As part of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) levelling up� fund the money is to be used by the council to work proactively and engage with landlords�, in particular with those landlords who rent out houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) and own con
Property expert Kate Faulkner (main pic) says new rules to introduce professional qualifications for social housing managers are a slap in the face for the PRS� after years of lobbying for similar standards. The government has a
Scottish rent cap removal and Gwynedd's Article 4 Direction spark landlord concerns over housing supply and market stability.
A paltry nine cases were mediated in the governments pilot Rental Mediation Service - nowhere near the 3,000 cases it expected, it has been revealed. The Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and the Minister of Justice had hoped that the pilot, which offered te
Landlords and letting agents need more information and financial help if the Boiler Upgrade Scheme is to succeed, according to Propertymark. In its evidence to the Lords Built Environment Committee inquiry into the scheme, the group says 48% of Propertymar
New leaseholder protections in the Building Safety Act 2022 came into force on 28 June 2022, with new financial protections for leaseholders in buildings above 11 metres or five storeys, those with historical safety defects. The new Building Safety Act 2022 was introduced follow
Facebook is facing mounting calls to more effectively police its Marketplace classified listings platform after numerous investigations by national media outlets. The most recent was last night (23rd February)https://www.itv.com/news/channel/2023-02-23/prolific-scammer-
A landlord pair who assaulted one of their tenants while trying to illegally evict her from their unlicensed HMO have been handed a rent repayment order totalling more than �22,300. Guangyu Chen and Xing Guo argued that their poor English and understanding of the PRS was an exc
Evictions expert Paul Shamplina has revealed that hes stepping back from his long-running role in TV series Nightmare Tenants, Slum Landlords. <figure id="" class="w-richtext-figure-type- " data-rt-type="" data-rt-align=""><div><img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/
Yorks Residential Landlords Association (York RLA) wants to clarify why it decided not to proceed with further legal action over the city councils proposals to bring in an Additional Licencing scheme for HMOs. Both local media and LandlordZONE recently reported that it had
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
Trading Standards has released new guidance to help landlords and leaseholders get to grips with the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act. The law https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/news/advice-are-you-ready-for-the-leasehold-reform-act-going-live-on-30th-june/" target="_
A landlord in Wales has set a cat among the legal pigeons after winning a landlord Japanese knotweed compensation case in the Court of Appeal. Its three judges have agreed that Marc Davies, 38, must be paid just shy of �5,000 by his local authority Bridgend council which, it wa
A property estate worth �15m has been sold off as part of a complex court case involving a pair of divorcing professional landlords. The portfolio of 25 buildings was spread across four London boroughs and included both residential and commercial properties. The portfolio inclu
Estate agents have criticised the Governments plans to usher in a single ombudsman for the property industry, claiming it will have unintended consequences. Under the plans, the existing redress schemes for estate agents and their customers will be replaced by an overarching
Most landlords are still in the dark about EPC changes, a new survey has found, raising fears that they could be blindsided when proposed new rules become law in 2025. Only 57% of landlords with a single property and 77% of those with four or more properties in their portfolio a
Property lawyers have flagged up potential problems with eviction reform measures within the Renters Reform Bill white paper. An amendment to Section 8 notice evictions will expand the range of circumstances where landlords can seek possession when needing to sell or allow thems
Landlords in Yorkshire might have an ally in new Lib Dem councillor Felicity Cunliffe-Lister who stormed to victory in the recent Masham and Fountains by-election, a previously super-safe Conservative seat. The incoming North Yorkshire county councillor owns Swinton Estate, one
Official research has found that self-managing landlords are the least prepared when dealing with the legal requirements of the official Right to Rent scheme. It requires landlords of privately rented accommodation to conduct checks on all new tenants to establish if they have a
A leading landlord blogger has slammed Shelter for claiming in its latest press release that landlords are cashing in on higher rents by using Section 21 no fault evictions to repossess their properties. The comments are from http://www.thesecretlandlord.com
A mortgage expert has urged landlords not to panic as buy-to-let mortgage rates continue to rise. <figure id="" class="w-richtext-figure-type- " data-rt-type="" data-rt-align=""><div><img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/63bef2f3c329eff8e3a4af45/64cb992aa1ba8a68d7aa0638_dan-lee.jpeg"
A proptech firm is to spend �1 billion buying up 3,000 private rented properties with low EPC ratings around the UK, which it plans to retrofit and rent out on behalf of its backers. With many individual landlords threatening to quit the sector - faced with licensing schemes an
Forty per cent of privately rented homes in England are unlikely to achieve the energy efficiency rating target that is due to come into force in 2028. Trade organisation Propertymark says its analysis of the latest English Housing Survey shows that 60 per cent of the rental sec
A staggering one-third of landlords plan to quit the sector or do nothing to address energy efficiency failings if and when new EPC regulations kick in. Research carried out on behalf of Paragon Bank reveals that 21% of landlords would not carry out any necessary works to bring
The NRLA has played down landlords fears about new Government proposals to give tenants the right to request a pet. Speaking on the Radio 4 You and Yours programme, director of policy Chris Norris said many landlords werent too worried about the government
An official briefing document for MPs has underlined the contradictory position the government has manoeuvred itself into over landlords and letting agents who advertise properties as No DSS. The House of Commons Library document makes for interesting reading because, base
A landlord who defrauded HMRC out of almost �500,000 by keeping deductions from his employees wages has been jailed for three years. Michael Stainer, 74, (inset, main picture) was found guilty of two counts of cheating the public revenue and one of fraud by false representat
As temperatures in England and Wales soar this week, many office buildings will become unusable says real estate sustainability expert Chris Bennett of consultancy https://evoraglobal.com/" target="_blank" Evora Global - it should act as a powerful warning for real estate
An estate agency has claimed that the governments war on landlords will cost the private rented market some 46,000 this year, or some 3,800 every month. Hamptons , which has branches all over the UK, says its research confirms that, as LandlordZONE
With the cost of living crisis being the political issue of the day, and a political leadership contest underway, theres something of a hiatus in the way its being dealt with. But the situation is now quite urgent. Financial distress is now higher than during the pandemic.
After 20 years, landlord Sue quits the sector, citing frustration with anti-landlord sentiment and increasing regulatory burdens.
Minister defends exempting student housing from new tenancy rules to keep in step with academic year agreements/
Landlords with empty properties are being urged to take advantage of council cash to help fight the housing shortage. About 300 councils currently offer a scheme mainly loans to carry out repairs - although some provide grants, usually ranging from �5,000 to more than �25,
Letting out property abroad can be a great way of generating extra income. The property might have been bought primarily as an investment but for others or it could be second or holiday home let out when not in use. There are plenty of things to think about, though.
Leicester is going ahead with its selective licensing extension in three areas of the city, charging landlords �1,090 per property - the highest fee in the Midlands. The council is introducing the scheme in parts of Westcotes, Fosse, Braunstone Park and Rowley Fields wards, whi
Durham Council has warned landlords covered by its new selective licensing scheme to brace themselves for inspections next month. At least 29,000 properties, 42% of the countys PRS, are covered by the scheme which launched in April after winning government approval. <p id
Nearly one-fifth of private rented homes would need work costing more than �10,000 to bring them up to an EPC Band C, according to the latest PRS figures. The English Housing Survey Private Rented Sector report for 2020-21 found that these were more likely to need larger sums o
The latest figures available from Rightmove show that London rents jumped by around 14 per cent in the last year, with some property experts calling it the most competitive market on record Matt Hutchinson, a director at SpareRoom, the flat sharing website, has said: <p
The pandemic has had a devastating impact on commercial property, with lockdowns, social distancing, working from home (WFH), all accelerating the move to online and home deliveries. The likes of Tesco, Ocado and the other big supermarket deliveries were the saviour of the public during the
Welsh politicians have reaffirmed their desire to consider rent controls in the PRS while announcing plans to crack down on the holiday let sector. Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price (main pic, right) suggested rent controls could be on the table when the long-awaited but now <a href
Michael Gove, arguable the best housing secretary for some years, has been sacked from his job after joining a chorus of Tory cabinet ministers calling on the PM to resign. During a fast-moving day in politics which has seen over 40 MPs quit the government or withdraw their supp
Welsh government leaders have revealed radical plans to licence holiday lets in a bid to get tough on the causes of long-term rental shortages. The region is to introduce a cap on the number of second and holiday homes while bringing in measures to put more homes into common own
HMO landlords face paying thousands of pounds for https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/news/safety-peer-asks-why-private-landlords-must-do-electrical-checks-when-social-ones-are-exempt/" electrical equipment when new regulations kick in later this year. An amendment
Manchester aims to double the size of its selective licensing scheme by adding another 1,884 properties in eight areas. The council has given it the go-ahead to the https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/news/manchester-mayor-vows-to-launch-1-5m-landlord-licensing-across-city/"
Owners of second homes in many coastal and holiday locations could face a ban on renting using lettings websites like Airbnb. Tourist hotspots such as coastal towns in Cornwall and Devon are particularly affected. Communities being eroded In many of these towns, loca
