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
Michael Gove approves relaxed HMO rules for asylum seeker housing, exempting safety standards and licensing; critics warn of potential exploitation.
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 lacking landlord licensing know‑how put landlords at risk — vital compliance gaps exposed.
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
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 pledges stricter Decent Homes Standard 2 for private landlords, raising property quality and accountability ahead of next general election.
Keir Starmer is set to rebuff previous calls by London mayor Sadiq Khan to bring in a rent freeze, it has been reported. Khan has been banging his rent freeze drum for months now as the cost-of-living crisis has hit many tenants personal finances, telling the BBC in Oct
The much-delayed Renters Reform Bill is rumoured to be getting its first reading tomorrow after Prime Ministers Questions, although the 'full meat' of the proposals will come later. Rumoured to be renamed the Rented Homes Bill or Renters (Reform) Bill, landlords are waitin
The Government is to finally introduce its long-delayed renting reforms into parliament later today following Prime Ministers Questions (PMQs) in the Commons. The Bill, which is to be called the Renters (Reform) Bill, will get its first reading just aft
A tenancy deposit affordacility crisis is looming as new data reveals that nearly a third of renters are borrowing money to pay for them, new research shows. The poll of 1,000 tenants reveals how they are using credit cards, personal loans, overdrafts and family loans to scrape
Proptech company Propflo is working with BTL mortgage lenders to help portfolio landlords make their properties more energy efficient. It has been given a grant by Innovate UK to encourage lenders to explore initiatives such as encouraging retrofitting in their products, creatin
The government has vowed to crack down on dodgy rent-to-rent landlords who flout housing laws. Housing Minister Baroness Scott of Bybrook (pictured) says it is aware of concerns that some rent-to-rent arrangements have sometimes been used to make it more difficult to identify la
Rents on newly-let homes have increased by 25% across the UK since the start of Covid, costing the average tenant an extra �2,962 each year. Hamptons reports that rents rose 11% year-on-year, with April marking the second strongest month for rental growth on record. <p
Construction activity is continuing to grow in the UK. Thats according to the April S&P Global / CIPS UK Construction Purchasing Managers Index� (PMI), as reported by PCBToday, a Construction, Planning and Building Control portal. Construction companies in the UK the
Leading property sector figure Kate Faulkner (pictured) has called for a reset of the private rented sector, away from ineffective rules and regulations. <figure id="" class="w-richtext-figure-type- " data-rt-type="" data-rt-align=""><div><img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/63bef2f
The number of landlords planning to sell their rented properties has reached its highest level ever, according to new research. BVA-BDRC, commissioned by the NRLA, found that during the first three months of this year a third of 700 private landlords in England and Wales that it
One of the UKs big property portals has launched an initiative to enable renters to become rent ready as they hunt for homes. OnTheMarket.com, which is a competitor with Rightmove and Zoopla, has now fully integrated Canopys RentPassport service into its platform.</p
Council leaders, unions and renters groups have urged Housing Secretary Michael Gove to bring in an immediate rent freeze in a bid to prevent widespread homelessness. In an open letter, the 34 groups and individuals including London Renters Union, mayor of London Sadiq Kh
A disgruntled landlord has convinced a judge to have his rent repayment order case re-heard after arguing that council systems hindered his ability to apply for an HMO licence during the pandemic. Paul Fashade was told to pay three tenants a total of �11,
The government should raise the stamp duty surcharge on BTL purchases to favour those buying their own home, according to a new report from Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF). The social change group believes the surcharge should at least double to effectively disincentivise specu
Citizens Advice has urged the government to extend Awaabs law to the PRS to help the estimated 1.6 million children living in damp, mouldy or excessively cold privately rented homes. Awaab Ishtak died aged just two years old after living in a mouldy and
A new survey has downplayed the scale of landlords ready to quit the sector due to heavy-handed government regulations and upcoming legislation. Leaders Romans Groups poll of 271 landlords found that only 7% plan to sell up in the next year while 12% aim to reduce their portf
Nottingham councillors have voted through a contentious additional HMO licensing scheme. The current scheme, covering central areas of the city, will soon come to an end and the council plans to introduce a new citywide scheme in January 2024. It says this would pre
Peers have slammed the governments Boiler Upgrade Scheme for attracting a disappointingly low� take-up of grants. Launched in https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/news/latest-official-boiler-upgrade-scheme-launches-today-but-is-it-enough/" target="_blank" <stron
A BBC investigation has uncovered a new property rental scam that uses Facebook Marketplace and then fake accommodation booking sites to lure in unsuspecting tenants. Called an advance rent payment scam, a technique that has been around for many years, this version of it is more
The Government has now committed to delivering Awaabs Law in a new amendment to the Social Housing Regulation Bill. But does the Government intend to place the same onus on private landlords, and is this law totally fair? I cant help feeling perplexed as
More than 5,000 leaseholders including landlords could get refunds on their ground rent after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) secured assurances from nine firms that bought freeholds from housing developer Taylor Wimpey. Those leaseholders who paid a doubled
More councils are set to introduce Article 4 directions in a bid to clamp down on HMO development, with six currently waiting for approval. There are already about 45 local authorities in England partly or entirely affected by Article 4 which means planning permission is nee
A new landlord survey has revealed the effects of the Government's proposals to ban Section 21 evictions already feeding into the private rented sector. Evictions specialist Landlord Action canvassed some 1,500 landlords and found that 26% of those who had evicted a tenant over
Its known as silly season when the media focuses on light-hearted stories, but news that Jacob Rees-Mogg (pictured) is being mooted as the new Levelling Up Secretary has been seen by some as no laughing matter. As the leadership contest draws to a close, preparations fo
Making tax digital (MTD) for income tax is part of the governments long-term strategy to digitalise tax and will have implications for how landlords pay tax on their income. For those used to self-assessment, it will represent a change, but providing digital records will give businesses
VAT on Commercial Property is a complex topic and anyone wishing to understand these complexities in relation to their own situation should seek specialist advice. This article should give a broad brush general overview but you really should seek advice because errors can be irredeemable an
A rogue portfolio landlord has been banned from letting properties for five years after she admitted multiple offences relating to fire safety issues. Naomi Knapp, a landlord with 34 properties in Bristol, was convicted of eight banning order offences and will now be added to th
Urgent regulation of the spray foam industry is needed to prevent making thousands of homes un-mortgagable, warn leading property groups. Sprayed polyurethane expanding foams are often used in lofts, either to stabilise a failing roof covering or to provide extra insulation. But
Portsmouths HMOs are in the firing line again as growing numbers are being referred to the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) to have their council tax bands reassessed. Rather than paying tax on the whole property, each room can be classified as a band A at a cost of �1,200, wit
A severely disabled tenant and his family have barricaded themselves into their home in a bid to prevent a controversial eviction. Quadriplegic Harvey Cowe, 62, and his wife Sheree, 55, have lived at the house in Brittany Road, Hove, for 25 years after Brighton & Hove C
A leading letting agent has criticised the reasoning behind the UKs ever-growing list of selective licensing schemes. Selective licensing covers all rented property in a given area or council borough and landlords are required to pay a five-yearly fee of between �500 and �9
Landlords in Bristol will soon be required to gain planning permission to convert properties into HMOs in three key areas, it has been revealed. South Gloucestershire Council is to bring in Article 4 directions in the Bristol neighbourhoods of Stoke Park and Cheswick and parts o
Londons mayor Sadiq Khan has urged private landlords who are planning to exit the private rented market to sell their properties to local councils instead of other landlords. Khan made the comments within a self-congratulatory statement on his website l
A landlord in London must now pay �40,000 after losing his appeal against his fine for breaching Mandatory HMO licensing conditions at a bedsit property above a pub. Earlier this year Islington council brought a prosecution against Mohammed Shahid for fai
For years now, what would appear to have been successive waves of anti-landlord legislation have been bearing down on buy to let, but will this change under a new prime minister? From George Osborne to Rishi Sunack, the Treasury, it would seem, has been milking the buy to let la
The next chapter in the troubling story of property guru Glenn Armstrong has begun after court records have revealed that the infamous �3m seven-bedroom trophy mansion he often used within his marketing effort has been repossessed by bailiffs. The 62-year-olds now form
Ben Beadle critiques Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss for neglecting landlord concerns, urging focus on supply crisis and policy clarity.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has called on the next Tory PM to force landlords to pay tenants moving costs when asking them to move out of a property where the renter is not at fault. His comments were made during a debate within the London Assembly on housing issues in the capita
A landlord has been unwittingly drawn into a heated debate over the looming changes to the Welsh private rented sector. The country's Government recently delayed its planned reforms that will alter how tenancies, properties and evictions are managed, similar in many ways to the
Wannabe Prime Minister Liz Truss has announced that, if elected next month, she will introduce measures to enable tenants within the private rented sector to record their rent with the UK's credit reference agencies. This will both help tenants get on the property ladder via imp
A landlord in East London is to pay two of her former tenants just over �12,000 after a rent repayment order (RRO) tribunal judge said she had at times bullied the pair and verged on threatening behaviour. Judge Shepherd awarded
A challenger utilities provider has claimed that HMO landlords can solve their tenants mounting bill payment challenges by using tech. Glide, which has a fast-spreading network of its own broadband cables around the UK but also offers bundled utility deals to homeowners and t
Leeds has the highest number of student properties in the UK, according to new research. Website money.co.uk analysed the biggest university towns and cities, giving Leeds, which has five universities and one of the biggest student populations, the top spot with 16,225, followed
Leaseholders can now check their eligibility for a share of the �4.5 billion Building Safety Fund, which has reopened to take new applications.� � Those living in buildings over 18m with cladding issues can apply for a share of the fund. However, the DLUHC tel
Barnet Council is reintroducing borough-wide HMO licensing in a bid to improve property standards despite less than impressive figures in its previous additional licensing scheme. According to one of the respondents in the consultation report, only 32% of licensable properties h
