Archive

Letting agents should help landlords through a blizzard of red tape and regulation cause by local licensing schemes, a PropTech entrepreneur...

A lettings agent has spoken out at a local council landlord licensing scheme, suggesting it might just be nothing more than...

A controversial Labour council that locked horns with the government over landlord licensing is now submitting a new proposal for its...

A new assessment of legislation and council rules surrounding the private rental sector suggests a severe crackdown may be coming in...

Activists from the so-called renters’ union Acorn have held a protest outside the office of a lettings agency in Oxford. A photograph...

Changes to the codes of practice surrounding Right To Rent are introduced on November 2, and tomorrow there’s a useful webinar to...

A major north of England local authority wants to introduce landlord licensing for HMOs where three or four tenants live, following analysis...

Two landlords have been served with civil penalty notices for operating unlicensed HMOs.  The notices were from Wellingborough council; one was for...

Oxford council, which has 49 per cent of its housing stock in the private rental sector, is starting a formal consultation...

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

The controversial Labour-led council in Liverpool has started a lengthy consultation process over its latest proposals for landlord licensing. The authority was...

Charnwood council in the East Midlands is proposing to introduce two different licensing schemes for private landlords, with agents and others...

Greenwich council in London has resuscitated a proposal to extend its existing selective licensing regime, put on ice during the Coronavirus...

Back in March 2019 we covered the story that Weymouth council in Dorset wanted a landlord licensing scheme for a town...

The council in Liverpool is likely to propose a scaled-back private rental licensing scheme after its original suggestion was rejected by...

Four buy to let investors have each been fined £10,000 for letting out unlicensed HMOs. The unlicensed properties , all in the...

A council in London, where landlords yields and margins are already tight, says it wants to charge £550 for a renewed...

Harrow council in north London has launched a formal consultation on its plan to renew its landlord licensing scheme in the...

Residents at home during lockdown who may have seen families crammed into overcrowded HMOs are being asked to report the properties...

A London council has pressed ahead with the launch of a borough-wide additional licensing scheme despite the lockdown and uncertainty created...

Liverpool’s Labour council, which was prevented by the government from extending its city-wide licensing scheme for another five years, is seeking...

A council says it’s considering lending funds for improvement to landlords who “behave fairly and appropriately” - and buy into a...

The controversial Liverpool council licensing scheme is to be policed through the use of what the authority calls “cutting-edge big data...

The government has rejected a council’s bid to extend its licensing scheme for privately rented housing. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local...

A buy to let investor has been hit with a bill of almost £9,500 after being accused of allowing a tenant...

The government has given the green light to a council’s huge licensing scheme, set to cover 18 of its 20 wards...

Enfield council in London has confirmed that it will introduce borough-wide additional licensing. It is also seeking consent from the government to...

A landlord has ended up with fines totalling over £90,000 after repeatedly ignoring a council’s selective licensing regime. Stephen Ige pleaded guilty...

Liverpool’s Labour mayor says he is confident that the city will, after all, be able to renew its city-wide licensing scheme. Housing...

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has backed a five year extension for a massive London council landlord licensing...

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

A newspaper in Liverpool has sharply criticised the government for refusing to allow the city council to continue a huge landlord...

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

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has rejected a bid by Labour-controlled Liverpool council to extend its licensing scheme for five years. Government approval...

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

There’s been a steep rise in the costs of landlord joining a compulsory licensing scheme operated by Labour-controlled Nottingham city council. The...

As the battle of political policies continues ahead of next month’s General Election, now Labour has unveiled a raft of initiatives...

A controversial private rental licensing regime that has already made the headlines for the wrong reasons has now been branded a...

Just over a fifth of lettings agents questioned in a major industry survey are concerned that may not be complying with...

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

Labour-run Leeds city council is introducing a licensing scheme which requires landlords to pay up to £825 per property. The deadline for...

The controversial tenants union Acorn has set up a web page where disgruntled renters can lodge complaints about letting agents. In the...

The rental sector needs to prepare for the demographic challenge of an increasingly older population, says the head of a high...

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

Enfield wants to be the latest London council to introduce large-scale additional and selective licensing schemes which would affect most private rented...

A local authority is being warned that its landlord licensing and accreditation scheme is potentially unlawful. The Residential Landlords Association, which represents...

Local authorities are failing in their duty to prosecute criminal letting agents, the National Landlords Association (NLA) has warned. The NLA says...

Junior housing minister Heather Wheeler MP has written to Hull City Council to express her concerns about the authority's controversial accreditation...

A London council wants to extend its private rental sector licensing scheme - and in doing so is boasting of the...

A buy to let investor who let out an unsafe and unlicensed property in London has now been hit with a...

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

Consultation is underway to extend a landlord licensing scheme in a London borough where a third of households rents privately.  Three types...

The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) is threatening Oxford Council with a judicial review of its landlord and letting agent accreditation scheme. The...

Revenue raised by landlord licensing schemes should be used to enforce rental sector regulation, according to PayProp. It says that the money...

A buy to let investor has been left with a £2,000 bill and a criminal conviction after letting out his property...

A senior figure at a deposit replacement service says the current flurry of changes in the private rental sector are positive. Daniel...

The implementation and costs of landlord licensing schemes in Britain are a lottery. That’s the conclusion of a new analysis of licensing...

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

Another controversial scheme licensing landlords who let their homes out may face legal challenge. Middlesbrough council’s formal consultation on the introduction of...

A local authority in the Midlands has admitted what many people have believed for some time - despite a slew of...

A legal firm has renewed its criticism of local authority licensing schemes, accusing them of “persecuting” landlords. David Kirwan, managing partner at...

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

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

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

It is now just three weeks until licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) is extended. The new rules, which will require...

A leading PropTech entrepreneur says lettings agents should be more vocal in providing the government with feedback on council rental licensing...

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

The Court of Appeal has ruled that councils cannot use selective licensing conditions to impose new standards on private rented homes. In...

A local authority has fined four landlords who failed to licence a total of seven properties under its selective licensing scheme. Hastings...

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

This is a rare story: a council has dropped a plan for a lettings licensing scheme as a result of 900...

The chief operating officer of a leading PropTech company says government proposals to increase mandatory licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation...

Letting Agent Today understands that Foxtons has been asked to appear at a hearing staged by a London council to prove...

A buy to let investor who failed to purchase a £542 licence for his HMO has been ordered to pay almost...

A local authority currently consulting on private rental licensing is using improved energy efficiency as one of the criteria for landlords...

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

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

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

Greenwich is the latest council to make it compulsory for planning consent to be given before converting homes into Houses in...

A letting agent named in a case concerning a rat-infested House in Multiple Occupation in Leytonstone, East London, has been fined...

A landlord has been fined a total of £7,298 for operating an unlicensed house in multiple occupation in Oxford that was...

A landlord has been prosecuted and ordered to repay over £5,000 to his tenants for letting an unlicensed House of Multiple...

Greenwich is licensing all Houses in Multiple Occupation from October 1 - just the latest London council to tighten its private...

A Scarborough buy to let investor has been found guilty of two offences under the Housing Act 2004 for non-compliance with...

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

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

More than 100 criminal prosecutions have been secured against landlords since the start of an enforcement crackdown by Brent council in...

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

A new charter has been launched to promote the rights of tenants in a London borough where, for the first time...

At the latest meeting of the Fair Fees Forum, members described the current approach towards landlord licensing as a 'post code...

A student landlord has been fined for failing to obtain the appropriate licences for two rental properties. Lisa Chatfield was ordered to...

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

A letting agency is urging landlords to respond to the consultations for three selective licensing schemes in its local area. homes4u, which...

A prominent campaigning letting agent has discovered that more than 6,000 tenants in one region alone have complained to local authorities...

The National Landlords Association and Residential Landlords Association have joined forces with Leeds city council to create a new accreditation system...

Greenwich council in London is the latest to announce an extension to its HMO licensing policy. The council is already legally obliged...

A local authority consultation exercise on a licensing system for local landlords has been postponed until June 12, four days after...

Another London borough is consulting on a further extension of its existing selective licensing - this time it’s Harrow council. It wants...

Angry landlords in Shropshire have set up an online petition against local council proposals to introduce selective licensing.    The Wrekin Landlords Association...

A landlady has been fined £15,000 for failing to license and manage a house in multiple occupation.    Sharon Jacobs was also ordered...

MNY Property Management Ltd has been fined £3,390 for offences under the Housing Act - specifically, failing to buy a licence...

The owner of a house in multiple occupation in the leafy Hampstead area of north London has been hit with a...

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

A survey of 1,000 tenants and landlords has provided evidence of what many agents already know - that the growing complexity...

A Conservative MP has launched a scathing attack on some landlords in his own constituency following a local council initiative to...

A council’s first case for non-compliance with its landlord licensing regime has seen one individual plead guilty to 12 offences -...

A group of landlords that mounted a successful legal challenge to a council’s proposed licensing scheme is continuing to recruit letting...

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

A London council has agreed to implement a new ‘standards charter’ for the private rental sector from next month - in...

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

A group of landlords and buy to let investors that has already successfully persuaded a council to scrap plans for a...

The local council in Nottingham wants to introduce a city-wide licensing scheme of all landlords across its estimated 43,000 private rental...

A landlord has been prosecuted and ordered to pay a £12,000 fine as well as over £12,000 in court costs, after...

Brighton and Hove council has failed in its bid to win government backing to ban To Let boards. The council sought government...

One the leading letting agencies in Brighton has sharply criticised a proposal by the local council to introduce a selective licensing...

A buy to let investor has been fined £29,200 after being prosecuted for 56 offences in what a local authority describes...

A 71 year old landlord has been fined £5,037.97 at Birmingham Magistrates Court for failing to obtain an HMO licence and...

London mayor says the private rental sector will play an increasing part in solving the capital’s housing shortage - but insists...

The Association of Residential Letting Agents has responded to the latest government recommendations for tighter controls on the private rental sector...

Agents and landlords in one of the country’s most politically-volatile cities are preparing to meet the local council to protest at...

A letting agency has been fined after one of its landlords was found to be cramming six families into an unlicensed...

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

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

It appears that Wandsworth Council has backed away from a decision to implement a new landlord licensing scheme.   Research by London Property...

A firm has been fined £29,000 after a rental property was found to be - in the words of Nottingham city...

A company operating a number of buy to let properties has been ordered to pay more than £15,000 by magistrates for...

The campaign group ACORN, which has in the past organised protests outside letting agency offices, is up in arms that a...

A council has scrapped its proposal to introduce a licensing campaign for private sector landlords following large-scale opposition and the formation...

The local authority in Manchester is proposing to introduce a landlord licensing scheme in the north of the city and has...

Former shadow Home Secretary Andy Burnham - now Labour’s candidate for Mayor of Greater Manchester - has outlined a string of...

An organisation called Somerset Property Network has organised over 50 landlords in the course of little over one month and it...

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

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

A consumer group dedicated to reducing tax says recent fiscal changes introduced by the government will end up hurting private rental...

The Residential Landlords’ Association says Gavin Barwell, the new housing minister appointed by Theresa May this week, is a known critic...

Another local authority is aiming to set up its own ‘social’ lettings agency.   The proposal is one of five put forward by...

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

A legal tribunal has ruled that a landlord must refund his tenants rent totalling £2,934 because he housed them in unlicensed...

Yet another local authority looks likely to adopt a licensing scheme for private rental sector properties, described as a bid “to...

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

Burnley Council has named and shamed eleven landlords that have been prosecuted for ignoring its selective licensing scheme. One landlord, Pierce Mullally,...

The owner of a rented property in west London has received a penalty of more than £20,000 having pleaded guilty to...

A local council has closed down what it describes as a ‘House of Horrors’ let to a family despite being in...

A proposal to make it easier for some local councils to introduce licensing schemes governing the private rental sector will do...

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

A landlord has to pay over £16,500 after being found guilty of failing to licence her ex-council flat with the local...

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

The Residential Landlords Association has entered into a deal which gives its members a 50 per cent reduction if they sign...

Ealing Council in London is undergoing a formal consultation about a proposal that all houses in multiple occupation within its boundaries...

A failed bid by a council to introduce a blanket landlord licensing scheme was both unnecessary and unjustified according to the...

The Secretary of State for Department of Communities and Local Government, Greg Clark, has rejected a council’s call for a blanket...

Countrywide is calling on the Greater London Assembly to implement a single landlord licensing scheme which individual borough councils can opt...

A landlord who did not remedy a string of safety concerns about a property he was letting has been ordered to...

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

Councils that charge landlords for licences solely to collect information on the number of landlords in an area have been accused...

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

A landlord man has been fined more than £20,000 after admitting renting out substandard houses to 30 people without obtaining a...

A leading property solicitor says there are “secret dangers” to landlords and their letting agents when it comes to selective licensing...

Local councils are being urged to drop landlord licensing schemes following the publication of new laws showing that they are not...

Landlords may be mistakenly claiming back VAT they are not entitled to because of an error by a local council.  The Croydon...

A local council is consulting on the creation of a charter involving letting agents, landlords, consumer bodies and university accommodation teams. If...

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

A landlord has been ordered to pay more than £7,000 after failing to licence a house in multiple occupation in the...

Lewisham council in south London is the latest local authority proposing to introduce a licensing scheme - starting, unusually, with residential...

A group of agents, landlords and other property professionals has applied to appeal the decision to block an attempt to overturn...

London Mayor and Tory leadership wannabee Boris Johnson wants rogue operators in the private rental sectors to be banned with repeat...

Barnet is the latest council appearing to edge towards increased private rental sector licensing as it enters the final two weeks...

Newham Council has reported that in the two and a half years since its licensing scheme came into force it has...

A group of landlords in Oldham have said they are going to present the council with a petition against the town's...

The growth of the PRS has provided a long list of benefits for the lettings industry. However, it is not without...

A group of letting agents, landlords and investors has failed in its bid to force a high profile council to reconsider...

A final decision on the legal challenge to a flagship council landlord licensing scheme has been set for next Thursday.  The Croydon...

There have been angry scenes at a consultation meeting as a local authority seeks to extend its licensing scheme - thought...

A lettings organisation claims that a council licensing scheme in London will mean compulsory monthly visits to properties being let out. Harrow...

One of the Labour hopefuls for the 2016 mayoral election in London has called for the introduction of rent caps in...

A local authority has refused to issue a private landlord licence after it was revealed the applicant had a conviction for...

The hearing that will determine whether there will be a judicial review of another council’s landlord licensing scheme will take place...

Harrow council is consulting agents, landlords and residents on a proposal to renew its licensing regime applying to selected Houses in...

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

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...

Many Councils are now introducing Landlord Licensing within different boroughs, for those that have one of the requirements is a 24...

The council which became a standard bearer for so-called ‘landlord licensing’ - Enfield in north London - appears to have abandoned...

Landlords have launched a legal challenge to plans by a local authority to charge for licences to manage properties. The Croydon Guardian...

An amnesty on the licensing of houses in multiple occupation is being held in Barnet in north London following the successful...

The government’s apparent opposition to council-wide landlord licensing schemes will be put to the test in the coming weeks following a...

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

A bid to take Rotherham council to a judicial review over a selective licensing scheme for private sector landlords has failed. All...

A licensing system for private landlords and letting agents is the way forward for the Northern Ireland rental sector according to...

A property consultancy specialising in licensing regimes for privately-let properties says there have been 580 housing prosecutions in London under the...

A private landlord who provided false documents and endangered the lives of his tenants has been ordered to undertake 200 hours’...

A rogue landlord who rented out a shoddy property in north west London has become the first to be fined under...