23 Jun, 2025

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Beware using WhatsApp to discuss rental contracts, warns lawyer

Beware using WhatsApp to discuss rental contracts, warns lawyer

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A property lawyer has warned that landlords might fail to realise their tenant has given notice after a court ruled that a WhatsApp exchange was sufficient to create a contract.

CLAIM: Fees ban has saved tenants £1bn and 'didn't push up rents'

CLAIM: Fees ban has saved tenants £1bn and 'didn't push up rents'

News

Private renters in England have saved nearly £1 billion in letting agent fees since the 2019 Tenant Fees Act, research by Generation Rent has found.

Student HMO landlords face tenancies-in-advance 'crunch' this November

Student HMO landlords face tenancies-in-advance 'crunch' this November

News

One of the UK’s leading student lettings agencies has pointed out a huge ‘crunch point’ for HMO landlords when the Renters’ Rights Bill goes live later this year.

Landlords to raise rents when reform restrictions go live

Landlords to raise rents when reform restrictions go live

News

New poll shows landlords are planning to raise rents in response to new restrictions within the looming Renters' Rights Bil.

BLOG: 'Tenants and landlords will see harder times when section 21 is abolished'

BLOG: 'Tenants and landlords will see harder times when section 21 is abolished'

News

Property lawyer Ian Narbeth takes a detailed but scathing look at Labour's looming Renters' Rights Bill and predicts there is trouble ahead.

London politician calls for action against rogue landlords

London politician calls for action against rogue landlords

News

Comments have been made after residents at a property that was illegally converted into 11 bedsit flats remain worried about its condition.

Landlord trio sell portfolio for £22m citing 'complex renting environment'

Landlord trio sell portfolio for £22m citing 'complex renting environment'

News

Three landlord brothers have had a whopping £22 million pay day after selling their property portfolio to an investment trust.

EXPERT: Renting reforms will make 'horrendous housing crisis' worse

EXPERT: Renting reforms will make 'horrendous housing crisis' worse

News

A leading property expert says the UK is heading for a “horrendous housing crisis” that could worsen with the advent of the Renters’ Rights Bill.

Social housing in crisis as tenants’ complaints go through the roof

Social housing in crisis as tenants’ complaints go through the roof

News

New report from the Housing Ombudsman shows complaints about substandard living conditions in social housing in England are five times higher than they were five years ago

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Will Renters' Right Bill make councils prosecute ALL bad landlords?

Will Renters' Right Bill make councils prosecute ALL bad landlords?

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Lawyer David Smith looks at several clauses within the Act which appear to mandate local authorities to bring all errant landlords to book.

Landlords warn Government over EPC upgrade proposals

Landlords warn Government over EPC upgrade proposals

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New EPC rules in Scotland will worsen the housing crisis and force people to spend longer in emergency homeless accommodation

Demand for green rented homes soaring, say big landlords

Demand for green rented homes soaring, say big landlords

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Big landlords believe tenants are willing to pay more for green features amid a growing recognition that sustainability sells.

Shocking rogue landlord given suspended prison sentence

Shocking rogue landlord given suspended prison sentence

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Shocking behaviour by a landlord has prompted withering comments from a judge and a huge fine.

LATEST: Renters' Rights Bill races towards completion in parliament

LATEST: Renters' Rights Bill races towards completion in parliament

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The next stage of the Renters’ Rights Bill has been scheduled for 1st July, raising the prospect that it could become law before parliamentary summer recess.

Lloyds 'the landlord' signs another megadeal to build more rented homes

Lloyds 'the landlord' signs another megadeal to build more rented homes

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Lloyds has taken the next step towards becoming one of the UK’s biggest private landlords.

Rents 'spiralling' as landlords head for exit, says RICS

Rents 'spiralling' as landlords head for exit, says RICS

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The relentless decline in the volume of new landlord listings shows no signs of abating.

Scottish leader reveals new housing secretary after McLennan steps down

Scottish leader reveals new housing secretary after McLennan steps down

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Scottish landlords and agents have a new housing secretary to deal with after incumbent Paul McLennan

Battle of words over 'disgusting' comments during landlord conference

Battle of words over 'disgusting' comments during landlord conference

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The Eastern Landlords Association has condemned comments labelled “unprofessional and disgusting” recorded its annual conference.

EXPERT: Removal of Furnished Holiday Lets relief 'may never happen'

EXPERT: Removal of Furnished Holiday Lets relief 'may never happen'

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Plans to abolish the Furnished Holiday Lets (FHL) regime could be delayed by at least a year from April 2025, and might never happen, according to one tax expert.

More pet rights for tenants tops landlords worries over reforms

More pet rights for tenants tops landlords worries over reforms

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Landlords are more concerned about tenants’ right to request to keep a pet than the potential abolition of Section 21, a new poll reveals.

HMRC restarts landlord pilots for its 'Making Tax Digital' scheme

HMRC restarts landlord pilots for its 'Making Tax Digital' scheme

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More landlords can now try out Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax after HMRC paused the pilot last February.

Rise in HMOs pushes BTL yields to highest for six years

Rise in HMOs pushes BTL yields to highest for six years

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Average rental yields have hit a six-year high with HMOs and properties in the North East offering landlords the best returns.

EPCs are misleading, inaccurate and need reform, says Which?

EPCs are misleading, inaccurate and need reform, says Which?

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Consumer organisation Which? says there is considerable evidence that many EPCs are ‘not accurate’.

Landlord fined £528,000 after fence mending work leads to burns

Landlord fined £528,000 after fence mending work leads to burns

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A large landlord has been fined £528,000 after a maintenance crew member repairing a fence post inadvertently struck an underground cable, suffering facial burns.

Landlords slam 'infuriating' licencing rules now driving evictions

Landlords slam 'infuriating' licencing rules now driving evictions

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Landlords in Portsmouth say vulnerable tenants are being unfairly displaced due to the council’s draconian additional licencing scheme.

Rebel MPs demand ground rents abolished for existing leaseholds

Rebel MPs demand ground rents abolished for existing leaseholds

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A group of 30 Tory MPs have written to the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt warning that they may vote against the Government’s Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill unless ground rents are abolished for both future and existing leaseholds.

Rent controls 'will undermine investment in PRS' says expert

Rent controls 'will undermine investment in PRS' says expert

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Rent controls will undermine investment in Scotland’s PRS unless there is more long-term certainty, according to one leading lettings expert.

London landlord narrowly avoids refunding tenant £32,000

London landlord narrowly avoids refunding tenant £32,000

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A landlord has avoided a £32,000 rent repayment order after a judge ruled his flat was at an address not covered by a licensing scheme, but only just.

Section 21 increasingly being used by landlords to evict as ban looms

Section 21 increasingly being used by landlords to evict as ban looms

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Section 21 evictions reached record highs in 2023, with over 25,000 households facing homelessness, prompting calls for urgent reform.

'Time for bold action with rent controls has come' says mayor hopeful

'Time for bold action with rent controls has come' says mayor hopeful

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The Green Party’s mayoral candidate in London has said she will bring in rent controls saying the time for ‘bold action’ has come.

Landlords promised compensation as huge estate faces bulldozer

Landlords promised compensation as huge estate faces bulldozer

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Landlords have been promised fair compensation by a developer planning to bulldoze scores of homes on one of England’s most deprived housing estates.

Letting agents call for short-lets crackdown in London

Letting agents call for short-lets crackdown in London

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Propertymark has urged London’s Mayor to crack down on short-term lets through licensing in a bid to tackle over-supply in the capital.

Struggling HMO giant sells off more properties

Struggling HMO giant sells off more properties

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Troubled property development company Home Holdings has put another raft of HMOs onto the market in a bid to shore up losses.

Osborne's 3% extra stamp duty is reason for BTL buying slump

Osborne's 3% extra stamp duty is reason for BTL buying slump

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The decision by George Osborne in 2015 to introduce a 3% additional stamp duty levy on landlords has seen a slump in the number of BTL properties bought in the Tory heartlands of Southern England.

'Scotland's fast-rising rents are the SNP/Green's fault'

'Scotland's fast-rising rents are the SNP/Green's fault'

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A leading letting agent in Scotland has laid the blame for the country’s rental supply woes firmly at the feet of former Tenants’ Rights minister Patrick Harvie.

Fugitive Midlands landlord faces long jail sentence

Fugitive Midlands landlord faces long jail sentence

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A rogue landlord and fugitive fraudster who intimidated his tenants is in jail after more than five years on the run.

Landlord fined for 'unlawfully profiting' from London flat

Landlord fined for 'unlawfully profiting' from London flat

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A landlord who used an agreement that tried to undermine her tenants’ rights has been fined a total of £5,800.

Protesters force South West council to evict their business tenant

Protesters force South West council to evict their business tenant

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Financially challenged Somerset Council has capitulated after a concerted campaign by protesters force it to abandon one of its business tenants

RICS survey shows signs of commercial property recovery

RICS survey shows signs of commercial property recovery

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Signs that the market is moving into a recovery phase, though there is still ample evidence that there remains a challenging backdrop. 

NEW:Landlords to face unimited fines if they illegally convert homes into HMOs

NEW:Landlords to face unimited fines if they illegally convert homes into HMOs

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New changes to planning rules mean rogue landlords who illegally convert HMOs could face an unlimited fine.

Scotland's 'rent controls tsar' Patrick Harvie loses power

Scotland's 'rent controls tsar' Patrick Harvie loses power

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The Scottish government has been urged to reverse its anti-landlord policies after the SNP ended their power-sharing agreement with the Greens.

MP's bill forcing private landlords to fix mould delayed AGAIN

MP's bill forcing private landlords to fix mould delayed AGAIN

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Private renters are most in need of Awaab’s Law due to the frequently worse conditions of mould in their homes, says Labour MP Fleur Anderson, who hopes to instigate stricter rules for the PRS.

'Ministers need to let landlords know when Section 21 is going'

'Ministers need to let landlords know when Section 21 is going'

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Figures across the private rented sector including TV star Paul Shamplina have warned that both tenants, landlords and letting agents need to know when the Section 21 eviction ban is going to take place.