Date

Library

Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Government to rush through changes to housing laws

Government to rush through changes to housing laws

News

Housing secretary Michael Gove has announced restrictions on Airbnb style short-term lettings. He also wants to relax rules on permitted development rights for commercial to residential conversions, and he says he will abolish section 21 in this Parliament.

Legionella risk, one aspect of letting that many landlords never think about...

Legionella risk, one aspect of letting that many landlords never think about...

Information

Landlords (and their agents) have a serious responsibility to undertake actions to protect tenants, visitors and passers-by, by preventing Legionella bacteria from causing a health hazard.

Government slammed as affordable rented home building tanks

Government slammed as affordable rented home building tanks

News

A consortium of London housing associations has warned the government that new affordable home-building is grinding to a halt.

Covid's long shadow over rental market 'finally fading'

Covid's long shadow over rental market 'finally fading'

News

The Covid years’ extreme effect on the capital’s lettings market appears to be significantly easing – although demand remains abnormally high.

No-fault evictions ban 'an attack on basic property rights'

No-fault evictions ban 'an attack on basic property rights'

News

A basic tenet of property rights that landlords should be able to reclaim their property after an agreed period from a tenant is being undermined by Michael Gove’s push to end Section 21 evictions, a leading free market thinktank has claimed.

Government to relax rules on heat pumps, Gove reveals

Government to relax rules on heat pumps, Gove reveals

News

The government is considering relaxing heat pump rules in England which manufacturers believe could result in a boost in sales.

Letting agent slams Scotlands' 'nightmare' new repairs rules

Letting agent slams Scotlands' 'nightmare' new repairs rules

News

New safety regulations due to impact private landlords in Scotland have been labelled a logistical nightmare by one Edinburgh letting agent.

University launches first ever degree for letting agents

University launches first ever degree for letting agents

News

Estate agents might have been deemed more untrustworthy than lawyers and traffic wardens in public polls, but the Royal Agricultural University aims to demonstrate the profession’s value by launching the UK’s first university course in residential estate agency.

It's time to stop blaming private landlords for the rental crisis

It's time to stop blaming private landlords for the rental crisis

Opinion

Government ministers, housing campaigners, landlords, letting agents and many of the other actors in the drama that is the private rented sector have been arguing hard about who is to blame for the high rents and lack of supply within the market.

Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Landlord reveals nightmare of illegal holiday let tenants

Landlord reveals nightmare of illegal holiday let tenants

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

A landlord fears neighbours may force him out for breaking lease conditions due to rogue renters illegally sub-letting his flat.

EXCLUSIVE: Welsh Government says landlords 'will get retrofit cash'

EXCLUSIVE: Welsh Government says landlords 'will get retrofit cash'

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

Private landlords have been excluded from a new government Welsh government initiative that funds retrofit advice in residential properties and hands out interest-free loans for energy efficiency improvements.

Council sends out inspectors on foot to check selective licencing

Council sends out inspectors on foot to check selective licencing

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

Inspectors employed by a big London borough have started knocking on doors around Wembley to check whether landlords have a selective licence.

Landlord fined £50,000 over 'house of horrors' rental

Landlord fined £50,000 over 'house of horrors' rental

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

A landlord in Wembley, North London has been fined £49,500 after a court heard that he rented out a five-bedroom two-storey unlicenced house in very poor condition to eight people including two children.

Chancellor to leave BTL landlords alone in budget, claims report

Chancellor to leave BTL landlords alone in budget, claims report

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

The Chancellor is expected to leave the rate of capital gains tax (CGT) on the sale of second homes and buy-to-let properties untouched amid concerns that increasing it would cost money.

Tribunal system woefully unprepared for Labour's rent rise appeal plans

Tribunal system woefully unprepared for Labour's rent rise appeal plans

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

England’s overburdened tribunal system is ill-equipped to handle the potential influx of new claims from the Renters’ Rights Bill, according to proptech firm Reapit.

London borough to go ahead with more HMO licencing

London borough to go ahead with more HMO licencing

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

Barking and Dagenham is to go ahead with an HMO licensing extension in January and has asked the government to approve a new selective scheme.

Give landlords more money to upgrade properties, urges Nationwide

Give landlords more money to upgrade properties, urges Nationwide

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

One of the UK’s largest BTL mortgage lenders has urged the Government to give landlords more financial support to reach the recently-announced 2030 deadline for all rental properties to reach a minimum EPC band C.

Landlord-bashing council slammed over its own property failings

Landlord-bashing council slammed over its own property failings

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

Newham Council has apologised to council tenants after the Regulator of Social Housing found serious failings in safety standards at its properties.

Landlord leader backs selective scheme 'crackdown' by council

Landlord leader backs selective scheme 'crackdown' by council

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

A landlord leader has backed Southend-on-Sea Council’s crackdown on failing private rented homes.

Number of landlords fined for Right to Rent breaches triples

Number of landlords fined for Right to Rent breaches triples

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

The number of Right to Rent penalties handed to landlords have tripled so far this year under a crackdown on illegal renting and working.

Phil Spencer warns landlords over tenant 'bidding wars'

Phil Spencer warns landlords over tenant 'bidding wars'

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

Property expert Phil Spencer has urged landlords to be reasonable when signing up tenants who get into a bidding war – but recognises that competition is down to market forces.

Reform bill 'won't help landlords facing rent debt' admits minister

Reform bill 'won't help landlords facing rent debt' admits minister

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

Housing Secretary Michael Gove has admitted that the Renters Reform Bill won’t help landlords claw back money from absconding tenants.

Renting reforms are a 'half baked cake' says sector leader

Renting reforms are a 'half baked cake' says sector leader

Opinion
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

The government has created a “half-baked cake” in the Renters Reform Bill, leaving the PRS desperate for clarity, says one industry boss.

Tax moves afoot to help give landlords financial relief says Gove

Tax moves afoot to help give landlords financial relief says Gove

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

The Government is looking at how to give landlords more tax breaks in order to reassure those who are looking nervously at the looming radical renting reforms for the sector, changes which are due to sweep in next year.

Great news for landlords as private buying firms rush to snap up buy-to-let portfolios in bulk

Great news for landlords as private buying firms rush to snap up buy-to-let portfolios in bulk

Sponsored
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

After a tough week, starting with reports from the Telegraph urging banks to “stop treating landlords like cash cows” we finally have some good news.

Landlord jailed for eight weeks following 'deplorable' behaviour

Landlord jailed for eight weeks following 'deplorable' behaviour

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

A rogue landlord who tried to evict his tenant using “deplorable behaviour” has been jailed for eight weeks.

Give more legal aid to tenants facing eviction, say lawyers

Give more legal aid to tenants facing eviction, say lawyers

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

The government is being urged to consider hard-up renters who won’t be able to take on their landlords despite any court system upgrade ahead of the Renters Reform Bill.

'Many non-compliant landlords are offshore' claims Gove

'Many non-compliant landlords are offshore' claims Gove

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

Housing secretary Michael Gove has pinned the blame for non-compliance within the private sector on foreign offshore landlords during a Q&A session at yesterday’s NRLA Conference in Birmingham.

HMOs offer TWICE the returns of traditional rental properties, it is claimed

HMOs offer TWICE the returns of traditional rental properties, it is claimed

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

A costly HMO conversion could prove a worthwhile long-term investment, with the average 8.1% HMO yield far higher than the 4.4% generated by a regular rental property, according to research by Octane Capital.

Property Portal could be deathknell for big selective licencing schemes, says MP

Property Portal could be deathknell for big selective licencing schemes, says MP

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

The mandatory national Property Portal for landlords to be introduced by the Renters (Reform) Bill next year will stop the spread of borough-wide selective licencing schemes, a leading MP has claimed.

Gove slams rent controls and defends Section 21 abolition

Gove slams rent controls and defends Section 21 abolition

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

Michael Gove used his speech to introduce the second reading of his Renters (Reform) Bill to pour cold water on calls for rent controls while also trying to reassure ‘good’ landlords that the abolition of Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions will not affect them.

BLOG: 'Landlords as well as tenants face a cost of renting crisis'

BLOG: 'Landlords as well as tenants face a cost of renting crisis'

Opinion
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

Following months of uncertainty, this year will be looked back upon as a tumultuous one for landlords.

Legal matters: terminology, lease or licence, what's the difference?

Legal matters: terminology, lease or licence, what's the difference?

Information
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

Yes, legal terms confuse and like many specialisms, the confusion is added to by the fact that different terms often have essentially the same meaning.

Landlords told to check tenancy contracts after landmark court case

Landlords told to check tenancy contracts after landmark court case

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

A judge has opened the door to higher compensation being paid by landlords if they fail to protect their tenants’ rental deposits within one of the official schemes.

Details of compulsory national Portal for landlords revealed

Details of compulsory national Portal for landlords revealed

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

More detail on what information landlords will have to provide to the looming Property Portal have been revealed by the Government.

LATEST: Landlords WILL be allowed to demand tenants have pet insurance

LATEST: Landlords WILL be allowed to demand tenants have pet insurance

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

The Government has said it supports measures that will allow landlords to either charge tenants with cats or dogs both pet insurance at the beginning of tenancies or request that they take out a policy themselves.

Majority of renters support banning Section 21 evictions and rent controls - claim

Majority of renters support banning Section 21 evictions and rent controls - claim

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

A renters’ lobbying says its polling of England’s private renters has found a majority support the changes within the looming Renters (Reform) Bill getting its second reading today in parliament.

Government U-turns on eviction and tenancy reforms

Government U-turns on eviction and tenancy reforms

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

The Government has confirmed that it will not bring in its controversial ban on Section 21 evictions within the looming Renters (Reform) Bill until problems with the courts have been fixed.

Court shake-up vital in next week's Bill debate

Court shake-up vital in next week's Bill debate

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

The NRLA has urged the government to address court hold-ups while debating the Renters Reform Bill – or risk undermining work to improve the sector.

Scottish eviction law continues to hamper PRS growth

Scottish eviction law continues to hamper PRS growth

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

Investors are losing confidence in the Scottish PRS, while rent caps and increased construction costs are halting rental developments, says one property solicitor.

The importance of the "How to Rent" Guide and Section 21

The importance of the "How to Rent" Guide and Section 21

Information
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

How to Rent Guide : very important when setting up a new tenancy, or on renewal, and when serving a section 21 notice.

Agents and student landlords are top of the class in Bath

Agents and student landlords are top of the class in Bath

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

University students rate Bath as having the best letting agents in the UK based on the number of reviews and average ratings.

Family operation ran string of unlicensed HMOs

Family operation ran string of unlicensed HMOs

News
News
Podcast
Opinion
Sponsored
Information

A rogue landlord has been prosecuted for letting eight unlicensed HMOs which breached health and safety rules that put his tenants at risk.