Archive

A lawyer says radical rental reforms proposed for Scotland - which could be a model for change in England and Wales...

A high profile lettings agency has had to pay almost £22,000 in damages to an employee who raised concerns about safety...

Labour is using a Bill currently going through Parliament as a backdoor method to introduce the regulation of lettings, estate and...

New rent control proposals put forward by politicians are unnecessary and too costly according to a leading property expert.  David Alexander -...

A prominent housing market commentator says Labour would introduce a tougher version of the Renters Reform Bill if it forms the...

Propertymark has listed a string of legal reforms it wants as part of the government’s modernisation of the court process -...

Former housing minister Rachel Maclean - the victim of a shock sacking by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak last month - has...

A row has broken out over Section 21 between Michael Gove’s Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and an all-party...

An industry supplier owned by the Leaders Romans Group says the government’s pledge to reform - not replace - leasehold should...

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

Propertymark has backed the idea of a new property tribunal system for Wales to simplify court processes. The proposal merges nine current...

Proposals for rent controls made in a government consultation document have been slammed by a prominent industry commentator and PropTech entrepreneur. The...

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

Agents representing landlords of HMOs In Portsmouth are being warned by the council that their need to be licensed or face...

HM Courts and Tribunals Service has halted the work of bailiffs on safety grounds.  An incident is under investigation, and it’s believed...

A campaign group of activists says there have been only “few reports of dodgy behaviour” by agents and landlords in the...

A £5,000 fine has been upheld against a landlord who failed to declare himself as a property agent and did not join a mandatory...

Housing Secretary Michael Gove says the long-awaited Renters Reform Bill, first promised in 2019, will finally be introduced into Parliament this...

The Property Redress Scheme, one of two government-approved redress services, has produced a list of recently-expelled agencies. All agencies must be a...

Numbers of possessions have soared in Scotland since the introduction of a rent cap and eviction ban according to DJ Alexander,...

Trading Standards is reminding letting agents of their legal obligation to protect money they are holding on behalf of a client...

We’re only in February and it’s already clear that this year will set the future direction of the private rented sector...

A property firm has been fined £8,000 for operating an HMO on one of Britain’s most famous roads. Westminster council has won...

Trading Standards is describing a penalty imposed on a London letting agent as “a landmark” after the company failed to comply...

A lettings agency in Scotland has played down the impact of the emergency rent freeze and eviction ban which have been...

A Labour peer who was to have invested £1 billion in affordable homes has halted his scheme because of the threat...

A lettings agent has taken the surprising step of encouraging tenants to seek compensation if their landlords fail to abide by...

The law around the requirement for smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in rental properties will change in England on October 1. Propertymark...

Scotland’s new Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Bill - passed this week by politicians at Holyrood - represents a dark day...

Another prominent industry voice is warning of the dangers of the Scottish Government’s new eviction policies. So far the National Residential Landlords...

Propertymark is questioning whether the Scottish Government is adequately funding the First-tier Tribunal to cope with any extra demand placed on...

Housing groups have united to appeal to politicians to step back from new laws that threaten to “devastate” the number of...

A claim by the activists running the Generation Rent group has been branded as “misleading” by Propertymark. Generation Rent claims its research...

Three organisations have written a joint open letter to the Scottish Government warning that the supply of homes for rent –...

Propertymark is calling on candidates in next week's Northern Ireland Assembly elections to support policies that will increase housing supply and...

A company which operated an unlicensed HMO and its then-director have lost their appeal against the imposition of financial penalties.  Gatwick and...

Propertymark has stepped up its call for a dedicated Housing Tribunal to improve mediation and enhanced dispute resolution. The trade body also...

A prominent lettings agency chief says a consultation looking at changes to private renting proposed by the Scottish Government is merely...

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

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

Effective enforcement is crucial to stamp out rogue lettings agents and protect consumers says safeagent. In the latest edition of its Effective...

It’s understood there will be a Christmas truce with tenants not enduring bailiff-enforced evictions between December 13 and January 10. HM Courts...

A senior Conservative in Wales wants the Welsh Government to consider creating a housing tribunal in the light of rising tenant arrears. Janet Finch-Saunders,...

A leading property lawyer is warning that a tribunal case between a London letting agent and a tenant - involving a...

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

A ruling of the First Tier Property Tribunal has put a London property management firm in the clear following a dispute...

There have been just 17 First Tier Tribunal cases involving allegations of fees charged to tenants in contravention of the Tenants...

The local media in Manchester have published photographs of a property operated by a lettings agency was found to have multiple...

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

In an exclusive, the Daily Telegraph says emergency courtrooms will be used after their funding runs out over the comning summer...

There's been a warning that tenants should not be deceived when a landlords wants possession of their property. Lindsays law firm says...

A landlord who persistently broke residential lettings rules has been banned from operating in a landmark legal ruling. Julie Stoddern, of Camborne,...

Two letting agents have been ordered to pay £16,000 to a landlord after their activities were found to be unregistered and...

A letting agent and property management expert says the likely introduction of the Renters Reform Bill in 2021 is a chance...

A renters’ union in Scotland claims a proposal to cap rents in the country doesn’t go far enough. The Scottish Parliament’s Local...

As lockdown – Season 2, the sequel no one asked for – gets underway in England, landlords, tenants and agents will...

The announcement of the Renters’ Reform Bill in the Queen’s speech last December caused a collective groan across the country from...

Much has been made of the backlog of court cases - including landlords’ possession attempts - and now the Ministry of Justice...

A London council is telling its private rental sector residents to use a new tool to check whether they may be...

A leading PropTech figure says a political issue north of the border demonstrates the advantages of voluntary industry codes of practice over...

A law firm is warning that agents and landlords should carefully follow correct procedures if they suspect a rented property is...

Two Bristol landlords have been ordered to repay nearly £5,000 following investigations by the council’s so called rogue landlord unit. One, Lucy...

Rent to the value of £10,982.25 is to be returned to tenants by a landlord who was operating without a licence. Mrs...

A commission investigating affordable homes in the UK has called for annual private sector rent increases to be limited to a...

The leaseholder of a council property in central London has been found guilty of advertising it on Airbnb and the Booking.com...

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...

A lettings agency in one of the most competitive markets in Britain says it’s enjoyed a record year winning landlords from...

A London council has caught out a rogue lettings agency for illegally operating two properties, with issues ranging from gas safety...

A tenant is thought to be the first ever to have been awarded damages under new Scottish lettings legislation. Dambaru Baral was...

The new government must prioritise the implementation of proposals to ensure letting agents and others in the industry are appropriately qualified. That’s...

A landlord has been banned for two and half years after repeatedly putting tenants’ lives at risk by letting unsafe housing. This...

A compliance consultant has explained why a local council’s penalty on a rogue landlord - initially £31,499 - was slashed to...

A new piece of legislation has been invoked to ban a landlord from any involvement in the private rental sector for...

Another law firm has sharply criticised the government’s proposals to abolish Section 21 eviction powers for landlords. Devonshires says the government should...

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

A new property court similar to the Scottish system should be established in England and Wales to deal with the proposed...

Warwick district council has issued its first civil penalty to the landlord of an HMO. Glenn Gamblin, the landlord of the property...

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

A survey of landlords has found that 39% would like to see a fast track housing tribunal introduced if and when...

Landlords have been urged to seek advice about potential stamp duty rebates on ‘uninhabitable’ second properties after a landmark tribunal case. A...

The Property Ombudsman has issued a reminder to all agents to ensure they have the correct redress membership to cover the...

A Scottish mediation company and the SafeDeposits Scotland Trust are to create eight workshops aiming to improve relationships between agents, landlords,...

Short lets on Airbnb and similar platforms are causing increasing irritation for owners in residential blocks, according to a property management...

The Tenants’ Fees Bill has now become law, receiving formal Royal Assent yesterday afternoon - and within minutes, the government issued...

ARLA Propertymark is warning members to be diligent in how they promote the letting agents’ code of practice.  ARLA has issued a statement...

A letting agent in east London has been fined £4,000 after apparently publishing the incorrect fees that it levies on tenants...

A landlord who failed to comply with orders to improve the standard of a property has had to pay over £7,500...

A leading PropTech exponent is supporting the government’s Housing Court initiative, suggesting it could make redress for agents, landlords and tenants...

Agents have under three weeks left to respond to the government’s proposals to introduce a Housing Court to settle disputes in...

The National Approved Letting Scheme has published the latest version of its Effective Enforcement Toolkit - aimed at helping councils clamp...

A London property firm must repay no less than £60,000 in rent after a council obtained a Rent Repayment Order against...

A call has been made for the government to review the section 8 possession process as part of its call for...

The government is consulting on the proposal for a specialist Housing Court which, if it goes ahead, would be a “single...

A landlord had been ordered to give back almost £4,000 that was paid to him while operating without a licence. The case...

A property management company which kept up to 23 adults in overcrowded conditions has been fined £7,500 by a council in...

A managing agent who used ‘ghost tenants’ as a front so that she could cram 16 people into one overcrowded house...

An Essex council claims it is one of the first to be granted a rent repayment order - part of legislation...

There are now only eight weeks left for agents to apply to join a new statutory register which comes into effect...

A head of a major agency says it is misleading to suggest that tenants are evicted ‘for no reason’. Mark Pilling, the...

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