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Opinion: does Michael Gove know something we don't?

Opinion: does Michael Gove know something we don't?

Opinion

It would seem that successive Tory governments have waged an ongoing and progressively more vicious war on buy-to-let landlords, but this latest layer of legislation goes much further. Yes, this latest iteration, and one thats https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/1768/s

EXTRA red tape, scams and repairs drive more landlords to use agencies

EXTRA red tape, scams and repairs drive more landlords to use agencies

News

Almost two thirds (63%) of private landlords who manage their own properties are tired of sorting out repairs and dealing with red tape and considering using a letting agency or property manager instead.  A Uswitch poll of 2,000 landlords found that the most common reason t

Labour to 'go further than Tories' with harsher Decent Homes Standard

Labour to 'go further than Tories' with harsher Decent Homes Standard

News

Labour has promised to ramp up the pressure on private landlords by introducing a legally binding Decent Homes Standard 2. Its latest draft policy programme a provisional blueprint likely to shape the next general election manifesto includes a proposal to take the

Starmer 'set to U-turn on rent controls' as London Mayor pleads for more powers

Starmer 'set to U-turn on rent controls' as London Mayor pleads for more powers

News

Keir Starmer is set to rebuff previous calls by London mayor Sadiq Khan to bring in a rent freeze, it has been reported. Khan has been banging his rent freeze drum for months now as the cost-of-living crisis has hit many tenants personal finances, telling the BBC in Oct

'Disaster' renting reform bill to enter parliament tomorrow after PMQs

'Disaster' renting reform bill to enter parliament tomorrow after PMQs

News

The much-delayed Renters Reform Bill is rumoured to be getting its first reading tomorrow after Prime Ministers Questions, although the 'full meat' of the proposals will come later. Rumoured to be renamed the Rented Homes Bill or Renters (Reform) Bill, landlords are waitin

BREAKING: Renters (Reform) Bill to get first airing after PMQs today

BREAKING: Renters (Reform) Bill to get first airing after PMQs today

News

The Government is to finally introduce its long-delayed renting reforms into parliament later today following Prime Ministers Questions (PMQs) in the Commons. The Bill, which is to be called the Renters (Reform) Bill, will get its first reading just aft

Third of tenants turning to credit to fund tenancy deposits - claim

Third of tenants turning to credit to fund tenancy deposits - claim

News

A tenancy deposit affordacility crisis is looming as new data reveals that nearly a third of renters are borrowing money to pay for them, new research shows. The poll of 1,000 tenants reveals how they are using credit cards, personal loans, overdrafts and family loans to scrape

Tech firm gets public cash to help portfolio landlords improve energy efficiency

Tech firm gets public cash to help portfolio landlords improve energy efficiency

News

Proptech company Propflo is working with BTL mortgage lenders to help portfolio landlords make their properties more energy efficient. It has been given a grant by Innovate UK to encourage lenders to explore initiatives such as encouraging retrofitting in their products, creatin

NEW: Government promises crack-down on dodgy rent-to-rent operators

NEW: Government promises crack-down on dodgy rent-to-rent operators

News

The government has vowed to crack down on dodgy rent-to-rent landlords who flout housing laws. Housing Minister Baroness Scott of Bybrook (pictured) says it is aware of concerns that some rent-to-rent arrangements have sometimes been used to make it more difficult to identify la

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NE city reveals plans for unusual licencing scheme

NE city reveals plans for unusual licencing scheme

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Newcastle Council has revealed plans for an unusual selective licensing scheme that includes building-specific zones.

Tom's landlord guide to winning deposit disputes

Tom's landlord guide to winning deposit disputes

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It's frustrating when the landlord-tenant relationship has to end with a dispute over damages in the property, with a need for deep cleaning, or rent owing, but the deposit is there for these reasons.

Rent-to-rent sector 'must be cleaned up', warn agents

Rent-to-rent sector 'must be cleaned up', warn agents

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Rent-to-rent operators will try to avoid the changes set out in the Renters (Reform) Bill by not using ASTs, a leading property industry body has warned.

OFFICIAL: Rent increases hit record high of 9.2% year-on-year

OFFICIAL: Rent increases hit record high of 9.2% year-on-year

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The rate at which rents have been rising has increased across the UK to record levels, official figures reveal today.

Letting agents call for radical action to solve rental housing crisis

Letting agents call for radical action to solve rental housing crisis

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A group representing letting agents has slammed the chaotic growth of the private rented sector in recent years, calling for radical changes to solve the rental housing crisis this has created.

Jersey launches island-wide selective licencing scheme

Jersey launches island-wide selective licencing scheme

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All Jersey’s landlords will need a licence from the beginning of next month after the Island’s government launched a scheme to improve standards in the PRS.

Average rent arrears jump 27% to £1,800 in a year

Average rent arrears jump 27% to £1,800 in a year

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Average rent arrears owed by tenants to landlords have climbed by 27% so far this year, new data reveals.

Minister slams gas boiler suppliers over price rises

Minister slams gas boiler suppliers over price rises

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The government has urged the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to review the boiler supply market amid fears that a lack of competition is leading to higher prices.

Evictions expert calls for national 'rogue tenant' database

Evictions expert calls for national 'rogue tenant' database

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Evictions expert Paul Shamplina has called for a rogue tenant database to be established, pointing out that bad letting agents and landlords face being named and shamed via official schemes, but tenants do not.

Property licencing schemes should last for ten years, MPs are told

Property licencing schemes should last for ten years, MPs are told

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Comment has been made the Chartered Institue of Health Officers, which says such schemes should be the key tool for improving PRS home quality.

No change to CGT - but four landlords say 'we’re out!'

No change to CGT - but four landlords say 'we’re out!'

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Despite the overall good news, many landlords have remained in brace position and have reached out to exit the market and sell their buy-to-lets.

Stamp duty increase 'will reduce investment in private rented sector'

Stamp duty increase 'will reduce investment in private rented sector'

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Property auctioneers gave revealed its concerns about the Chancellor’s decision to raise Stamp Duty for those who purchase buy-to-let properties.

Prince William to 'upgrade estate' featuring mouldy rental homes

Prince William to 'upgrade estate' featuring mouldy rental homes

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Prince William has promised to upgrade the private rental properties he rents out via the Duchy of Cornwall after reports over the weekend.

Tenant activists call for 'harsher' renting reform bill

Tenant activists call for 'harsher' renting reform bill

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A lobbying group for renters’ rights is hoping to persuade MPs to make the Government’s renting reform legislation regulated landlords even harder.

COMMENT: Autumn Budget 2024

COMMENT: Autumn Budget 2024

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Investors, business owners, landlords and pension savers were braced for a painful attack on their assets, gains and savings

Scotland to limit rent rises to official inflation rate

Scotland to limit rent rises to official inflation rate

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The Scottish Government has announced a new inflation-linked rent cap in its Housing Bill in a bid to balance supporting tenants with protecting landlords’ property rights.

Leading research institute slams Chancellor over stamp duty hike

Leading research institute slams Chancellor over stamp duty hike

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The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has slammed the Stamp Duty rise for landlords, warning that tenants will suffer as a result of the Budget announcement.

Bringing back empty rental homes should be 'biggest priority' says landlord

Bringing back empty rental homes should be 'biggest priority' says landlord

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Landlords should be encouraged to renovate and repurpose their empty properties to help resolve the housing crisis, according to one landlord.

Landlord to return deposit after odd attempt to charge for letters

Landlord to return deposit after odd attempt to charge for letters

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A landlord has failed in a bizarre attempt to withhold her tenant’s deposit by billing hundreds of pounds for writing letters and taking photographs.

New Local Housing Allowance freeze is 'nonsensical' say landlords

New Local Housing Allowance freeze is 'nonsensical' say landlords

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The government’s decision to freeze housing benefit rates next year, leaving private tenants facing financial hardship, has been labelled “nonsensical”.

Autumn Budget – A Halloween Horror Story

Autumn Budget – A Halloween Horror Story

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After a huge amount of speculation in the press we can finally report what the new Labour Government has decided to do (and not to do) on the tax front

Stamp duty hike will add £7,000 to each purchase for landlords

Stamp duty hike will add £7,000 to each purchase for landlords

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Landlords will face an additional average charge of more than £7,000 from tomorrow when buying a property thanks to an uplift in Stamp Duty charges.

'If the Budget delivers stability, the property sector will benefit'

'If the Budget delivers stability, the property sector will benefit'

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Nick Lyons, chief executive of inventory experts No Letting Go give his view on the measures announced yesterday in parliament by Rachel Reeves.

ANALYSIS: What does stamp duty hike mean for landlords?

ANALYSIS: What does stamp duty hike mean for landlords?

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The Labour Government has ramped up its increasingly anti-landlord policies by increasing the stamp duty they pay when buying rental properties from 3% to 5%.

BUDGET: 'Additional dwelling' stamp duty for landlords rises to 5%

BUDGET: 'Additional dwelling' stamp duty for landlords rises to 5%

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Chancellor Rachel Reeves has delivered a tax blow to landlords with a 2% increase in stamp duty to 5% on second homes and investment properties – which takes effect tomorrow.

Rogue landlord to pay £7,000 after council raids properties

Rogue landlord to pay £7,000 after council raids properties

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A rogue landlord has been handed a £7,000 legal bill for renting out three dangerous flats containing a raft of faults.

Activists urge Chancellor to make landlords pay NI contributions

Activists urge Chancellor to make landlords pay NI contributions

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Generation Rent has urged Chancellor Rachel Reeves to tax landlords harder in her first Budget by making them pay NI contributions.

Short-lets licensing would be intensely impractical' warns expert

Short-lets licensing would be intensely impractical' warns expert

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A leading property lawyer has described a campaigning MP’s latest attempt to usher in harsher regulation of short-lets in holiday hotspots as ‘intensely impractical’.

Labour promises to kick dodgy letting agents out of industry

Labour promises to kick dodgy letting agents out of industry

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Labour has committed to regulating estate agents in a bid to oust the rogue operators within the sector who give the wider industry a bad name and often cost landlords money and time when their services fall short of minimum standards.

Manchester mayor to back role of 'good landlords' in rental sector

Manchester mayor to back role of 'good landlords' in rental sector

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Manchester mayor Andy Burnham is to make a keynote speech at the NRLA’s annual conference in Birmingham next week.

Third of all rental homes have an EPC under band C, new data shows

Third of all rental homes have an EPC under band C, new data shows

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Landlords face an ongoing buy-to-let investment challenge as a new report reveals that a third of all homes for sale in Britian have an EPC rating below a C.

Agent sentenced after giving drugs gang keys to landlord's flat

Agent sentenced after giving drugs gang keys to landlord's flat

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A letting agent who allowed a criminal gang to use landlords’ empty flats to hide cash and drugs has been given a community sentence.

Council spends £210k chasing down landlord for £40k fine

Council spends £210k chasing down landlord for £40k fine

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A rogue landlord who threatened to evict his tenant after she complained about dodgy utilities bills has been handed a huge court fine.

Is the rental market broken? Have your say

Is the rental market broken? Have your say

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Landlords, tenants and letting agents are being asked to reveal their experiences of the private rented sector within a new national survey.