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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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Landlord wins battle with council over leasehold survey costs

Landlord wins battle with council over leasehold survey costs

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Nottingham Council has been told to hand back more than £2,800 to landlord Mick Roberts after a court ruled it had overcharged for lease extension surveys.

Shelter boss and architect of Section 21 ban to stand down

Shelter boss and architect of Section 21 ban to stand down

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News
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Shelter chief executive Polly Neate is to leave the homelessness charity next March after more than seven years.

Could this £15 box help reduce damp and mould in rented homes?

Could this £15 box help reduce damp and mould in rented homes?

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News
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A trade association’s new tech solution aims to help landlords identify and resolve the root causes of damp and mould in rented properties.

Should I think about passing on wealth before the budget?

Should I think about passing on wealth before the budget?

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News
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Will you be passing on your hard-earned wealth to the next generation before the budget, you don't have long

Cut NOT increase red tape for landlords, say mortgage lenders

Cut NOT increase red tape for landlords, say mortgage lenders

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News
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Reducing red tape for landlords would boost the supply of private rental properties, curb rent increases and create better quality housing for tenants, according to lenders’ trade body UK Finance.

Labour's EPC upgrade plans will cost landlords £21.4 billion

Labour's EPC upgrade plans will cost landlords £21.4 billion

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News
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Private landlords face a £21.4 billion bill to bring their properties up to the proposed EPC C rating by 2030.

Rent repayment order fines to double under Labour

Rent repayment order fines to double under Labour

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Rogue landlords face being forced to pay back up to 24 months’ rent as part of a shake-up of Rent Repayment Orders under the new Renters’ Rights Bill.

CLAIM: 'Future of portfolio landlording is HMOs and multi-unit blocks'

CLAIM: 'Future of portfolio landlording is HMOs and multi-unit blocks'

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News
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Aspiring portfolio landlords are increasingly targeting higher yielding multi-unit blocks (MUB) and HMOs rather than traditional flats and semis.

Welsh clampdown on holiday lets and second homes 'not working'

Welsh clampdown on holiday lets and second homes 'not working'

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News
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The Welsh government's attempts to persaude second home owners to sell up isn't working and instead is damaging local tourism economies, a leading tourism figure has claimed.

Big council to regulate more HMOs despite landlord criticism of inspection regime

Big council to regulate more HMOs despite landlord criticism of inspection regime

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News
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Haringey Council has given the green light to an additional HMO licencing scheme consultation.

Landlords to be stopped from renting out HMO rooms as holiday lets

Landlords to be stopped from renting out HMO rooms as holiday lets

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News
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North Devon Council could close a loophole that allows HMO landlords to rent out their rooms as holiday lets.

Brum council: ‘We’re bankrupt but still enforcing new selective licencing scheme’

Brum council: ‘We’re bankrupt but still enforcing new selective licencing scheme’

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News
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Birmingham Council has confirmed to LandlordZONE that its selective licensing scheme will continue to be enforced despite its dire financial situation.

A few simple tricks can prevent your property being sold off under your nose

A few simple tricks can prevent your property being sold off under your nose

Opinion
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So called title fraud is on the rise, where someone steals your identity, transfers your property title and either mortgages it or sells it off

REVEALED: Full details of Rishi’s U-turn on boiler ban and EPC rules

REVEALED: Full details of Rishi’s U-turn on boiler ban and EPC rules

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News
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Rishi Sunak has made a speech rowing back on several key green policies that were to cost landlords thousands but that were part of his key Net Zero pledges.

‘Landlords due millions of pounds in returned stamp duty overpayments’

‘Landlords due millions of pounds in returned stamp duty overpayments’

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News
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Scores of landlords could be owed thousands of pounds in stamp duty overpayments, according to a specialist tax firm.

PM’s re-think on emissions targets inspired by EU changes

PM’s re-think on emissions targets inspired by EU changes

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News
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The PM is considering scaling back the Government’s green pledges by delaying the ban on new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 to 2035 and slowing the phase-out of oil and gas boilers.

Landlords urge Welsh Government to ditch rent control proposals

Landlords urge Welsh Government to ditch rent control proposals

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News
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The NRLA has urged the Welsh government to ditch rent control proposals as the worst possible idea for a PRS facing a chronic supply and demand crisis.

Property management firm faces huge fine after tenants rescued from fire

Property management firm faces huge fine after tenants rescued from fire

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News
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A property management firm and its fire risk assessors face a hefty fine for fire safety breaches following a blaze which saw 17 people evacuated.

BREAKING: Prime Minister to U-turn on boiler ban and EPC fines for landlords

BREAKING: Prime Minister to U-turn on boiler ban and EPC fines for landlords

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News
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Rishi Sunak is due to make a speech this week that will row back on several key green policies that were to cost landlords thousands but that were part of his key Net Zero pledges, it has been reported.

LATEST: Landlords who don't protect tenants' deposits face prosecution in Jersey

LATEST: Landlords who don't protect tenants' deposits face prosecution in Jersey

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News
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In an unusual move the Jersey government is to give local authorities on the island more powers to prosecute landlords who do not protect tenants' deposits within the 30 day

Landlord fined £32,000 after creating hazardous conditions within illegal flats

Landlord fined £32,000 after creating hazardous conditions within illegal flats

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News
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A rogue landlord who ignored fire risks and serious hazards at his flats and caravans has been fined £32,000.

‘Government policies stifling competition and bad for tenants’ says landlord

‘Government policies stifling competition and bad for tenants’ says landlord

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Landlords can effectively now charge what they like as the government’s draconian policies are stifling competition, says Nottingham benefits landlord Mick Roberts.

Landlords who don’t protect tenants’ deposits face prosecution in Jersey

Landlords who don’t protect tenants’ deposits face prosecution in Jersey

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News
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In an unusual move the Jersey government is to give local authorities on the island more powers to prosecute landlords who do not protect tenants’ deposits within the 30 days required, it has been reported. A tenant deposit protection scheme was introduced on Jersey in 2015 and landlords, as in mai

‘Crumbling eviction courts must be fixed before renting reforms go live’

‘Crumbling eviction courts must be fixed before renting reforms go live’

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News
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The National Residential Landlords Association has warned the Government that the crumbling courts system for evictions will undermine its hoped-for reforms of the private renting sector unless they are reformed.

Landlord fined £10,000 after ignoring tenants' calls to fix boiler

Landlord fined £10,000 after ignoring tenants' calls to fix boiler

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News
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A landlord who ignored his tenants' pleas to fix their boiler during sub-zero temperatures has been ordered to pay out nearly �10,000 in fines and compensation.

Ministers have ‘needlessly spooked’ landlords with renting reform plans

Ministers have ‘needlessly spooked’ landlords with renting reform plans

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News
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A leading buy-to-let mortgage broker has said the Government has ‘needlessly spooked’ landlords with its rhetoric designed to ‘curry favour with tenants’.

Big London council to begin regulation for over 8,500 HMO properties

Big London council to begin regulation for over 8,500 HMO properties

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News
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Wandsworth Council is to launch a consultation into borough-wide additional licensing and a selective licensing scheme in three of its wards.

Landlord fined £10,000 after ignoring tenants’ calls to fix boiler

Landlord fined £10,000 after ignoring tenants’ calls to fix boiler

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News
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A landlord who ignored his tenants’ pleas to fix their boiler during sub-zero temperatures has been ordered to pay out nearly £10,000 in fines and compensation.

Properties with EPCs under a Band C ‘already harder to sell to other landlords’

Properties with EPCs under a Band C ‘already harder to sell to other landlords’

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Rental properties with an EPC certificate below a band C are becoming more difficult to sell to other landlords, new research has suggested.

Rents still rising fast in London as up to 38 tenants chase each property

Rents still rising fast in London as up to 38 tenants chase each property

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Latest rental market data from London reveals a private rental sector still on fire as rents rise by 11% year-on-year, says agency Foxtons.

Damp, mould and condensation – YOU are to be held responsible

Damp, mould and condensation – YOU are to be held responsible

Opinion
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The latest government guidance places the responsibility for damp, mould and condensation firmly in the lap of the landlord, whatever the cause!

Join the debate and experts at the next National Landlords Investment Show

Join the debate and experts at the next National Landlords Investment Show

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LandlordZONE readers are invited to join a gathering of like minds being organised by the National Landlords Investment Show in Elstree, Hertfordshire on 27th September 2023.

Bill is solution to non-existent problem in student market, says landlord group

Bill is solution to non-existent problem in student market, says landlord group

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Changes to the student rental market under the Renters (Reform) Bill could result in even less protection for students, according to York‘s Residential Landlord Association.

BBC scrutiny dents mayor’s bid to paint bleak renting picture

BBC scrutiny dents mayor’s bid to paint bleak renting picture

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London Mayor Sadiq Khan has been pulled up for selectively using statistics to lend weight to his demands for rent controls in the capital.