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Purplebricks sold to rival for �1 after senior team throw in the towel

Purplebricks sold to rival for �1 after senior team throw in the towel

News

Purplebricks, which at one stage was used by thousands of landlords to manage their properties, has announced that its assets and business are to be sold to rival Strike for �1, pending approval by its shareholders. Any funds remaining in the firm some �5.5 million are

Gove to approve looser rules for HMO landlords housing asylum seekers

Gove to approve looser rules for HMO landlords housing asylum seekers

News

Housing Secretary Michael Gove is set to push through new rules on HMO safety for housing asylum seekers with little fanfare on the same day that the Renters Reform Bill is published. The changes outlined in the proposed https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2023/9780

BLOG: 'Reform bill will solve the problem of pet damage for landlords'

BLOG: 'Reform bill will solve the problem of pet damage for landlords'

News

The long-awaited Renters (Reform) Bill will finally be introduced in parliament after Prime Minister's Questions today. Setting out plans for 12 key reforms to the private rental sector, the 11th pledge - to give tenants the right in law to request a pet, which should not be unr

Agents who lack licencing law know-how 'putting landlords at risk'

Agents who lack licencing law know-how 'putting landlords at risk'

News

Bungling letting agents with a lack of legal understanding are putting landlords at risk of prosecution, it has been claimed. One landlord expert has advised caution when signing up with a firm in the current climate of increasing legislation and falling profits, particularly fo

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

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Renting reforms will pose 'serious risk' to self-managing landlords

Renting reforms will pose 'serious risk' to self-managing landlords

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Landlords face considerable risks from self-managing their properties when the Renters’ Rights Bill goes live, according to a letting agent expert.

Rent controls will backfire, landlords warn Scots ministers

Rent controls will backfire, landlords warn Scots ministers

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Scotland’s landlords and letting agents have warned that the country’s imminent rent controls will backfire.

Rent rewards app urges tenants to pay by card not BACS

Rent rewards app urges tenants to pay by card not BACS

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News
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Landlords could soon be paid their rent via credit cards rather than bank transfer after a Spanish company said it plans to launch in the UK.

Renters' Rights Bill - a month on, what's happened?

Renters' Rights Bill - a month on, what's happened?

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It's been just over a month since I last penned my thoughts for LandlordZONE, and in that brief period, the private rental sector has continued to evolve at rapid pace.

Landlord to pay £64,000 fine over 'hidden' HMO

Landlord to pay £64,000 fine over 'hidden' HMO

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News
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A rogue landlord has been handed a whopping £64,000 fine after he was found renting a five-bedroom house to 13 people.

House raffle boss slams UK's 'unaffordable' rental market

House raffle boss slams UK's 'unaffordable' rental market

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News
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A prize company CEO says the UK’s rental stock shortage is driving tenants’ anxiety about rent rises.

Online repairs service for self-managing landlords launched

Online repairs service for self-managing landlords launched

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News
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A new online property maintenance platform aims to help landlords stay on top of repairs, raise standards and attract and retain good tenants.

'Time to fight back against those who say every landlord's bad'

'Time to fight back against those who say every landlord's bad'

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News
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A leading landlord has slammed the pressure groups and campaigns who have been calling recently for landlords to be ‘eradicated’ from the housing market

Lawyers call for 'millions' more for renter representation during evictions

Lawyers call for 'millions' more for renter representation during evictions

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News
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The Law Society of England and Wales has called for a multi-million-pound investment in renters’ representation via legal aid following a rise in eviction numbers.

'Selective licencing scheme will lead to higher rents'

'Selective licencing scheme will lead to higher rents'

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News
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A row has broken out over plans to re-introduce selective licencing for landlords within parts of the Salford area of Manchester.

Labour confirms minimum EPC 'band C' for rented homes

Labour confirms minimum EPC 'band C' for rented homes

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News
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Labour has confirmed that it will require all private sector landlords to bring their properties up to a minimum Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) band C by 2030.

BLOG: The NRLA's 'Your Portfolio' is changing - here’s how

BLOG: The NRLA's 'Your Portfolio' is changing - here’s how

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James Kent, the NRLA’s Chief Innovation Officer and founder of the digital compliance platform Safe2, explains how the organisation's Portfolio platform is smarter, faster and more intuitive than ever.

Investing in commercial property – is now a good time to start?

Investing in commercial property – is now a good time to start?

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Commercial property might be sensible way of diversifying your overall investment portfolio risk

Labour WILL drop £11,000 CGT bombshell on landlords reckons wealth firm

Labour WILL drop £11,000 CGT bombshell on landlords reckons wealth firm

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News
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If as many expect Capital Gains Tax (CGT) rates are aligned to people’s personal income tax then landlords selling properties would be on average £11,00 worse off, it has been claimed.

Labour promises 'not to introduce rent controls in England'

Labour promises 'not to introduce rent controls in England'

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Housing minister Matthew Pennycook has confirmed that Labour has no plans to introduce rent controls in England.

CGT revenues from rental home sales rise by £100m

CGT revenues from rental home sales rise by £100m

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News
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A further sign that landlords are selling up comes from new HMRC figures that reveal an increase in Capital Gains Tax (CGT) revenues for the Government from the sale of residential properties.

Big agency boss pins rising rents and low supply on Tories

Big agency boss pins rising rents and low supply on Tories

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A leading lettings agency boss has pinned rising rents and fewer properties to rent squarely on the previous Conservative Government, says its policies have ‘driven away’ landlords.

BREAKING: Bank of England cuts base interest rate by 0.25%

BREAKING: Bank of England cuts base interest rate by 0.25%

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News
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Landlords with buy-to-let mortgages who are about to come out of short-term fixed-rate deals will be relieved today after the Bank of England cut its base lending rate to 5%.

Britain needs more homes, not landlords says campaigning group

Britain needs more homes, not landlords says campaigning group

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News
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Encouraging landlords to rent out more homes will not solve the housing crisis, it has been claimed.

Essex landlord banned for three years after HMO court case

Essex landlord banned for three years after HMO court case

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A rogue landlord who was also a letting agent in Essex has been banned from being a landlord in England for three years.

East Midlands city reveals clampdown on smaller HMOs

East Midlands city reveals clampdown on smaller HMOs

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A big council in the East Midlands has revealed plans to extend and widen its additional licencing scheme for HMOs.

Angela Rayner reveals big changes for Right to Buy

Angela Rayner reveals big changes for Right to Buy

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Labour has moved to make good on its manifesto promise to reform and improve the Right to Buy scheme which, under the Tories, saw the number of publicly-funded affordable rented homes in England shrink dramatically.

Social landlords blasted by Housing Ombudsman report - for maladministration

Social landlords blasted by Housing Ombudsman report - for maladministration

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News
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Councils are failing in more ways than one. When it comes to complaints from their tenants, repairs and maintaining safety standards, councils are not performing

Landlord loses long-running 'battle of the staircase' with council

Landlord loses long-running 'battle of the staircase' with council

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An HMO landlord has lost his appeal against an improvement notice ordering him to update a 'paddle staircase'.

Holiday lets slump in Scotland as regulation bites

Holiday lets slump in Scotland as regulation bites

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News
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The number of short lets in Scotland fell last year as the sector felt the impact of its licensing scheme clampdown.

More tenants using guarantors as competition for homes heats up

More tenants using guarantors as competition for homes heats up

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One in five private renters had to provide a guarantor when moving into their current property - equating to 940,000 households - according to the latest English Housing Survey.

Collapse of firms behind student accommodation scheme blamed on 'over-supply'

Collapse of firms behind student accommodation scheme blamed on 'over-supply'

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Millions owed to a lender by businesses which collapsed due to the oversupply of student accommodation in Newcastle are unlikely to be recovered.

PLANNING: Will this soon be Britain's biggest-ever HMO?

PLANNING: Will this soon be Britain's biggest-ever HMO?

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News
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A private landlord in Kent has submitted plans for what will be the UK’s largest HMO if the scheme gets the go-ahead.

RESEARCH: Smaller properties offering best yields to landlords

RESEARCH: Smaller properties offering best yields to landlords

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News
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Flats and smaller houses make the best buy-to-let investment for landlords, having seen the strongest annual increase in average yield compared with other property types during the past 12 months.

'Pension funds and investment firms will be tomorrow's landlords'

'Pension funds and investment firms will be tomorrow's landlords'

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News
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Traditional private landlords are rapidly being replaced by pension funds and private equity firms seeking to capitalise on the lucrative build-to-rent sector.

Scandal hit social housing REIT winding down

Scandal hit social housing REIT winding down

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News
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Home REIT, the investment trust marketed as the dream scheme to house 10,000 homeless and needy tenants, and a sure-fire investment alternative in property, is folding with extensive debts and legal claims

'HMOs do not deny homes to families and first time buyers'

'HMOs do not deny homes to families and first time buyers'

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A councillor in the North of England has pushed back against unlikely claims that large firms operating HMOs are ‘taking away his town’s family homes’.

ADVICE: '5 simple steps to take your property portfolio to the next level'

ADVICE: '5 simple steps to take your property portfolio to the next level'

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Looking to boost your property portfolio? Below are the five factors you must consider before your next property purchase.

Tribunal slams 'reprehensible' landlord who illegally evicted nurse

Tribunal slams 'reprehensible' landlord who illegally evicted nurse

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A landlord who sub-let an unlicensed HMO, failed to pay thousands of pounds in rent to the owner and illegally evicted a tenant has been handed a £4,872 rent repayment order.