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Landlords and agents slammed by BBC over 'bidding war' tactics

Landlords and agents slammed by BBC over 'bidding war' tactics

News

Many landlords and lettings agents are prepared to use a shortage of rental properties to their advantage, viewers of the BBC’s Morning Live show were told.

71% of tenants have 'no issues' paying their rent, reveals official data

71% of tenants have 'no issues' paying their rent, reveals official data

News

New official data about the private rented sector reveals that it is in better shape than some tenants’ rights groups like to claim.

Renting reforms will 'break' local councils warn environmental health officers

Renting reforms will 'break' local councils warn environmental health officers

News

The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) has warned that the Renters’ Rights Bill will place a huge enforcement burden on already stretched local councils.

What does it take to be a successful landlord in the new regime? with Suzanne Smith

What does it take to be a successful landlord in the new regime? with Suzanne Smith

Podcast

We talk to lawyer turned self-managing landlord, Suzanne Smith, founder of The Independent Landlord.blog and co-host of a weekly podcast called Good Landlording.

Council says £840 licencing scheme has seen 'incredible improvement'

Council says £840 licencing scheme has seen 'incredible improvement'

News

Nottinghamshire local authority Gedling Council is relaunching selective licensing in its Netherfield ward in the new year after seeing “incredible improvements” to living standards.

Government promises to tackle business rates anomalies

Government promises to tackle business rates anomalies

News

Following years of lobbying, Labour has promised to act on what is generally agreed is an unfair UK business rates system

Labour to 'go further' than Tories with holiday lets regulation

Labour to 'go further' than Tories with holiday lets regulation

News

Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook has hinted heavily that the government will go further than the Tories in its bid to regulate holiday lets.

Labour's Manchester mayor urges landlords not to quit sector

Labour's Manchester mayor urges landlords not to quit sector

News

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham has confirmed he doesn’t want landlords to exit the market, in marked contrast to comments made by his national Labour colleagues in Parliament.

Rents to rise faster than property values over next three years

Rents to rise faster than property values over next three years

News

Hamptons predicts that rents will rise by 17% between 2024 and 2027, outpacing house price growth of 12.5%.

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Official probe into rent-to-rent sector launched

Official probe into rent-to-rent sector launched

News
News
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The NRLA is questioning whether rent-to-rent’s days are numbered after the government announced it was investigating the sector in a bid to understand its impact on tenants and landlords.

Massive changes to short-lets sector to go ahead

Massive changes to short-lets sector to go ahead

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News
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The Government has revealed changes to planning regulations that will clamp down on short-lets in tourism hotspots such as the Lake District and seaside towns.

Government to rush through changes to housing laws

Government to rush through changes to housing laws

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News
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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
News
Podcast
Opinion
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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
News
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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
News
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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
News
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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
News
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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

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

Stopping landlords raising rents in between tenancies 'will not survive contact with reality'

Stopping landlords raising rents in between tenancies 'will not survive contact with reality'

News
News
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Preventing landlords from raising rents in between tenancies is an idea - like rent controls - that simply “could not survive contact with reality”, says Scotland’s landlord body.

Minister commits to ending leasehold and making commonhold 'default tenure'

Minister commits to ending leasehold and making commonhold 'default tenure'

News
News
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Landlords who have properties within ‘problem’ leasehold blocks have been given some good news following housing minister Matthew Pennycook confirmation that Labour will ‘end leasehold’ and make commonhold the ‘default’ tenure before the end of this parliament.

'We're being squeezed out in favour of corporates' says small portfolio landlord

'We're being squeezed out in favour of corporates' says small portfolio landlord

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News
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Smaller landlords are being forced out of the private rental sector in favour of corporate limited companies – and tenants will be the losers, according to one landlord who’s quitting.

Councils fine Midlands landlords £850,000 in ONE month

Councils fine Midlands landlords £850,000 in ONE month

News
News
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Opinion
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Three rogue landlords have been fined a total of £403,079 for operating a network of unlicensed and unsafe HMOs, labelled “an orchestrated system of neglect for financial gain”.

WATCH: We interview landlord blogger Suzanne Smith for our NEW podcast

WATCH: We interview landlord blogger Suzanne Smith for our NEW podcast

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News
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LandlordZONE is launching a new podcast to enable our readers to gain entertaining insights into the world of landlording from some of the sector’s leading lights.

HMOs generating highest yields for landlords at 8.34%

HMOs generating highest yields for landlords at 8.34%

News
News
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BTL landlords enjoyed average yields of 6.72% in September, up from 6.69% at the end of the second quarter and 6.48% in the previous year.

REVEALED: Key reasons why landlord/tenant relationships sour

REVEALED: Key reasons why landlord/tenant relationships sour

News
News
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New report reveals that it doesn't take much to tip a landlord relationship into something that a tenant sees as negative, particularly when landlords are largely portrayed negatively in mainstream media.

Landlords warned after 10% of homes found without carbon monoxide alarms

Landlords warned after 10% of homes found without carbon monoxide alarms

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News
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New research among tenants has found that nearly 10% of rented homes with gas appliances don’t have a carbon monoxide alarm fitted, leaving the landlords of these properties open to fines of up to £5,000.

HMO landlord loses fine appeal after blaming agent for rules breach

HMO landlord loses fine appeal after blaming agent for rules breach

News
News
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An HMO landlord who blamed a guaranteed rent firm for breaching his licence has failed in his bid to overturn a £7,500 fine.

RICS member agents predict growing rental shortages

RICS member agents predict growing rental shortages

News
News
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Information

RICS survey predicts growing shortage of rental properties. Demand is predicted to grow while supply declines.

HMO planning register rejected in East of England

HMO planning register rejected in East of England

News
News
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Councillors in Ipswich have rejected plans for a register of all HMO licensing applications in the town.

Renting reforms will pose 'serious risk' to self-managing landlords

Renting reforms will pose 'serious risk' to self-managing landlords

News
News
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Landlords face considerable risks from self-managing their properties when the Renters’ Rights Bill goes live, according to a letting agent expert.

Rent controls will backfire, landlords warn Scots ministers

Rent controls will backfire, landlords warn Scots ministers

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News
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Scotland’s landlords and letting agents have warned that the country’s imminent rent controls will backfire.

Rent rewards app urges tenants to pay by card not BACS

Rent rewards app urges tenants to pay by card not BACS

News
News
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Landlords could soon be paid their rent via credit cards rather than bank transfer after a Spanish company said it plans to launch in the UK.

Renters' Rights Bill - a month on, what's happened?

Renters' Rights Bill - a month on, what's happened?

Opinion
News
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It's been just over a month since I last penned my thoughts for LandlordZONE, and in that brief period, the private rental sector has continued to evolve at rapid pace.

Landlord to pay £64,000 fine over 'hidden' HMO

Landlord to pay £64,000 fine over 'hidden' HMO

News
News
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A rogue landlord has been handed a whopping £64,000 fine after he was found renting a five-bedroom house to 13 people.

House raffle boss slams UK's 'unaffordable' rental market

House raffle boss slams UK's 'unaffordable' rental market

News
News
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A prize company CEO says the UK’s rental stock shortage is driving tenants’ anxiety about rent rises.

Online repairs service for self-managing landlords launched

Online repairs service for self-managing landlords launched

News
News
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A new online property maintenance platform aims to help landlords stay on top of repairs, raise standards and attract and retain good tenants.

'Time to fight back against those who say every landlord's bad'

'Time to fight back against those who say every landlord's bad'

News
News
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A leading landlord has slammed the pressure groups and campaigns who have been calling recently for landlords to be ‘eradicated’ from the housing market

Lawyers call for 'millions' more for renter representation during evictions

Lawyers call for 'millions' more for renter representation during evictions

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News
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The Law Society of England and Wales has called for a multi-million-pound investment in renters’ representation via legal aid following a rise in eviction numbers.

Landlords must help make rent control in Scotland workable, says committee

Landlords must help make rent control in Scotland workable, says committee

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News
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Landlords in Scotland should be made to routinely provide data rather than simply respond to requests from local authorities, according to a report into the Housing Bill by the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee.

REPORT: Twice as many landlords selling homes than those buying

REPORT: Twice as many landlords selling homes than those buying

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News
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More landlords are selling their properties than those buying, new research has highlighted

'Lack of bailiffs lengthening evictions process for landlords'

'Lack of bailiffs lengthening evictions process for landlords'

News
News
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Landlords are having to wait longer and longer to evict tenants particularly for those using London’s County Courts, says specialist firm Landlord Action, which blames the problems to a greater extent on a lack of bailiffs.

Landlords rush to sell before Xmas ahead of the Stamp Duty increase

Landlords rush to sell before Xmas ahead of the Stamp Duty increase

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It seems it’s one step forward, two steps back for landlords with the recent Budget introducing significant changes to Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) that will impact property transactions from April 2025. The changes have caused panic amongst landlords, with a spike in numbers looking to sell before Ch

Will failure to present accurate documentation styme eviction under the Renters’ Rights Bill?

Will failure to present accurate documentation styme eviction under the Renters’ Rights Bill?

Information
News
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It is likely that under the Renters’ Rights legislation due in 2025, tenancy documentation will be highly scrutinised before an eviction trial is allowed