26 Mar, 2025

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OPINION: The EPC ratings system is 'not fit for purpose'

OPINION: The EPC ratings system is 'not fit for purpose'

Opinion

Ever since I started to market one of my commercial buildings around 10 years ago now, I began to doubt the efficacy of the EPC rating system. The guy that came along to do the inspection told me himself he had just completed a 6 week course, or whatever it was, to train to be a

BREAKING: Government toughens up smoke and C0 alarm regulations

BREAKING: Government toughens up smoke and C0 alarm regulations

News

Social and private landlords are to face tougher new rules which make it mandatory to fit smoke alarms in all rented accommodation regardless of tenure, and widen the conditions under which they must be fitted. Revisions to the smoke and carbon monoxide detector regulations also

ANALYSIS: Does buy-to-let still beat the stock market?

ANALYSIS: Does buy-to-let still beat the stock market?

News

If you had �50k to invest right now, where would you put it, buy-to-let property or stocks and shares? Certainly leaving it in a traditional savings account, with interest rates as they are at rock bottom, thats out of the question. And with the threat of rising inflation ea

EXCLUSIVE: Costliest and most common landlord insurance claims

EXCLUSIVE: Costliest and most common landlord insurance claims

News

Research carried out by LandlordZONEs insurance partner, Hamilton Fraser Total Landlord Insurance, revealed that the vast majority of landlords, https://hamiltonfraser.co.uk/knowledge/good-landlord-quiz-results/?utm_source=landlordzone&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=lz_november

Opinion: Should landlords dive into heat pumps?

Opinion: Should landlords dive into heat pumps?

Opinion

The move to provide home heating and hot water by this method is part of a Government strategy aimed at making deep cuts to greenhouse gas emissions and decarbonizing the UK's power sector by 2035. Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the scheme was designed to bring low-carbon hea

UPDATED: Bailiff evictions to be suspended over Xmas and New Year for a month

UPDATED: Bailiff evictions to be suspended over Xmas and New Year for a month

News

Tenants facing eviction in England are to be protected from losing their homes during the Christmas and New Year period, HM Courts and Tribunal has confirmed. Between 13th December and 10th January no evictions should be s

Tax changes for Airbnb landlords 'in the pipeline' to stop gaming of the rates system

Tax changes for Airbnb landlords 'in the pipeline' to stop gaming of the rates system

News

Some holiday lets owners are gaming the system to claim business rate relief, comments made by the Housing Minister Lord Greenhalgh suggest, who has promised action to clamp down on the practice. In a Lords debate on second homes, peers voiced concerns that second homeo

Asylum seeker HMO operator fined �60,000 for running house without licence

Asylum seeker HMO operator fined �60,000 for running house without licence

News

A company that houses asylum seekers has been fined more than �60,000 for HMO offences in Newport. Clearsprings Ready Homes, which has the contract for operating accommodation for asylum seekers in Wales, was found guilty of letting an HMO in Redland Street (pictured), in the B

Bill to make EPC rules mandatory early 'unlikely to become law' after stabbing

Bill to make EPC rules mandatory early 'unlikely to become law' after stabbing

News

The Minimum Energy Performance of Buildings Bill, which aimed to advance the governments energy efficiency commitments, is in doubt following the tragic death of David Amess MP. He was the presentation bills main sponsor in the Commons, launching it at the same time as Lor

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Heat pumps 'don't help upgrade EPCs' warns new report

Heat pumps 'don't help upgrade EPCs' warns new report

News
News
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Despite enthusiasm in Whitehall for heat pumps they not the best way to upgrade a rented property EPC rating, a new report has claimed.

Two thirds of private renters struggling to pay rent

Two thirds of private renters struggling to pay rent

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News
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Nearly two-thirds of working private renters - 4,450,000 people - are falling behind with rent payments or struggling to pay their rent.

COMMENT: Year end 2024 heralds both optimism and some pessimism for property investing…

COMMENT: Year end 2024 heralds both optimism and some pessimism for property investing…

News
News
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Tom Entwistle recalls the year in property and looks forward to the year ahead

Labour to help landlords trapped by unsafe cladding

Labour to help landlords trapped by unsafe cladding

News
News
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Landlords who own flats in blocks with unsafe cladding have been given an assurance that developers must meet repair deadlines next year following the publication of the government’s Remediation Acceleration Plan (RAP).

'Bills-included' tenancies are more profitable, says EPC expert

'Bills-included' tenancies are more profitable, says EPC expert

News
News
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Landlords offering a bills-included rental could dramatically increase their profit margins by improving its energy efficiency.

Council boasts about landlord prosecution success

Council boasts about landlord prosecution success

News
News
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Sheffield Council has boasted that it’s one of the keenest prosecutors of rogue landlords in the UK.

Savills’ optimistic outlook for property in 2025 

Savills’ optimistic outlook for property in 2025 

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News
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Unveiling its 2025 cross-sector UK forecasts, Savills strikes an optimistic note and predicts highest returns for North West buy-to-let

Licensing expert slams Labour's selective scheme rule change

Licensing expert slams Labour's selective scheme rule change

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News
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An expected expansion in selective licensing schemes next year may fill council coffers but won’t improve housing standards, a leading landlord figure has claimed.

Labour's 'peverse' renting reforms will raise rents, warns TV landlord

Labour's 'peverse' renting reforms will raise rents, warns TV landlord

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News
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The Renters’ Rights Bill will discourage landlords from renting out their properties and raise rents, according to Talk TV presenter and private landlord, Cristo Foufas (main image).

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%

News
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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News
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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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News
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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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News
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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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News
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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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News
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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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News
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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'

News
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

News
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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News
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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'

Information
News
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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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News
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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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News
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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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News
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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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News
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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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News
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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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News
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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.