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Reform Bill: Landlord database to be enforced with court orders

Reform Bill: Landlord database to be enforced with court orders

News

A new ombudsman known as the landlord redress scheme - and property portal would be compulsory for all private sector landlords. Part of the https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/news/renters-reform-bill-we-take-a-first-look-at-the-radical-new-legislation/" Renters

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

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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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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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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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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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Nearly two-thirds of working private renters - 4,450,000 people - are falling behind with rent payments or struggling to pay their rent.

It's time to consider challenging your business rates calculation, says RVA Surveyors

It's time to consider challenging your business rates calculation, says RVA Surveyors

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Business rates or non-domestic rates are a variant of a 500-year-old tax, the current version of which was introduced in 1990 to fund local services based on property values, raising approximately �25 billion a year. RVA Surveyors are business rates reduction specialists who ha

High Street banks will be gone by 2025

High Street banks will be gone by 2025

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Thats the prediction made by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and banking software company, Temenos. Temenos AG is a company specialising in enterprise software for banks and financial services headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. An overwhelming proportion of European

LATEST: Arguments over social problems linked to HMOs hot up in Hartlepool

LATEST: Arguments over social problems linked to HMOs hot up in Hartlepool

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Labour councillors in Hartlepool campaigning to restrict HMOs in the town have been told to find evidence of problems caused by shared properties. <figure id="" class="w-richtext-figure-type- " data-rt-type="" data-rt-align=""><div><img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/63bef2f3c329ef

New TV series highlights property fraud

New TV series highlights property fraud

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A new four-part ITV drama series starting tonight is based around title fraud which can rob you of your property. Downton Abbey actress Tuppence Middleton and Line of Duty star actor Martin Compston portray a couple who become victims of the little-known crime of house hijacking

UNFAIR': Landlord faces �5,000 fine for deposit protected six months late by her lettings agency

UNFAIR': Landlord faces �5,000 fine for deposit protected six months late by her lettings agency

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A landlord with a property in West Essex has urged LandlordZONE readers to be more careful when trusting agents to protect their tenants deposits via one of the governments approved schemes after a vindictive renter took her to a property

LATEST: HMO landlords must not pocket tenant's �150 council tax rebate, warn MPs

LATEST: HMO landlords must not pocket tenant's �150 council tax rebate, warn MPs

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A cross-party group of MPs has urged the government to ensure HMO and other 'all inclusive' landlords dont pocket multiple council tax rebates under its new scheme https://www.gov.uk/government/news/households-urged-to-get-ready-for-150-council-tax-rebate" target="_blank"

Wales clamps down on holiday lets with draconian new council tax rules

Wales clamps down on holiday lets with draconian new council tax rules

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The Welsh Government is to bring in its https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/news/welsh-government-to-wage-new-war-on-holiday-lets/" promised local tax rules for holiday lets to address the problem of unaffordable housing. Self-catering accomm

EXCLUSIVE: Lettings firm goes bust leaving trail of 200 unprotected deposits

EXCLUSIVE: Lettings firm goes bust leaving trail of 200 unprotected deposits

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A long-established letting agent has gone bust, leaving more than 200 deposits unprotected and many landlords without tenancy agreements and gas and EPC certificates. Pendley Estates in Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, was a formerly reputable firm that had been trading since the 1

Wave of 'unfair' HMO council tax revaluations revealed that can QUADRUPLE bills

Wave of 'unfair' HMO council tax revaluations revealed that can QUADRUPLE bills

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Councils are seeking to reclassify HMO properties as multiple single dwellings for council tax purposes to raise additional revenue, it has been reported. <figure id="" class="w-richtext-figure-type- " data-rt-type="" data-rt-align=""><div><img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/63bef2

LATEST: Landlord wins review of selective licensing scheme for 'value for money'

LATEST: Landlord wins review of selective licensing scheme for 'value for money'

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External auditors are to investigate selective licensing in Nottingham following a complaint about whether it provides value for money. One of the citys landlords has made a formal objection about the scheme which charges them up to �890 every five years for each rental prop

Are hydrogen boilers the future of heating in the UK?

Are hydrogen boilers the future of heating in the UK?

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The UK government has committed to meeting internationally agreed carbon neutral targets and as natural gas (used in domestic boilers) is a major contributor to carbon emissions, a low carbon alternative such as hydrogen, used in existing equipment, is a likely replacement in the future.</p

BBC joins in the 'endless grind' of media landlord bashing

BBC joins in the 'endless grind' of media landlord bashing

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The BBC has joined the ranks of landlord-bashing media by publishing a story that gives a distinctly one-sided view of an eviction, helping bolster Shelter and other organisations' campaigns to ban Section 21 notices. It quotes a tenant as saying she was in panic mode� when

Thousands of landlords affected by sale of struggling digital lettings agency

Thousands of landlords affected by sale of struggling digital lettings agency

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Thousands of landlords whose properties are managed by a leading online letting platform are to see their property management firm change hands after Howsy revealed it is to be acquired by a major high street lettings agency. Launched in 2016 originally as No Agent

Commercial property energy upgrades could cost over �30bn

Commercial property energy upgrades could cost over �30bn

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The road to net zero is paved with additional costs for Britain, not least the amount of money it will take to upgrade commercial property, in the industrial alone. Achieving grade B� ratings under the 2030 Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) requirements for the UK

LATEST: Infamous rogue landlord and three associates are banned for five years

LATEST: Infamous rogue landlord and three associates are banned for five years

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Camden Council has handed out banning orders to four rogue landlords for letting an unlicensed and unsafe home in Kilburn. All part of the same interconnected group of London-based family and business associates - Mohammed Ali Abbas Rasool, 30, of Manor House Drive, Daya Ahmed D

BREAKING: Landlords now covered by cladding fund - but NOT portfolio operators

BREAKING: Landlords now covered by cladding fund - but NOT portfolio operators

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Landlords who own flats hit by the cladding scandal will be covered by the remediation fund, the government has announced. However, portfolio landlords have been left out, with property experts suggesting that this omission will mean work will be held up and their flats could be

LATEST: Coventry to clamp down on HMOs with new planning powers

LATEST: Coventry to clamp down on HMOs with new planning powers

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Coventry aims to come down hard on HMO expansion within the city by introducing an Article 4 Direction. Councillors have approved the plans which will now form part of a public consultation this summer. They hope to change the rules which currently allow landlords to

OPINION: The consequences of abolishing Section 21

OPINION: The consequences of abolishing Section 21

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Drummed up by popular media horror stories, egged on by the homelessness charities, the ban Section 21� band waggon kept on rolling until eventually the politicians saw it would be politically advantageous to jump aboard. What is Section 21 <p id="

AIRBNB: Westminster to step-up war against 'nuisance' short-term lets landlords

AIRBNB: Westminster to step-up war against 'nuisance' short-term lets landlords

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Westminster Council has launched a spirited campaign to stop central London being overrun by nuisance short-term lets booked chiefly through Airbnb. It is lobbying the government to follow Paris and Amsterdams lead whose authorities have clamped down on problem properties. </

OPINION: Why the EPC rating system needs fixing

OPINION: Why the EPC rating system needs fixing

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The governments controversial policy of phasing out natural gas boilers in favour of heat pumps, in its drive to meet internationally agreed energy efficiency targets, could be stymied because of an out of date EPC algorithm. Regardless of the fact that many older poorly insu

Japanese knotweed, danger is downgraded...

Japanese knotweed, danger is downgraded...

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The large herbaceous perennial with its bamboo-like appearance became infamous in Britain for its threat to buildings. Its rapid growth, its size and most importantly the damage it can do, made it the villain of the horticultural world, and it became feared by property owners and mortgag

Landlord insurance premiums driven up by inflation

Landlord insurance premiums driven up by inflation

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After two decades of low property insurance premium rates, prices are being driven up by inflation. Steve Barnes, Associate Director at https://hamiltonfraser.co.uk/landlord-insurance/?utm_source=landlordzone&utm_medium=article&utm_id=lz+feb22+insurance+rising" target="_blank" id="

Coming changes to 'feudal'� leasehold laws to favour flat owners

Coming changes to 'feudal'� leasehold laws to favour flat owners

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Flat owners (leaseholders) only own their leasehold property for a fixed period of time and during that period they pay ground rent and service charges to the freeholder (landlord). Theres always a long-lease agreement, a detailed legal tenancy agremeent between the leasehold

National rogue landlord database hits 'new high' of just 61 names

National rogue landlord database hits 'new high' of just 61 names

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Four years after it was launched, the number on the Rogue Landlord database has only crept up to 61 out of the thousands claimed to be operating within the private rental sector, the latest government figures show. Asked by opposition MP Gill Furniss to provide an update, Housin

LATEST: Luton finally brings in blanket HMO licensing after years of problems

LATEST: Luton finally brings in blanket HMO licensing after years of problems

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Luton Council has finally got its act together and revealed blanket HMO licensing for the town after a number of false starts over the last few years. HMOs of any size will now need a licence under its additional scheme which launches on 1st April, while all privately rented pro