Archive

Outsourcing has long been an effective strategy in business. It enables you to provide a new, improved or more streamlined service...

The lettings industry has hit out at the Welsh Government’s proposals to ban agents’ fees levied on tenants. A Bill was put...

A Bill which is likely to end up banning letting agents’ fees levied on tenants in Wales has been introduced into...

A major Scottish property management firm says agents and landlords south of the border should prepare now for the likely agency...

Data from Your Move's England and Wales Rental Tracker shows that the number of tenants in arrears increased for the fourth...

Specialist mortgage broker Commercial Trust says there was an increase in buy to let purchase activity in London during the first...

Buy to let sector confidence across a range of measures remained stable or increased in the first quarter of 2018 compared...

Private rental sector tenants have spent the year so far working only to pay for their accommodation, the BBC claims.  The broadcaster...

The average cost of a new let reached £951 per month in Great Britain in March - that’s up 1.7 per...

Some 43 per cent of all stamp duty comes from buy to let investors and holiday home purchasers - and almost...

Specialist buy to let lender LendInvest has looked at 105 postcodes across England and Wales to find the best (and worst)...

Academic research suggests tenants in England and Wales are missing out on £80m of interest to tenancy deposit schemes every single...

The consumer group Which? says the new Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards starting next weekend could affect 300,000 buy to let properties.  From...

One of the client money protection schemes operating in the lettings sector says he believes agents and property managers could be...

The National Landlords Association has revealed a seven-point plan which would allow the Welsh Government greater powers over the private rental...

The Welsh Government’s housing minister has tweeted that the results of a formal consultation process on a ban on agents’ fees...

The UK lettings market has enjoyed a 'robust' start to 2018, according to the latest Agency Express Property Activity Index. The number...

It is being reported that the Labour mayor of Newham council - that’s the authority which has introduced stricter controls on...

Landlords in Wales who manage their own properties are being reminded that they must submit their licence application to Rent Smart...

A TV news programme has exposed how a sleazy male landlord - who presumably did not instruct a letting agent -...

The select committee monitoring the Department of Housing, Communities and Local Government will continue its deliberations today on the government’s ban...

Rent Smart Wales says it is “heartening” that there has been a substantial recent rise in the number of agents, properties...

The average rent in England and Wales was £850 in December 2017, an increase of 2.3 per cent in the last...

The average rent agreed on a new tenancy signed in December was £907 according to the insurance firm HomeLet, compared to...

Private rental prices paid by tenants in Great Britain rose by 1.2 per cent in the 12 months to December according...

There has been another prosecution under the controversial Rent Smart Wales regulations - although this time the landlord in question was...

A pullback in the buy to let market is threatening to reduce sale prices further in London and parts of the...

Rental prices in most areas of England and Wales have grown over the past 12 months with the East of England...

Stamp duty reform for first time buyers has taken pride of place in the Budget speech of Chancellor Phillip Hammond.   From today,...

Rent Smart Wales, the licensing and training regime which is now a year old, has taken an agent and a landlord...

A survey has been undertaken of the top 25 UK postcodes in terms of yields for investors - and London and...

A Welsh local authority is offering a cash payment of up to £1,200 to landlords who join a quasi-letting agency run...

Wales’ largest agency, Peter Alan, has acquired Roberts & Co Property Management Limited, a Newport company that manages 800 units.  The acquisition...

The annual rate of rental growth slowed between September and October according to Countrywide. The cost of the average new let in...

Rental growth is forecast to exceed house price growth in London, despite a glut of properties on the lettings market in...

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

The Welsh Government has launched a consultation on draft regulations and guidance to implement the Fitness for Human Habitation requirements for...

The private rental sector in Wales is at risk of contracting next year, warns the Residential Landlords’ Association.   RLA Wales policy officer...

The CLA says the energy efficiency regulations for the lettings sector coming into effect in April are “fundamentally flawed” when it...

Pressure from the consumer lobby is building for the introduction of a ban on letting agents’ fees levied on tenants -...

Latest data from Your Move’s rental indices suggest that rents are growing, with the average in England and Wales now £904,...

Letting agents are being warned that they can minimise the impact of the fees ban levied on tenants by being proactive...

Labour's housing spokesman has called on the government to give councils greater powers over the regulation of the private rental sector.   In...

Housing minister Alok Sharma has once again confirmed that the ban on lettings’ agents fees levied on tenants in England will...

Housing minister Alok Sharma has told a major residential conference that rent controls will definitely not be a policy of the...

Letting agents across the UK must prepare now for a ban on fees charged to tenants says a PropTech company -...

Bob Parry Lettings, a north Wales agency, has removed a claim from its website concerning a plot of land, following a...

Agents who review and modernise their rent collection procedures could claim back thousands of pounds in rent, an automated payments platform...

Over the past few months, hundreds of agents across the UK have been improving their photography skills by taking part in...

Your Move says a shrinking supply of properties, in part created by government measures against the lettings sector, has led to...

A new report identifies in detail over 145 laws and regulations governing the private rental sector, varying across the four countries...

Equity release specialist Retirement Advantage has launched a range of products specifically for owners of Buy To Let properties.    These products will...

The average UK private rental tenancy is now 20 months, almost a fifth longer than in 2014 according to research from...

A council claims that up to 13,000 private landlords are “of interest” to HM Revenue and Customs, where there are alleged...

Let’s start with a quick fire quiz. How many more leads do you think you’d get with photos that have been...

Beleagured housing minister Alok Sharma has been told by a London council that his decision over an application for a borough-wide...

The typical rent paid by tenants across Britain rose by an average of 1.8 per cent in the 12 months to...

Countrywide says the rapid growth in the size of the private rental sector in recent years is not down to a...

A buy to let investor who ignored the controversial Rent Smart Wales scheme faces a bill of more than £3,500 for...

The BBC is reporting that the Welsh government is offering private buy to let investors who have properties in high-rise buildings...

**The free photography course for estate agents (part one) offer has now expired. It is still available in special circumstances so...

London rents have fallen by an average 5.0 per cent in the past year according to new data released by Your...

Skipton International has launched a guide to help expat buy to let investors trying to make sense of the UK government’s...

The UK rental market has seen a slump of 11.6 per cent in available stock over the last six years, according...

The top ten buy-to-let postcodes in England and Wales are evenly split between locations that voted for the Conservatives or Labour. Luton...

Retired tenants are becoming a larger part of the rental market, according to the UK's largest letting agency. Countrywide reports that pensioners...

A crowdfunding campaign for a legal challenge against the rollout of the Right to Rent scheme is nearing its funding target. With...

A Newport landlord has been fined £4,400 for operating a dangerous, unlicensed house in multiple occupation and failing to comply with...

The average tenancy deposit for England and Wales is just below £1,000 according to the Deposit Protection Service’s figures for the...

The National Approved Letting Scheme has launched a new course which it describes as “ground-breaking” and which allows candidates to become...

Immigration charity Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) has this week launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for...

Agents and landlords with properties in Wales have been reminded they could be breaking the law if they're not signed up to...

A buy to let expert says there should be stronger enforcement and streamlining of legislation in the private rental sector. In a...

A seven per cent fall in the number of EU students seeking places at UK universities, matched with a 4.3 per...

The average rent in England and Wales is now £800 per month according to latest statistics from Your Move.   The area with...

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

Custodial deposit protection was introduced 10 years ago this week and the Deposit Protection Service has been marking the anniversary. Custodial protection...

Mydeposits says it is aware of a new scam from what it calls “a fraudulent company” imitating mydeposits and getting in...

ARLA Propertymark and the Residential Landlords Association have written to the Welsh Government seeking a meeting to discuss a possible ban...

As the introduction of new energy efficiency regulations moves closer, landlords are being urged to check the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)...

ARLA Propertymark representatives have met with Home Office officials in Cardiff and Edinburgh ahead of the government’s roll-out of Right To...

Belvoir says new figures from across its network of agents shows that the government is wrong to claim that renting is...

The Loughborough Building Society is launching a Buy For Uni mortgage product seeking to encourage students to buy a home -...

New figures from Your Move suggest the rental market performed strongly across England and Wales, with rents rising in eight of...

Average rents ended 2016 higher than they started it according to figures from Your Move relating to England and Wales.   The average...

A damning critique of the one-year-old Right To Rent legislation in England suggests that the government is largely unaware of its...

The average tenancy deposit for England and Wales is just below £1,000 - but London’s typical deposit is now at its...

Belvoir Cardiff has completed the acquisition of a management portfolio of 130 rental properties. The purchase of all properties managed by Letwise...

The Residential Landlords Association says new tax powers devolving to the Welsh Assembly should involve exemptions when it comes to the...

Northern Ireland, where rents were 6.4 per cent higher in December than in the same month of 2015, saw the strongest...

  The average rent paid for a home in the UK outside London hit £750 in December, rising by 2.04 per cent...

Letting agents’ fees levied on tenants - already banned in Scotland and now likely to be banned in England according to...

The average rental property was let for £830 a month in November according to Your Move - that means the average...

The number of buy to let transactions across England and Wales has fallen 8.2 per cent in one month and is down an...

The proportion of private landlords in arrears is substantially under half the proportion of owner occupiers in the same position according...

City investment consultancy Jefferies has calculated the impact on landlords if the country’s second largest agency group - LSL Property Services...

The controversial Welsh private lettings sector scheme called Rent Smart Wales had around 65 per cent of agents and landlords register...

Rent Smart Wales, a controversial scheme that require letting agents to be trained, comes into effect today after a troubled lead...

Right To Rent legislation means British nationals without a passport face difficulties according to the Residential Landlords’ Association.    According to its latest...

Data from the Ministry of Justice suggests the number of claims made by private sector landlords to repossess a property has...

The Residential Landlords Association has roasted the enforcement policies and provisions for the controversial Rent Smart Wales initiative which begins in...

Credit rating consultancy Experian says it is cheaper to rent than buy in 84 per cent of areas, while it's cheaper...

Only just over two weeks remain for letting agents and landlords operating in Wales to register with the Rent Smart Wales...

A plentiful supply of freehold properties in our cities may become a thing of the past as urban areas become increasingly...

Government figures from the Office for National Statistics show average rents in privately let homes across Britain rose by an average...

The Welsh Government - which now has additional fiscal powers allowing it to be more independent from Westminster - has chosen...

Protecting your business in an unpredictable market can be a challenge, so finding insurance you can rely on is essential. As a nationwide...

Regional lettings markets around the country are now outperforming London according to Your Move.    While rents in London grew 6.9 per cent...

With just nine weeks to go before the deadline, only a small proportion of Welsh agents and landlords have registered for...

The number of tenancy deposit disputes reached a record high in 2015-16, but still represents only a fraction of all deposits. Figures...

The average rent for a new tenancy in London during August was £1,765 per month, according to data from the Tenancy...

A landlord operating in Wales has been fined almost £3,000 for failing to renew the House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) licences...

Across the UK as a whole there has been a slight increase in the number of tenants who agree to pay...

New data from the Tenancy Deposit Scheme shows that at the end of March 2016 there were a total of 3.426m...

The average rent in England and Wales has reached an all-time high of £846 per month - a year-on-year increase of...

The typical deposit paid when a tenant moves to a new property in England and Wales is set to break the...

Average rents paid by tenants across Great Britain rose by 2.4 per cent in the 12 months to July, according to...

Another survey, this time from an online letting agency, reveals that as many as 70 per cent of tenants are concerned...

The problem of cannabis ‘farmers’ using privately rented properties to mass-produce the drug is at its worst in the West Midlands,...

The Advertising Standards Authority has stepped in after receiving a complaint about the display of fees on a letting agency’s website.    The...

Rents across the UK are still rising but the rate of growth continues to slow.   Data from HomeLet shows that rents agreed...

The National Approved Letting Scheme says the most recent call to ban letting agent fees - in a demand made by...

Jeremy Corbyn’s plans for rent controls and “secure tenancies” in the private rented sector would spell disaster for tenants, reducing the...

The Residential Landlords Association is asking the Welsh Assembly to scrap the three per cent stamp duty surcharge imposed on buy...

As part of Rent4sure’s ongoing programme of development initiatives, Clair Jones has been appointed National Field Sales Manager. “Rent4sure is one of...

ARLA is stepping up its call for letting agents to have professional qualifications in a bid to combat fraud.   In a contribution...

In the three months after the introduction of the three per cent stamp duty surcharge on April 1, landlord purchases accounted...

The Local Government Association, representing 370 councils across England and Wales, is calling on the public to speak out against rogue...

A survey by the National Landords’ Association reveals that the number of retired people living in private rented accommodation has soared...

The Association of Independent Inventory Clerks says the government should not back a provision in the Renters' Rights Bill which would...

Property investment specialists at online consultancy LendInvest have analysed coastal towns across England and Wales for their buy to let potential...

Rents in Scotland are at a record high, after the fastest month-on-month growth on record.  Data from Your Move shows that average...

Lettings volumes have taken a sharp downward trend in May according to board company Agency Express. New listings were down 11.9 per...

Letting agencies Your Move and Reeds Rains claim rents have started to drop in many areas following the arrival of a...

Around 30 per cent of private rental sector landlords are still undecided about whether they will vote to leave or remain...

Tenancy deposits in England and Wales are typically £100 dearer than the Scottish equivalent.  Between June 2015 and May 2016, the average...

Today sees the launch of what claims to be the UK's first online commercial estate and letting agency.  Virtual Commercial will offer...

The average rent paid by private tenants across Great Britain increased by 2.6% in the twelve months to April 2016, according...

The Property Redress Scheme (PRS) has announced the details of a workshop for Welsh letting agents, taking place in July. The event...

The National Landlords Association (NLA) has launched a new version of its Fire Safety Logbook which has been endorsed by the...

Average rents are now rising at the fastest rate since last Autumn, bringing the average monthly rent in England and Wales...

At first sight this looks distinctly like undercutting the local market - a farmhouse, glorious countryside and coastal views, some 900...

Buy to let returns have exceeded those from the FTSE-100 with average gains of 9.6 per cent across England and Wales...

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors is urging landlords and agents acting on their behalf to bring themselves up to date...

The Liberal Democrats are following in the footsteps of some Green and Labour politicians in calling for a ban on letting...

Good news for agents having to work harder to persuade would-be landlords that buy to let makes financial sense after the...

The latest survey of arrears in England and Wales suggests the level now stands at 9.1 per cent of all rent...

A petition opposing lettings agents’ fees in England and Wales has now gathered over 245,000 signatures. Vicky Spratt, features editor on the...

A leading chartered surveying firm is stressing the differences that exist between new English and Scottish energy efficiency rules hitting the...

A private landlord aged 72 must pay £4,800 after pleading guilty to 11 offences of breaching the Licensing and Management of...

The government has updated the Section 8 and Section 13 forms which apply to private letting in England: they come into...

Today sees the first step of a long-term government drive to improve energy efficiency in the private rental sector through the...

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

New licence fees for letting and managing agents have been announced by Rent Smart Wales, the Welsh Government’s registration and licensing scheme which...

Average rents are now rising on a monthly basis for the first time since September, up 0.1 per cent between January...

Tenants now pay 2.6 per cent more rent on average than they did a year ago according to the government’s Office...

Returns from buy to let properties have risen to their highest level in over a year.  Data from Your Move and Reeds...

A lettings and sales agent has admitted to a court that he tried to cheat an elderly pensioner by buying her flat...

Countrywide has revealed that it has acquired 30 lettings businesses in the past year alone, expanding the firm’s rental sector headcount...

Who are you? I am David d’Orton-Gibson What does it say on your business card? It says I am the Managing Director of an...

Rents across England and Wales rose by an average of 3.4 per cent in 2015 - the fastest annual growth rate...

Rent Smart Wales has approved the three NFOPP awarding body qualifications in lettings, which allow agents to become approved Rent Smart...

New research from HomeLet reveals that Brighton, Bristol, Edinburgh and Newcastle recorded the largest increase in rents last year amongst the...

Campaigning charity Shelter has returned to the warpath against letting agents’ fees. This time the focus is on Wales, where the charity...

Rightmove says tenants serious about wanting to buy could do themselves a favour by flatsharing - and save themselves £210 a...

Chancellor George Osborne has “effectively declared war on individual landlords” according to the Residential Landlords’ Association - but don’t expect a...

Another rental index suggests there has been a seasonal dip in rents - although across England and Wales as a whole...

The Scottish Government is to announce today whether it is replicating the three per cent stamp duty hike on buy to...

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

Vulnerable tenants will find it harder to access housing following the passing of the Welsh government’s Renting Homes Bill, according to...

A local council has successfully applied for a landlord without an appropriate HMO licence to repay housing benefit - no less...

Figures from the 211-office agency Belvoir shows that average rents in Britain exceed the pre-downturn late 2008 figure by a mere...

A survey suggests two thirds of tenants in Wales know nothing of the new Rent Smart Wales initiative to register and...

Rent Smart Wales, the new registration and licensing system in Wales, launches on Monday - and it represents a major change...

Rents across England and Wales have fallen between September and October, according to data from the Your Move and Reeds Rains...

Holly Pendred from Gibbs Gillespie in Uxbridge, Middlesex, is celebrating after being crowned Relocation Agent Network’s Employee of the Year 2015. The...

The Association of Residential Letting Agents is looking for three new regional representatives. One will cover Hereford, Warwickshire, West Midlands and Worcestershire;...

A bid to force letting agents to remove To Let boards from properties in areas of a city with high numbers...

Renters are paying 2.7 per cent more for their homes than a year ago, according to data from the Office for...

Watch the latest weekly video round-up of news from Estate Agent Today and Letting Agent Today, featuring stories on the latest...

Around 40 per cent of landlords are reporting an increase in tenant demand in their area in the past three months. A...

The new registration and licensing requirements under Part 1 of the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 will be launched on November 23,...

A Bill now making its way through the Welsh Assembly may “radically alter the way tenancy contracts are written” - but...

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

Buy to let investors in England and Wales have seen their returns rise to around 10 per cent in the past...

“Unthought-through”, “unfair and unreasonable” and leading to “extreme confusion” - those are the thoughts of Britain’s leading professional accounting body on...

Average rents have risen for 10 months in a row according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors - and there's...

Rightmove says rents across England and Wales, outside London, are up 1.3 per cent in the past three months according to...

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

Rents across England and Wales have dipped by 0.1 per cent and now stand at an average of £803 per month. Annual...

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

The landlord of a house in multiple occupation is the latest to be prosecuted by a council for failing to licence...

Countrywide has snapped up another independent letting agency - this time it is Thomas C Adams in Chester which has become...

Brandon in Suffolk is the most profitable location for pensioners to invest in buy-to-let property with an average yield of 8.59%. This...

Average monthly rents in England and Wales hit a record high of £804 last month, according to Your Move and Reeds...

A letting agent is warning of apparently inaccurate information being sent out as part of a new agent and landlord accreditation...

Research for a student accommodation service says the average weekly rent paid by students has risen a modest £1.43 in the...

Labour leadership hopeful Andy Burnham is the latest to say he would consider rent controls in the private sector if he...

More and more agents are witnessing increases in the cost of renting, according to the Association of Residential Letting Agents. Its latest...

Tenant arrears are rising in Scotland, even though letting agents’ fees on tenants are banned. Agents’ fees on renters, which are legal in...

There has been a sharp rise in rent arrears - they made up 8.7 per cent of all rent payable in...

It now appears that new legislation covering the private rental sector in Wales will involve mandatory training for letting agents as...

Tenants trying to find cheaper and better value letting properties than those available in London are moving outside the capital -...

Every landlord in Wales will have to undertake ‘training’ and be licensed under new rules coming into effect this autumn. In a...

A landlord who failed to properly manage a home he rented out has become the first landlord prosecuted under a council’s...

The rising phenomenon of agent-rating and review websites is a topic that seems to have caused considerable division and controversy among...

Landlords could risk facing heavy fines if they fail to protect their tenants’ deposits before an important new deadline on June...

Tomorrow’s Queen’s Speech outlining legislation for the next 12 months will include a pledge to roll out across England and Wales...

Private sector rents in England and Wales have grown 4.6 per cent year-on-year – the fastest rate of increase since November...

Tenant evictions have reached a record high 11,307 in the first quarter of the year according to government figures. However, the majority...

Private rental prices paid by tenants in Britain rose 2.1 per cent in the 12 months to March, according to the...

“More than 1 in 3 agreed property deals in England & Wales fall through… Gazeal is a new system for property sales,...

Rents across England and Wales are now 15.2 per cent higher than at the time of the last General Election in...