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Gateshead plans to include a third of its private rented properties in a selective licencing scheme that also aims to improve tenants’ wellbeing and prompt landlords to boost energy efficiency.
A cross-party group of peers has attacked the government for sidestepping its proposals to clamp down on rogue letting agents.
Landlords are less worried by the Government’s looming Renters (Reform) Bill and more concerned about the financial squeeze they face including tenants who don’t pay their rent, a new poll reveals.
At least 163,000 privately rented properties disappeared from the market between 2019 and the end of 2023 as the number of landlords selling up outstripped purchases.
Serving a Section 21 notice - you need to be meticulous in your preparation, making sure you have complied faultlessly with all the regulations
A big lettings agency has questioned why the government is set on pursuing the end to fixed term tenancies, while ignoring the needs of landlords and tenants.
A Labour-commissioned review of the private rented sector has called for a new renters’ charter to strengthen tenants’ rights and a mandatory National Landlords Register to help enforce compliance.
Three London landlords are to pay over £45,000 in rent back to their tenants following separate Tribunal decisions, highlighting the increasing risks of Rent Repayment Orders as renters become more aware of the huge sums that are often involved.
The London Borough of Lambeth is to launch a £923 per property selective licencing scheme in four wards this September after a lengthy consultation period that began in December last year.
The new Labour Government has been busy changing the rules on EPCs for rentals and there’s ongoing consultation exercises to decide what changes are needed
A landlord has been fined almost £5,000 after being found guilty for a second time of operating an illegal HMO.
Middlesborough Council has brought in new planning restrictions to clamp down on the “wrong sort of HMOs”.
Gateshead is to push ahead with new property licensing schemes despite local landlords and letting agents opposing them including 93% saying the fees are ‘too high’.
Rental property yields are shrinking as the costs created by more regulations and legislation eat into landlord profits – so is it time more BTL landlords became SME developers?
Scotland’s tenants’ union has warned that removing rent rise reprotections will lead to an uptick in de facto evictions and homelessness.
Maidstone Borough Council has become the latest authority hoping to entice private landlords to hand over their properties in exchange for guaranteed rent.
A rogue landlord who squeezed six people into one room of his HMO has been told to pay £37,000 in fines and costs.
The UK’s new towns will favour build-to-rent developers rather than private landlords, according to a think tank which labels them “profit-seeking institutional investors”.
The Scottish government has urged tenants to tackle unfair tenancies before the emergency rent cap and additional evictions protections end on 31st March.
Landlords have been warned by a TV programme to watch out for tenants who attempt to steal their properties via title fraud.
Council leaders are the latest group to lobby Michael Gove over the Renters (Reform) Bill, urging him to extend notice periods for evictions from two to four months.
The group of rebel Tory MPs backing moves to make significant changes to the Renters (Reform) Bill has today published its comprehensive list of amendments, along with the full names of the 49 MPs within the group (see list at end).
A financial report has revealed Nottingham Council’s struggle to keep money raised from selective licensing ring-fenced.
The Government has delayed its already-announced reforms of the courts, making it even less likely that the UK’s County Courts will be ready to take on the extra work created by banning Section 21 evictions, it has been claimed.
The Government has taken on board a list of changes to the Renters (Reform) Bill requested by some 50 rebel Tory MPs, it has been reported
The anticipation surrounding the Renters (Reform) Bill has remained a constant topic recently, with discussions over the timing of the abolition of Section 21 constantly fluctuating.
The Government has admitted that the issuing of Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs), which are used by non-UK citizens to prove they have a right to rent properties, has been taking too long.
An absentee landlord has been stung with a £1.44 million penalty after he continually broke planning rules in a decade-long stand-off with Ealing Council.
Building 90,000 social homes a year will end the housing emergency and pay for itself within three years due to the wider economic benefits, according to a study by Shelter and the National Housing Federation.
Tom Entwistle passes on some thoughts on dealing with tenant selection and securing a good tenant-letting in the current economic climate
A former landlord has been ordered to pay a council tax demand dating back nearly 20 years.
A rogue landlord has been ordered to pay more than £9,000 for ignoring notices to improve his dangerous property.
Leeds Building Society has stopped lending to investors buying holiday lets in areas of North Norfolk and North Yorkshire in a bid to relieve pressure on local housing.
The quality of service provided by letting agents to landlords is under the spotlight again after an influential group within the Lords revealed it is to probe into the sector.
It has been confirmed over the weekend that a group of 49 ‘rebel’ Tory MPs are working hard have the Renters (Reform) Bill amended.
MPs have been given more details of the Government’s plans to clamp down on holiday lets in tourism hotspots following Michael Gove’s announcement this week.
Minimum energy efficiency standards (MEES) are not being enforced by overstretched councils who cannot keep any income they make from fines imposed for breaches.
Landlords will have to fork out an extra £460 to use the new Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self-Assessment system.
Landlords who have used cowboy spray foam firms to insulate their properties are to be offered help by one of the main trade associations for the sector.
A staggering 94% of renters don’t have confidence in the government’s approach to housing, according to a poll by SpareRoom.
Salford Council wants new powers to help stem the growth of HMOs in the city.
Jacob Rees-Mogg has turned on Tory colleagues by labelling the Renters (Reform) Bill “desperate tinkering at the edges” which won’t help landlords or tenants.
A landlord who ignored a council’s enforcement notice to stop operating an HMO without planning permission has been told to return it to a ‘traditional family home’ or face a huge fine.