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Renters (Reform) Bill - we take a first look at the radical new legislation

Renters (Reform) Bill - we take a first look at the radical new legislation

News

The Renters (Reform) Bill has finally had its first reading in Parliament, promising a fair deal to renters, faster redress for landlords and giving more details on how 'pets with lets' will work. Heralded as a once-in-a-generation overhaul of housing laws�, the government

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

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Councillors in big south coast city back rent controls

Councillors in big south coast city back rent controls

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Councillors in Brighton have backed a petition by campaign group Living Rent to introduce rent controls during a debate yesterday at its monthly full council meeting.

'New model rental contracts in Wales put deposits in jeapordy'

'New model rental contracts in Wales put deposits in jeapordy'

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Landlords in Wales have found themselves unable to make deductions to deposits when using occupation contract templates, it has been claimed.

Selective licencing given green light in 'blighted' seaside town

Selective licencing given green light in 'blighted' seaside town

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Northumberland council is the latest to approve more selective licencing with two wards in the seaside town of Blythe.

Landlord minister joins new Labour housing team

Landlord minister joins new Labour housing team

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Five new housing ministers have been tasked with helping the government deliver homes and reform the PRS – and one of them is a landlord.

Labour told to address dire rental supply problem

Labour told to address dire rental supply problem

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Frustrated surveyors have urged the government to introduce fair legislation that increases supply as landlords continue to quit the sector.

WARNING: Hasty eviction reforms will be 'nail in coffin' of PRS

WARNING: Hasty eviction reforms will be 'nail in coffin' of PRS

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Propertymark has warned that abolishing Section 21 without an adequate replacement mechanism will add 'another nail in the coffin' of the PRS.

Council to launch third licencing scheme charging £609

Council to launch third licencing scheme charging £609

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Salford Council is to launch a consultation into reviving one of its selective licencing schemes - offering landlords slightly cheaper licences than eight years ago.

POLL: Higher costs to force 85% of landlords to raise rents

POLL: Higher costs to force 85% of landlords to raise rents

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Most buy-to-let landlords plan to raise rents in the next 12 months after being hammered by higher interest rates and operating costs.

Rental arrears ease as cost-of-living crisis recedes

Rental arrears ease as cost-of-living crisis recedes

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Fewer tenants are going into rent arrears, according to the latest figures from Handelsbanken.

Social landlords blasted by Housing Ombudsman report - for maladministration

Social landlords blasted by Housing Ombudsman report - for maladministration

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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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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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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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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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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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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.

Planners green light first rental homes from John Lewis

Planners green light first rental homes from John Lewis

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John Lewis has finally received the green light to begin its transformation into a build-to-rent landlord after Bromley Council approved its plans for 353 rental homes.

AI firm launches that pairs up tenants with ideal rental properties

AI firm launches that pairs up tenants with ideal rental properties

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A new tech start-up using AI to pair tenants with the most suitable rented homes has been launched.

Former minister who ushered in unpopular 'evictions ban' seeks Tory leadership

Former minister who ushered in unpopular 'evictions ban' seeks Tory leadership

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Former housing secretary Robert Jenrick who brought in the controversial 'evictions ban' during Covid has joined the Conservative party leadership race.

EXCLUSIVE: Senior figures slam ongoing court delays for landlords

EXCLUSIVE: Senior figures slam ongoing court delays for landlords

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Two leading figures from the private rented sector have slammed the ongoing nightmare many landlords are facing when waiting for evictions to pass through the courts.

Shelter calls for radical changes for landlords, but will Labour listen?

Shelter calls for radical changes for landlords, but will Labour listen?

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Shelter has called for indefinite tenancies as well as rent increases restricted to once a year and limited to a rise either in line with inflation or wage growth. 

Is Labour about to give councils full powers to licence landlords?

Is Labour about to give councils full powers to licence landlords?

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Housing minister Matthew Pennycook has hinted heavily that councils will be given powers to introduce large licencing schemes without his approval as part of Labour’s push for greater devolution.

REVEALED: Real cost of making a property energy efficient

REVEALED: Real cost of making a property energy efficient

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While the new Labour government has talked about making rented homes more energy efficient, one company has shone a light on how much it will cost landlords to achieve it.

Lettings agency chiefs call for minimum property standards

Lettings agency chiefs call for minimum property standards

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New minimum standards for rental properties and industry training are needed to improve quality and safety in the PRS, the government has been told.

Landlord to return £800 deposit over jaw-dropping contract clause

Landlord to return £800 deposit over jaw-dropping contract clause

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A landlord who tried to charge a prospective tenant for having overnight guests has been ordered to repay the holding deposit.

Certainty needed on energy efficiency targets

Certainty needed on energy efficiency targets

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James Kent, the NRLA’s Chief Innovation Officer, and founder of digital compliance platform Safe2, explains why landlords need to know where they stand sooner rather than later.

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 the homeless is folding with extensive debts and legal claims. 

Landlord's appeal against huge rent repayment order fails

Landlord's appeal against huge rent repayment order fails

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A landlord has failed in a last-ditch attempt to convince a property tribunal that he shouldn’t have to pay a rent repayment order – and has been stung with a £13,643 bill.

Thatcher's favourite council to bring in PRS licencing schemes

Thatcher's favourite council to bring in PRS licencing schemes

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One of London’s most high-profile councils has revealed plans to bring in selective and additional licensing schemes in a bid to clamp down on rogue landlords and improve rental properties.