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Landlord slapped with �40,700 fine after 'honest mistake' over HMO licence

Landlord slapped with �40,700 fine after 'honest mistake' over HMO licence

News

A lettings agency boss and landlord has been slapped with a �40,700 Rent Repayment Officer despite claiming that his failure to licence an HMO was an honest mistake. A First Tier Property Tribunal handed five former tenants the maximum award for the period from September 2019 t

LATEST: Scottish Government sets out its controversial rental reform plans

LATEST: Scottish Government sets out its controversial rental reform plans

News

Scotland has launched plans for an overhaul of its rented sector that include a controversial system of rent controls. Proposals also include increasing penalties for illegal evictions, restricting evictions during winter, giving tenants greater flexibility to keep pets, introdu

Bristol significantly expands HMO and selective licensing schemes

Bristol significantly expands HMO and selective licensing schemes

News

Bristol has approved plans to extend landlord licensing in Brislington West, Bedminster and Horfield wards in a bid to raise PRS standards. The scheme includes additional licensing - HMOs with three or more unrelated people sharing facilities and selective licensing - privat

EXCLUSIVE: 'We listened to landlords' claims Durham selective licensing chief

EXCLUSIVE: 'We listened to landlords' claims Durham selective licensing chief

News

Durham has been given the green light for a huge new selective licensing scheme although it is 40% smaller than its original plan. The scheme will cover about 29,000 homes, 42% of the countys private rented sector, and will go live on 1st April when landlords will need a

Test Case: Council advising tenants to stay put after valid s21 notice served

Test Case: Council advising tenants to stay put after valid s21 notice served

News

This is a Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman case involving an unnamed landlord (LandlordX or MrX) and Brentwood Borough Council. The case revolves around a common situation where the landlord required possession of the property after serving a valid section 21 notice un

'Let’s not forget property remains the best performing investment'

'Let’s not forget property remains the best performing investment'

Opinion

I've been in the property investment business for almost 30 years and during this period opportunities have come and gone but I've yet to discover an asset class that perf

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

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'Super slum' landlord fined £14,000 over illegal HMO

'Super slum' landlord fined £14,000 over illegal HMO

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A landlord whose tenants were forced to use a drafty bathroom in the garden has been told to pay out more than £14,000.

Director trio banned after misleading investors over return of £4.13m

Director trio banned after misleading investors over return of £4.13m

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Three company directors have each been banned for seven years from running companies after 42 investors were misled about the return of £4.13m they had ploughed into a student accommodation development in Derby.

Major report reveals landlords, tenants and agents 'under strain'

Major report reveals landlords, tenants and agents 'under strain'

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Three quarters of landlords believe the private rented sector has got worse recently and half are planning to quit, the new report has also found.

Courts 'not ready for rental reforms' Lords and lawyers tell Labour

Courts 'not ready for rental reforms' Lords and lawyers tell Labour

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Lawyers and Tory peers have expressed fears that the Renters’ Rights Bill will be ineffective without further investment in the courts.

Government warned Renters Rights' Bill will drive landlords out

Government warned Renters Rights' Bill will drive landlords out

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Baroness Scott and a handful of other Lords defended landlords during yesterday's debate in parliament, warning Labour that the Renters Rights Bill will reduce supply.

Ending a tenancy: Doing things right

Ending a tenancy: Doing things right

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NRLA Training offers key advice to landlords who are preparing to end of a tenancy and regain possession.

Landlord confidence 'severely shaken' by looming renting reforms

Landlord confidence 'severely shaken' by looming renting reforms

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News
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Landlords are broadly less confident than they were a year ago, with that confidence significantly shaken by the Renters’ Rights Bill.

Council pins rising homelessness on fewer HMOs but plans planning ban!

Council pins rising homelessness on fewer HMOs but plans planning ban!

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News
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Ipswich Council has pointed the figure at HMO landlords for the town’s failure to house more homeless people but is pressing ahead with plans to restrict HMO numbers.

Political hostility to landlords 'pushing them out'

Political hostility to landlords 'pushing them out'

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Hostility from politicians is pushing landlords out of the Scottish rental market, new research has found.

Rayner confirms ambition for rent in advance controls

Rayner confirms ambition for rent in advance controls

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Landlords would be banned from demanding several months’ rent in advance under new amendments to the Renters’ Rights Bill.

Electrical safety shake-up for Northern Ireland landlords

Electrical safety shake-up for Northern Ireland landlords

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Landlords in Northern Ireland must soon guarantee that electrical safety checks have been carried out at private tenancies.

Council U-turns on licensing after damming report

Council U-turns on licensing after damming report

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Councillors have labelled a proposed voluntary landlord initiative to raise standards in North East Lincolnshire, “a waste of time”.

Saying social housing is good and private housing bad 'false and unrealistic'

Saying social housing is good and private housing bad 'false and unrealistic'

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News
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A leading Scots letting agent has warned that policies which seek to undermine the PRS are damaging tenants’ wellbeing.

Landlords await welcome reprieve from boiler ban

Landlords await welcome reprieve from boiler ban

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Landlords could get longer to replace gas boilers if the government makes an expected announcement to allow their sale beyond 2035.

Where landlords can find bargains with a £50K budget

Where landlords can find bargains with a £50K budget

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Wales and the North East are the best areas for hard-hit buy-to-let investors looking for above-inflation returns.

Agents report slightly improved picture for tenants

Agents report slightly improved picture for tenants

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The average number of available rental properties at letting agencies jumped to a two-year high last November.

It's time to get ahead of game

It's time to get ahead of game

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With the new year now upon us there’s no better time for landlords to start preparing for the wide-ranging legislation change on the cards for 2025.

TikTok video about looming landlord pets rules goes viral

TikTok video about looming landlord pets rules goes viral

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News
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A TikTok video on upcoming rules around tenants’ ability to keep pets has garnered more than two million views.

Letting agent slams Shelter over 'headline grabbing' eviction claims

Letting agent slams Shelter over 'headline grabbing' eviction claims

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A letting agent has slammed Shelter’s campaign to highlight Section 21 eviction cases as “absurd sensationalism”.

Labour MP declares war on 'too many' HMOs

Labour MP declares war on 'too many' HMOs

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News
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A campaigning MP has helped her constituents get every new HMO application thrown out in the last three years.

Thinktank reveal unusual solution to renting 'crisis'

Thinktank reveal unusual solution to renting 'crisis'

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The landlord exodus is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for councils to buy up properties and restore what was lost under Right to Buy, according to a campaigning think-tank.

Renting reforms to move forward on 14th January

Renting reforms to move forward on 14th January

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News
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The Renters’ Rights Bill is to get its latest airing in just under two weeks' time ahead of moving to the Lords.

Landlords to pay double stamp duty in April

Landlords to pay double stamp duty in April

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Stamp duty bills will almost double from £8,452 to £16,190 in April, an increase likely to spark higher rental costs as landlords attempt to recoup costs.

Sadiq 'rent controls' Khan knighted in New Year's Honours

Sadiq 'rent controls' Khan knighted in New Year's Honours

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One of the most ardent political supporters of rent controls in England has been made a knight within the 2025 New Year honours list.

Councils use Generation Rent to highlight unaffordable rents

Councils use Generation Rent to highlight unaffordable rents

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Three quarters of Suffolk renters have struggled to find an affordable home in the last six months, while half had a rent increase – an average of £58 – according to new research.

Midlands council slams 'horrendous' local private rented sector

Midlands council slams 'horrendous' local private rented sector

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Peterborough Council’s selective licensing scheme has uncovered some “horrendous” living conditions since its launch last March.

Landlord who ignored licensing for second time given huge fine

Landlord who ignored licensing for second time given huge fine

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News
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A rogue landlord has been fined for a second time this year for failing to license his portfolio of houses.

PM's own rental house will soon fail EPC rules

PM's own rental house will soon fail EPC rules

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Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing an EPC upgrade bill of up to £28,000 for the property he rents out in North London.

Merry Christmas and a Happy News Year to all our readers

Merry Christmas and a Happy News Year to all our readers

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The past 12 months have been a momentous time for private landlords as tax changes and looming new regulations have been unveiled by politicians of various hues.

'What's the point of good landlords if rogues aren't policed?'

'What's the point of good landlords if rogues aren't policed?'

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News
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Councils are sending the wrong message to law-abiding landlords by failing to investigate those who can’t provide a valid EPC certificate.

Northern landlord fined £38,000 over multiple HMO offences

Northern landlord fined £38,000 over multiple HMO offences

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A landlord in Liverpool has been prosecuted by its city council for 23 offences under national HMO management regulations.

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

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

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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…

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