some commentators have interpreted as a sign that private rental sector licensing from councils...
27 December 2023
From: Breaking News
![Leading agent angry over licensing lack of communications](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Property%20Market/_licensing-400x310.png)
A high profile lettings agent has written to his local council seeking information about an Additional Licensing scheme which has expired...
04 October 2023
From: Breaking News
![Agency in the dock for failing to licence rental property](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Property%20Market/_licensing1-400x310.png)
An agency has been fined by a London council for failing to licence a property it was managing. Gracechurch Property Services has...
21 September 2023
From: Breaking News
![Labour boss says “uninterested agents” force tenants to “disgusting conditions”](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Rental%20Market/TenantDispute-400x310.png)
Two massive new rental licensing schemes are set to be approved in Brighton - and part of the reason is “uninterested...
14 September 2023
From: Breaking News
![Agents have two months to tell council licensing bosses what they think](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Property%20Market/_licensing-400x310.png)
There’s to be a consultation this autumn about a proposed selective licensing regime in Scarborough. The proposal covers parts of the Castle,...
12 September 2023
From: Breaking News
![Council “deluged” with complaints about private rental homes](/upload/images/shutterstock_269047922.jpg)
Landlords of more than 5,000 homes must register for a license and ensure their tenants have good quality housing or face...
25 July 2023
From: Breaking News
![Root and branch HMO crackdown on the agenda for council](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Property%20Market/PropertyNews3-400x310.png)
A new action plan to tackle issues around HMOs is being drawn up by a Midlands council next week. West Northamptonshire council’s...
06 July 2023
From: Breaking News
![Agents hit with record licensing fines says PropTech firm](/upload/images/Fine.jpg)
London letting agents and landlords have so far been hit with more than £900,000 in fines in the first half of...
05 July 2023
From: Breaking News
![Agents told ‘Get A Move On’ as licensing scheme flags](/upload/images/Rental%20Market/Licenseimage400x310.jpg)
A council has told letting agents to ‘get a move on’ as it admits there’s been a slow start to its...
20 June 2023
From: Breaking News
![Beef Up Selective Licensing - think tank recommendations](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Property%20Market/_licensing1-400x310.png)
A left-leaning think tank which says it champions ‘left-behind Londoners’ is demanding a turbo-charged version of selective licensing to be run...
26 May 2023
From: Breaking News
![Stamp Duty Surcharge: Labour considers raising it even higher](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Property%20Market/StampDutyRates_400x310.png)
Labour is considering raising the buy to let and holiday home stamp duty surcharge above the current three per cent if...
12 May 2023
From: Breaking News
![Rogue agency hit with big fine for failing to licence properties](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Rental%20Market/Fine-3-400x310.png)
An estate agency has been prosecuted and ordered to pay £35,000 for falling foul of property licensing rules. Green House Estate Agents...
17 February 2023
From: Breaking News
![Agents invited to virtual forum to discuss new licensing schemes](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/PropTech/Webinar-400x310.png)
Letting agents and landlords are invited to join a virtual forum for a further update on new licensing requirements and to...
25 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
![Training for agents handling new council licensing scheme](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/PropTech/PropTech2-400x310.png)
A London borough is tomorrow holding an online training session for agents and landlords on how to submit a licence application...
06 December 2022
From: Breaking News
![London council kicks off three month licensing consultation](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Rental%20Market/HouseInspection_400x310.png)
Over the next three months Redbridge council in London is consulting on proposals to renew selective licensing in the borough. It says...
14 November 2022
From: Breaking News
![Britain’s most controversial rental licensing - questions being asked](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Property%20Market/_licensing-400x310.png)
A scheme which some regard as the most controversial landlord licensing regime in the country is coming under scrutiny. Labour councillors on...
18 October 2022
From: Breaking News
![Government backs unusual licensing scheme linked to EPCs](/upload/images/library/EPCRating-400x310.png)
An extension to a private rental property licensing scheme in London has been given the green light by the government. Haringey council’s...
26 August 2022
From: Breaking News
![Agency warns licensing won’t stop rogues and may deter good landlords](/upload/images/Housing%20Market%20%26%20Property%20Images/HousingMarketStockImage-2-400x310.jpg)
A lettings agency says the cost of living crisis calls into question the viability of a selective licensing scheme in its...
05 August 2022
From: Breaking News
![Pilot scheme finds high proportion of rental homes need work - claim](/upload/images/Rental%20Market/LandlordLicensing-4-400x310.jpg)
A council claims that a pilot licensing scheme has discovered a very high proportion of rental homes requiring improvement. Plans to extend...
01 July 2022
From: Breaking News
![Rental reform may be bogged down after elections, warns supplier](/upload/images/Logos/aiic-logo400x310.png)
Last month’s local election results could yet impact on the private rental sector, a prominent industry supplier claims. The Association of Independent...
06 June 2022
From: Breaking News
![Government says city’s entire private rental sector must have licensing](/upload/images/Housing%20Market%20%26%20Property%20Images/PropertyTransaction-400x310.jpg)
All private rented homes in Oxford will need a licence from this September, following a green light from the government. Some 49.3...
28 April 2022
From: Breaking News
![Licensing Momentum Grows - two London boroughs consulting](/upload/images/Locations/LondonMap400x310-min.png)
Two more London boroughs are consulting about licensing schemes which will require landlords or their agents to pay hundreds of pounds...
31 March 2022
From: Breaking News
![Lettings licensing success justifies new five year extension - claim](/upload/images/Rental%20Market/LandlordLicensing-4-400x310.jpg)
Another council is to conduct a consultation process to expand selective and additional licensing schemes for the next five years. Under existing...
28 March 2022
From: Breaking News
![Labour council extends already-large licensing scheme](/upload/images/library/Labour-logo400x310.png)
Bristol council has approved plans to introduce licensing in more parts of the city. Additional Licensing and Selective Licensing schemes will be...
20 December 2021
From: Breaking News
![One of UK’s largest licensing schemes revealed - consultation starts today](/upload/images/Rental%20Market/LandlordLicensing-4-400x310.jpg)
Consultation begins today on a selective licensing scheme for privately rented housing in 25 wards of Birmingham. Under the suggested scheme, all...
25 October 2021
From: Breaking News
![Was agent fined merely for helping his mother manage a property?](/img/default/lat.png)
A bizarre fine imposed on a managing agent by a local authority appears to have been reversed because the council flouted...
18 August 2021
From: Breaking News
![Another rental property licensing scheme consultation launched](/img/default/lat.png)
A proposal for one of the country’s largest ever private rental sector licensing schemes has gone out to consultation. Manchester’s Labour council...
22 June 2021
From: Breaking News
![London council says licensing needed as third of homes privately rented](/img/default/lat.png)
A London council has embarked on consultation over two new private rental licensing schemes - and says they are needed as...
23 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
![Council ignores ARLA warning and ploughs on with licensing](/img/default/lat.png)
Earlier this week ARLA branded local councils pursuing private rental licensing during the pandemic as “socially irresponsible” - but one of...
22 January 2021
From: Breaking News
![Agent speaks out against possible ‘money making’ licensing scheme](/img/default/lat.png)
A lettings agent has spoken out at a local council landlord licensing scheme, suggesting it might just be nothing more than...
29 December 2020
From: Breaking News
![Activists gather outside city agency after licensing protest](/img/default/lat.png)
Activists from the so-called renters’ union Acorn have held a protest outside the office of a lettings agency in Oxford. A photograph...
19 November 2020
From: Breaking News
![Licensing on its way after 92% of HMOs show problems](/img/default/lat.png)
A major north of England local authority wants to introduce landlord licensing for HMOs where three or four tenants live, following analysis...
19 October 2020
From: Breaking News
![London council licensing scheme lapses after five years](/img/default/lat.png)
A private rental licensing consultancy has spotted that an additional licensing scheme run by a London borough council has now lapsed...
07 September 2020
From: Breaking News
![Shock 58 per cent rise in licensing fee imposed by council](/img/default/lat.png)
A new private rental licensing regime in a London borough is being described as “a major step forward in improving living...
03 September 2020
From: Breaking News
![Labour council proposes controversial city-wide licensing scheme](/img/default/lat.png)
Oxford council, which has 49 per cent of its housing stock in the private rental sector, is starting a formal consultation...
02 September 2020
From: Breaking News
![Agents invited to comment on two new proposed licensing schemes](/img/default/lat.png)
Charnwood council in the East Midlands is proposing to introduce two different licensing schemes for private landlords, with agents and others...
12 August 2020
From: Breaking News
![London council revives licensing idea with online consultation](/img/default/lat.png)
Greenwich council in London has resuscitated a proposal to extend its existing selective licensing regime, put on ice during the Coronavirus...
10 August 2020
From: Breaking News
![Bid to licence 50,000 properties - council extends consultation](/img/default/lat.png)
A local authority has extended its consultation process for a selective licensing system which, if it goes ahead, would see some...
27 July 2020
From: Breaking News
![Selective Licensing: Another London council begins consultation](/img/default/lat.png)
Harrow council in north London has launched a formal consultation on its plan to renew its landlord licensing scheme in the...
11 June 2020
From: Breaking News
![Council asks lockdown residents to report illegal HMOs](/img/default/lat.png)
Residents at home during lockdown who may have seen families crammed into overcrowded HMOs are being asked to report the properties...
01 June 2020
From: Breaking News
![Council licensing scheme challenged by alternative proposals](/img/default/lat.png)
A group of local landlords and others in the private rental sector are challenging a local authority’s licensing proposals with their...
07 May 2020
From: Breaking News
![Agents warned as council postpones licensing clampdown](/img/default/lat.png)
A local authority has postponed the extension of its private rental sector licensing regime - but it’s warning agents not to...
03 April 2020
From: Breaking News
![Delay all new licensing schemes for six months, urges industry body](/img/default/lat.png)
Not-for-profit accreditation service safeagent says the government should ensure councils delay the introduction of all new private rental sector licensing schemes...
20 March 2020
From: Breaking News
![Council wants county-wide selective licensing to be introduced](/img/default/lat.png)
Another council is consulting on introducing a selective licensing scheme - and again it claims it will “create better housing for...
28 February 2020
From: Breaking News
![Council claims licensing scheme ‘has improved 3,100 homes’](/img/default/lat.png)
The government has given the green light to a council’s huge licensing scheme, set to cover 18 of its 20 wards...
17 February 2020
From: Breaking News
![Council reveals huge administration cost for licensing scheme](/img/default/lat.png)
Enfield council in London has confirmed that it will introduce borough-wide additional licensing. It is also seeking consent from the government to...
07 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
![Huge fine for repeatedly ignoring rental licensing laws](/img/default/lat.png)
A landlord has ended up with fines totalling over £90,000 after repeatedly ignoring a council’s selective licensing regime. Stephen Ige pleaded guilty...
04 February 2020
From: Breaking News
![Government backs huge licensing scheme extension until 2025](/img/default/lat.png)
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has backed a five year extension for a massive London council landlord licensing...
28 January 2020
From: Breaking News
![Dawn raids on rental properties as part of licensing crackdown](/img/default/lat.png)
Officers from a local council simultaneously staged 10 dawn raids on properties owned by unlicensed landlords. All the terraced homes, in Slough,...
24 January 2020
From: Breaking News
![Industry delight at government rejection of licensing extension](/img/default/lat.png)
Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has rejected a bid by Labour-controlled Liverpool council to extend its licensing scheme for five years. Government approval...
14 January 2020
From: Breaking News
![Thousands of landlords rejected for licensing scheme, claims council](/img/default/lat.png)
Oldham council is the latest to seek an extension of a selective licensing scheme beyond its mandatory five year term -...
03 January 2020
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
![Property company boss fined £35,000 for buy to let licence breaches](/img/default/lat.png)
The owner of two properties has been fined £35,000 for breaches of the selective licensiing regime in his local area. At a...
02 December 2019
From: Breaking News
![Owner hit with £60,000 in fines over substandard property](/img/default/lat.png)
A landlord has been hit with court fines for a fourth time for failing to properly manage his rental properties. Landlord Jack...
27 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
![Selective licensing overhaul needed quickly, government told](/img/default/lat.png)
The government is being urged to speed up the release details of the future it sees for selective licensing following revelations...
25 October 2019
From: Breaking News
![Shock warning that agents could be sued under selective licensing laws](/img/default/lat.png)
A long-term legal critic of selective licensing is warning that letting agents could be held jointly accountable with the landlords, -...
22 October 2019
From: Breaking News
![Ex-Premiership footballer fined £25,000 for series of rental offences](/img/default/lat.png)
Former QPR and Nottingham Forest striker Dexter Blackstock has been fined over £25,000 and branded a rogue landlord after admitting 12 licencing offences. He...
21 October 2019
From: Breaking News
![Cut licensing red tape! Trade group wants simpler, better-enforced system](/img/default/lat.png)
Research by safeagent - the new name for the National Approved Letting Scheme - has found over 130,000 unlicensed properties in...
14 October 2019
From: Breaking News
![Yet More Licensing: councils want more freedom to expand schemes](/img/default/lat.png)
An umbrella organisation representing councils is calling for greater freedom to introduce more and larger rental sector licensing schemes, without the...
01 October 2019
From: Breaking News
![Labour chief and anti-agent group want city-wide rental licensing](/img/default/lat.png)
A senior Labour politician in Sheffield and the campaign group Acorn have both expressed support for a selective licensing scheme to...
25 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
![London council returns to licensing five years after humiliating U-turn](/img/default/lat.png)
Enfield wants to be the latest London council to introduce large-scale additional and selective licensing schemes which would affect most private rented...
05 September 2019
From: Breaking News
![Blocked! Government refuses to back council licensing plan](/img/default/lat.png)
The government has blocked a council rolling out selective licensing across no fewer than 3,000 homes in its patch. Under Stoke on...
13 August 2019
From: Breaking News
![“It’s Illegal!” - council licensing scheme blasted by trade body](/img/default/lat.png)
A local authority is being warned that its landlord licensing and accreditation scheme is potentially unlawful. The Residential Landlords Association, which represents...
05 August 2019
From: Breaking News
![Another council seeks government backing to widen licensing](/img/default/lat.png)
Another local authority has announced that it wants to introduce another selective licensing scheme and designate its entire patch for HMO...
02 August 2019
From: Breaking News
![Council boasts of issuing 133 penalty notices and 23 improvement notices](/img/default/lat.png)
A London council wants to extend its private rental sector licensing scheme - and in doing so is boasting of the...
02 July 2019
From: Breaking News
![Selective licensing: 12 big changes being considered by government](/img/default/lat.png)
An independent review into selective licensing in the private rental sector makes a series of recommendations to tighten processes, with the...
26 June 2019
From: Breaking News
![U-turn Hypocrites! Government accused of reneging on rental sector pledge](/img/default/lat.png)
A trade body has accused the government of going back on its promise not to introduce a national register of landlords. The...
26 June 2019
From: Breaking News
![Unsafe and unlicensed: big fine for investor after past warnings ignored](/img/default/lat.png)
A buy to let investor who let out an unsafe and unlicensed property in London has now been hit with a...
21 June 2019
From: Breaking News
![Out of order! Council accused of illegal licensing fee structure](/img/default/lat.png)
A lettings sector trade body has written to a council accusing it of initiating an “unlawful” fee structure for a licensing...
14 June 2019
From: Breaking News
![Yet more licensing: Consultation underway to extend London scheme](/img/default/lat.png)
Consultation is underway to extend a landlord licensing scheme in a London borough where a third of households rents privately. Three types...
12 June 2019
From: Breaking News
![Fees Ban will particularly hurt tenants in selective licensing areas - claim](/img/default/lat.png)
The National Landlords Association says it’s concerned the Fees Ban coming into effect in just two days’ time may limit access...
30 May 2019
From: Breaking News
![Should ‘revenue raising licensing schemes’ reinvest in the PRS?](/img/default/lat.png)
Revenue raised by landlord licensing schemes should be used to enforce rental sector regulation, according to PayProp. It says that the money...
09 May 2019
From: Breaking News
30 April 2019
From: 60 Second Interview
![Lettings reform: major announcements soon, says government](/img/default/lat.png)
A housing minister has pledged that more key reforms for the private rental sector will be revealed soon, despite Brexit political...
03 April 2019
From: Breaking News
![Here we go again: More councils want licensing schemes](/img/default/lat.png)
Leicester is the latest council to begin consultations on selective licensing in six parts of the city - with the threat...
22 March 2019
From: Breaking News
![Stop the excuses! Lack of enforcement by councils blasted by trade body](/img/default/lat.png)
A leading trade body says the argument that councils have insufficient powers to tackle rogue operators isn’t supported by the facts...
08 March 2019
From: Breaking News
![See you in court! Licensing scheme may face legal challenge](/img/default/lat.png)
Another controversial scheme licensing landlords who let their homes out may face legal challenge. Middlesbrough council’s formal consultation on the introduction of...
25 February 2019
From: Breaking News
![Council admits it: 'We don't have staff to police private rental sector'](/img/default/lat.png)
A local authority in the Midlands has admitted what many people have believed for some time - despite a slew of...
22 February 2019
From: Breaking News
![More councils want to increase rental sector licensing regimes](/img/default/lat.png)
More local authorities have announced that they want to increase the size of the areas covered by their existing selective licensing...
19 February 2019
From: Breaking News
![Solicitor renews attack on “unfair” landlord licensing by councils](/img/default/lat.png)
A legal firm has renewed its criticism of local authority licensing schemes, accusing them of “persecuting” landlords. David Kirwan, managing partner at...
15 February 2019
From: Breaking News
![Hefty fine after buy to let owner fails to comply with Improvement Notice](/img/default/lat.png)
A landlord who failed to comply with orders to improve the standard of a property has had to pay over £7,500...
05 February 2019
From: Breaking News
![Licensing: councils accused of automatically imposing harshest penalties](/img/default/lat.png)
Councils have been accused of routinely pursuing the most serious enforcement option open to them if they find a local licensing...
14 January 2019
From: Breaking News
![Sigh of relief as London council delays enforcement action timetable](/img/default/lat.png)
One of London’s most enthusiastic councils for additional and selective licensing has pushed back the date for enforcement action against landlords...
04 December 2018
From: Breaking News
!['Expose rogue tenants too' demands agent starting anti-licensing petition](/img/default/lat.png)
The head of a lettings agency has launched a petition in opposition to a bid by a local council to extend...
27 November 2018
From: Breaking News
![‘Take rogues to court’ - council urges private tenants to take civil action](/img/default/lat.png)
Nottingham council - which recently introduced one of the largest and most controversial selective licensing schemes in the country - now...
23 November 2018
From: Breaking News
![Rat-infested homes let to tenants - owner to face criminal charges](/img/default/lat.png)
A buy to let investor has been forced to close down two rat infested homes he owns in Rotherham after they...
22 November 2018
From: Breaking News
![Chaos as thousands of licensing applications rejected by council](/img/default/lat.png)
Local press reports say that one of the country’s most controversial buy to let licensing schemes has seen thousands of applications...
16 November 2018
From: Breaking News
![Trade body threatens council with Judicial Review over licensing plan](/img/default/lat.png)
The Residential Landlords Association is threatening a council with a judicial review because of unresolved concerns over the authority’s selective licensing...
05 November 2018
From: Breaking News
![Council to send hundreds of buy to let fixed-penalty notices today](/img/default/lat.png)
A council says it has been preparing prosecution and penalty notices “for hundreds of private landlords that have failed to apply...
01 November 2018
From: Breaking News
![Labour threat to create private rental register and more licensing](/img/default/lat.png)
Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell has made a clear pledge to tighten regulations surrounding the private rental sector. In an interview with The...
31 October 2018
From: Breaking News
![Shocking claim that councils 'interview landlords under caution'](/img/default/lat.png)
The heavy-handed administration of selective licensing schemes is driving out buy to let investors. That’s the claim from David Kirwan of Kirwans...