LandlordZONE caught up with Marcus Selmon, Chair of portfolio landlord group PLAN to discuss the state of the private rented sector and the soon-to-be enacted Renters’ Rights Bill from the perspective of his members.
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The government’s reluctance to properly fund eviction courts could cause chaos once the Renters’ Rights Bill becomes law, a leading lawyer has warned.
A landlord caught out for having an unlicensed property has managed to get her fine slashed after a First Tier Property Tribunal heard that the tenants owed more than £17,000 in rent.
Landlords who buy leasehold apartments will next month be able to extend the property’s lease without having to wait two years, as it presently the case.
A fed-up landlord has challenged tenants’ union Acorn for using social media to relentlessly bash the PRS without considering the bigger picture.
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Tenants are living in build-to-rent developments for less time than their counterparts in the traditional PRS – suggesting that they are not the panacea for the housing crisis that is often claimed.
A landlord who built an illegal outbuilding to store his tenants’ belongings has been ordered to pay more than £23,000.
Buy-to-let mortgage rates could fall slightly soon after creeping up since the Autumn Budget, according to financial experts.
Activity within the buy-to-let market is reviving after months of uncertainty and political interference, new official landlord lending data suggests.
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Letting agents have called out Welsh Government plans to enable tenants facing eviction to keep their final two months’ rent as ‘compensation’.
The National Trust has rejected claims that it stopped renting out its properties to avoid the growing legislative burden.
A Liverpool landlord has been hit with a fine of almost £14,000 for allowing tenants to live in a “house of horrors”.
Nearly half of landlords and three quarters of the general public support rent controls, a poll by YouGov on behalf of wealth inequality not-for-profit Common Wealth has revealed.
A Welsh politician has sounded the alarm over new legislation which risks exacerbating the mass exodus of private landlords.
A leading agency has warned that tenants could move into a property without having paid any rent once the Renters’ Rights Bill becomes law.
An https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/news/braverman-under-pressure-to-reverse-outrageous-new-hmo-rules-for-asylum-seekers/" HMO landlord says desperate new tenants are moving in hours after the previous tenants leave due to a dearth of available properties. In he
A letting agent who ripped off dozens of landlord clients has been banned from being a company director for eight years. https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/news/letting-agent-who-stole-80000-from-dozens-of-landlords-admits-fraud/" Frank Smart , 46, the owner of Sma
In a market where interest rates are sky high, tax bills are extortionate and mortgage payments are higher than rents, coupled with a backlog of refurb costs and difficult tenant situations, landlords are rushing to cash in and sell their property portfolios. If you were a landl
With one in five households now renting, the private rented sector is an essential part of the housing market. As the government has reduced its housebuilding strategy for all local authorities from mandatory to advisory, with some councils scrapping targets all together, the ho
A European lettings portal has launched in the UK aimed at globe-trotting students and young professionals. Rotterdam-based https://housinganywhere.com/" HousingAnywhere , which specialises in mid- to long-term rentals, now covers London,
Over the last 15 years, the HMO market has been transformed and there has been a boom. The reason for the boom was, quite simply, that HMOs could generate far better returns than single home lets. But as the market grew, regulations tightened. On top of the extra du
Nearly half of all Section 21 eviction notices have been prompted by landlords selling their properties, Citizens Advice has revealed. It also says that its seen a ramping up of evictions by landlords using Section 21 notices, handling some 2,000 cases last month. <p id=""
A guaranteed rent firm has taken down its website after being exposed for using spurious claims about its connections with reputable bodies. London-based UK Housing Group Ltd, which boasts of being, the largest social housing agency in London and the Midlands featured out-
Gwynedd Council introduces Article 4 Direction to regulate second homes and short-term holiday lets, requiring planning permission for change of use.
The trade association that represents short-let landlords says the Airbnb economy contributed �27.7 billion to the UK economy during 2021 and has helped create some 500,000 jobs, latest data shows. The UK Short Term Accommodation (https://ukstaa.org/" target="_bl
Large areas of the country will be without vital legal advice to prevent eviction if the government cant get law firms to take part in its Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service, the Law Society has warned. The scheme, which gives free legal aid advice for people facing repos
MPs have slammed the Governments proposed reforms to the private rented sector (PRS) within its looming Renters Reform Bill, calling for Ministers to wake up to its unintended consequences. Their report, published this morning, also makes the point that most tenants are not w
Tenants group Generation Rent has backed the DLUHC select committees call to close a loophole in proposed Section 8 reforms. It says the governments plan to ban Section 21 evictions but still allow landlords to evict tenants when needing to sell or move back into a prop
A government minister has admitted that landlords could quit the market unless upcoming changes to EPC rules are implemented carefully. In a Lords debate to discuss the challenges of achieving net zero, https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/tag/lord-callanan/" target="_blank"
Peterborough plans Article 4 Direction trial to curb smaller HMOs, following Leicester’s expansion of similar controls across more city neighbourhoods
A Rugby councillor is trying to drum up opposition to HMOs with an online petition calling for an Article 4 direction in the town. John Slinger (main picture) believes too many family homes are being turned into HMOs by landlords who often dont have the communitys best int
Redditch MP Rachel Maclean is the latest housing minister to arrive through the revolving door at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. The newcomer replaces previous housing minister Lucy Frazer, https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/news/breaking-housing-
Spreadsheets. Theyve been around since 1979 and have served the property industry well since their inception. However, with legislation like Making Tax Digital coming into play in 2026, were seeing Landlords slowly transition from using outdated equipment to more modern an
Economic headwinds facing the construction industry put the brakes on the build-to-rent sector last year. Build cost inflation and labour shortages meant that it only grew by 14% in 2022 adding up to 242,548 homes in planning, under construction or completed - compared to a
Arun Council introduces Article 4 direction in Marine, Hotham, River wards, requiring planning permission for small HMOs to maintain housing quality.
A leading ethical repair firm has shamed a rogue plumber who charged an 85-year-old woman £1,500 to repair a water pipe.
Falling house prices and rising mortgage rates, coupled with a cost of living crisis, which inevitably results in higher incidences of rental arrears, are scaring off potential new investors in buy-to-let. But new investments in the right locations could be an astute move for ne
A former Generation Rent campaigner is now working as an advisor shaping private rented sector policy at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. Caitlin Wilkinson - policy advisor for the private rented sector - was policy and public affairs manager at the camp
Landlords and the wider rented sector face more uncertainty after it was announced this morning that housing minister Lucy Frazer, who has only been in post since October last year, is to become secretary of state at the new department of Culture, Media and Sport. In private at
The Tories should take the blame for the landlord exodus and crisis-hit private rental sector, according to one leading investment guru. Financial columnist and author Matthew Lynn says that for the last decade, the party has been in an all-out war against buy-to-let landlords,
A rogue Liverpool landlord has been fined £30,000 for failing to get licences for two student HMOs three years after it was fined 45,000 for similar offences. Trophy Homes, which claims to operate within the 'luxury' student, co-living and general rental sectors, admitted
Bank of England warns landlord exodus from rental sector as taxes and policies drive investors away, worsening housing supply crisis.
The future of new rented accommodation in the UK will be developments where all facilities including transport, shops and services including schools are all within 15 minutes of a tenants property, it has been claimed. This comment was made during a https://www.savil
Landlords are calling on the Government to review how they are taxed after new figures reveal the devastating impact higher levies are having on the private rented sector. The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) says new research conducted on its behalf by co
Two out of three HMO landlords in Portsmouth plan to call it quits this year, largely prompted by the launch of an additional licensing scheme in September. Portsmouth & District Private Landlords Associations survey found that this would mean a loss of 348 rooms which, e
A Government investigation into damp and mould in the social housing sector has disclosed initial findings which show a significant number of homes in the social sector are affected by this problem. On Thursday (2 February) the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) published a <a hr
The property industrys Rumble with the Agents charity event is to host its eighth evening of boxing and fund-raising in North London on Thursday 22nd June, it has been announced. <figure id="" class="w-richtext-figure-type- " data-rt-type="" dat
The Bank of England has raised interest rates for the 10th consecutive time as it battles inflation - a move likely to hit thousands of investors with variable rate mortgages and those forced to renew fixed-rate deals. The base rate has gone up by half a percent to 4%, the highe
Englands HMO market has shrunk by more than 21,000 properties in the last two years as local councils ramp up planning rules and licensing schemes. Numbers were down by -2.4% to 489,701 last year, having already seen a -1.7% drop in 2021, according to figures from Octane Capi
