New shadow housing minister Lucy Powell has taken aim at the governments failure to protect renters, leaseholders, first-time buyers and local communities, in her maiden speech in the role. During a debate on affordable and safe housing, she told the Commons that its housing
Troubled property developer Martin Skinner has died of a heart attack while trying to rebuild his business during a trip to Dubai. The 42-year-old founded Inspired Asset Management and pioneered micro apartment developments, which was one of the largest firms doing office-to-res
Given that the deposit protection rules were introduced in 2004, most landlords are aware of them by now, but people still fall foul of the rules, says Tom Entwistle. The legislation introduced by the Housing Act 2004 gives tenants and their
A landlord whos been waiting for a court to hear his application to evict a drug-dealing tenant for more than a year fears his case could be further delayed due to a lack of police co-operation, he has told LandlordZONE . CCTV captured the woman letting
By David Coughlin, CEO, Landlord Sales Agency
Rick Gannon became an accidental landlord when his first property was in negative equity and decided to rent it out. Fast-forward a few years and he and wife Lorraine had made a substantial amount on the sale so decided to use the proceeds to buy other properties to rent wit
Salford has given the go-ahead to a new licensing scheme for smaller HMOs in response to a rise in safety problems and resident complaints. The scheme covering the entire city - takes effect on 19th July and costs landlords �1,085 to licence shared homes where three or four
A banned boiler engineer has narrowly avoided jail after producing a fake Gas Safe certificate for a landlord. Jeffrey Lewis, 74, of Ashbourne Road, Cheadle, was asked by a landlord to repair a tenants boiler but failed to tell him he had been banned from carrying out gas wor
Jersey has launched a consultation over plans to outlaw landlords who refuse to rent to tenants with children. Social security minister deputy Judy Martin hopes to amend the Discrimination Law 2013 to protect families looking for homes on the island, which currently doesnt pr
Landlord Fergus Wilson has rejected his label as the ‘most hated landlord’ in Britain and insists his policy of vetting tenants has always been fair.
Landlords and letting agents now face substantial fines if they don't check prospective tenants' identities before they move in.
Letting agents have warned that the Renters’ Rights Bill could gut the private rental sector of one- and two-property landlords.
HMO landlords are increasingly advertising rooms to rent way in advance of tenants moving out, new research shows.
Landlords are cashing out fast as demand from first-time buyers spikes. Freehold homes are hot—now’s the time to sell.
A fed-up landlord has slammed the legal system for unfairly favouring poorly-behaved tenants after a brutal eviction.
Landlords in Eastbourne now need to get planning permission for HMO conversions in parts of the town centre after councillors approved new rules.
Controversial landlord Fergus Wilson faces a £60,000 repair bill after three of his rental properties were turned into cannabis factories.
Landlords who fail to factor in inflation, interest rates, and pressure on household budgets when vetting tenants could end up with rent arrears.
The new Building Regulations and accompanying technical upgrade to the SAP assessment methodology ask for a completely different way of measuring the energy performance of many buildings, giving a market boost to those properties with higher EPC ratings. Effective from last week
A landlord too terrified to reveal her name has warned others to conduct more regular property checks after she unwittingly rented her house to a drug-dealing gang for years. The North London-based landlord has had the same tenants since 2005 but only discovered their illegal ac
New research reveals how adult tenants cause as much damage as pets in rental properties and that for smaller landlords, animal damage costs less to repair. The survey of 537 landlords and lettings agents found 85% have experienced both kinds of damage while only 29% of landlord
A landlord has given evidence in the Sebastian Kalinowski murder trial, who died at his home in Huddersfield. Prosecutors allege his mother Agnieszka Kalinowska, 35, and her partner Andrzej Latoszewski, 36, subjected him to a campaign of abuse before his death in August 2021.</p
Houses with off-road parking space will not only command a higher sale price, the rental value will also be boosted as more people buy electric cars. Surge in EV sales The electric vehicle (EV) market is booming, which will inevitably have its impact on property pric
Landlord leaders criticise Renters Reform White Paper, highlighting flaws and concerns over proposed legislation and its impact on the sector.
HMRC has named and shamed 26 property tax dodgers who collectively tried to avoid paying more than �6.7 million. The deliberate tax defrauders earned income from either rental property, property developing or property tax advising, and have all been investigated and fined for e
Government's full renting‑reform White Paper unveiled—bold, controversial changes to landlord rules await Spring's legislation.
Key details of the Governments radical renting reform White Paper have been released this morning by Michael Gove, full details of which are due to be published when his housing minister Eddie Hughes addresses parliament later this morning. In a statement embargoed for midnig
Under the Renters' Rights Bill, tenants can request to keep pets, with landlords required to respond within 28 days and may require pet insurance.
The Government wants to make it a 'duty' for landlords to respond to requests from disabled tenants to make communal spaces outside their homes more accessible. A consultation on the proposals has been launched by equalities minister Kemi Badenoch (main pi
It may have gone unnoticed by many landlords that Boris Johnson made one of the most extraordinary attacks on the sector in living memory last week. And it is fair to say, one of the most unfair. Most landlords have become accustomed to the government's frosty rhetoric over the
The government has finally updated the guidance it provides to property assessors on how to calculate EPCs for new homes and, in six months time, for existing homes too. This is the first time the methodologies of calculation have been updated for almost ten years for t
A professional landlord has scored a partial win against his council fines for charges relating to gas safety inspections. Mahendra Maharaj , who owns 78 properties in Liverpool, had been fined �9,000 by the city council a decision confirmed by a First
Boris Johnsons pledge to reform the housing market will see the government launching a dusted-off version of David Camerons right to buy scheme for social housing in order to turn the tables on private landlords, his housing secretary Michael Gove has suggested. During a s
The self-employed who took advantage of the multi-billion pound self-employed income support scheme (SEIS), claiming grants they were not entitled to, when they were either not trading at all, or their profits did not fall within the specified limits, are now being asked to pay the money ba
Experts discuss the implications of abolishing Section 21 evictions, including potential delays, increased court burdens, and impacts on tenant mobili
While in England the housing minister Eddie Hughes has just https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/news/breaking-minister-confirms-government-will-not-consider-rent-controls-in-england/" target="_blank" ruled out rent controls , in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Irish R
Weve all heard the expression, ignorance of the law is no excuse� and this applies without question in all areas of the law. But in some rare instances it seems the courts and tribunals are open to accepting a defence of what is termed reasonable excuse even when the regulatio
Nottingham benefits landlord Mick Roberts (main picture) has made another bid to sell 40 of his properties by offering to cut the sale price by a tenth if a landlord buyer keeps his existing tenants on. The regular LandlordZONE contributor has previously suggested https
Landlords have been warned to check a propertys potential status if their tenant wants to offer Ukrainian refugees a spare room. Updated guidance on the rules around the Homes for Ukraine scheme outlines that where a private tenant is paying rent for their accommodation, the
The Welsh government has announced a five-and-a-half-month delay to the introduction of its controversial Renting Homes Act which had been due to go live on 15th July this year. Now postponed until 1st December, housing minister Julie James says
Landlords are required to conform to the safety and environmental rules set-out in these regulations so its important you understand the law regarding the building regulations. The rules are in place to ensure that buildings meet a certain standard of safety to protect residents and memb
Landlords in Wales who rent out self-catering accommodation will no longer be able to dodge council tax under new and tighter rules announced by the Welsh government. In its bid to crack down on the impact many holiday lets and second homes are having on communities and the Wels
A staggering 71% of all landlords reported having at least one tenant in arrears due to the pandemic, according to the latest English Private Landlord Survey . Nearly a third (29%) were lucky not to have any, but landlords with one property most commonly ha
