The London borough of Greenwich has launched a consultation into renewing its additional licensing scheme. The previous scheme ran from October 2017 and ended in September, and the council now wants landlords and tenants to help it decide whether to start it up again from April
Landlords must ensure they amend the Welsh governments model tenancy agreements or risk eroding their rights, warns a leading property lawyer. Following the introduction of thehttps://www.landlordzone.co.uk/news/huge-changes-to-welsh-renting-laws-go-live-today-f
The Government has given buy-to-let landlords two compelling reason to sell-up, and fast: first is the overhaul of the rental rules coming next year, with indefinite tenancies and the end of section 21 evictions, and second comes the eroding of capital gains tax, tax free allowances. <p
New government funding to explore how technology can help dispute resolution could reduce the backlog of court cases, including possession hearings. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has been awarded �119,691 from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial St
Investigations have thrown new light on a series of solar energy investments which failed to switch the lights on for Thurrock Council. Conservative led Thurrock Council has saddled itself with an almost �500 million debt when it tried to bridge a funding gap by taking on risky
In this episode of the property cast, Eddie and Paul are joined by Nigel Lewis - award-winning property journalist and Editor in Chief at LandlordZONE, the most visited landlord news website in the UK. Nigel Lewis is a property writer and editor with a 27-year track record working for nation
In this episode of The Property Cast, we discuss the myriad of issues surrounding damp, mould and condensation a common problem for landlords and letting agents alike. To explore this topic, Sean Hooker, Head of Redress at the Property Redress Scheme, steps into Eddies sh
In this episode of The Property Cast, Eddie and Paul are joined by Maxine Fothergill, President of the leading membership body for property agents, ARLA Propertymark. The trio discuss the topical issue of rental reform and ROPA, delving into the detail of what lies ahead for age
Portsmouth is to go ahead with its contested additional licensing scheme but has promised to reward good landlords by charging them a lower licence fee and doing fewer inspections. Landlords had urged their council not to go ahead with plans to extend licensing to about 4,000 th
The long awaited renting reforms first muted in 2019 will be implemented next year, promises Housing Secretary, Michael Gove MP. Admitting that the Government should have moved more quickly� on these reforms to protect tenants following the Grenfell Tower tragedy, Mr Gove
A landlord battling to evict his nightmare tenants using a Section 8 order is exasperated that county court bailiffs encouraged them to stay put. The Cumbrian-based landlord had been granted a possession order, but his tenants - on bail for alleged drug offences and owing �3,00
The Government has averted a looming crisis in the HMO sector that would have seen many tenants charged individually for council tax, rather than paying a share of the propertys annual bill. As LandlordZONEhttps://www.landlordzone.co.uk/news/exclusive-official-counci
London Renters Union will picket successful estate agents across the capital next week who it blames for pushing up rents to unaffordable levels. Protests are planned in Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Crystal Palace on 3rd December by activists who have taken partic
The Welsh government has given a strong indication that landlords and property owners operating Airbnb holiday homes within its borders are to face a compulsory licensing scheme similar to the Rent Smart Wales scheme for the traditional private rental sector. This follows a parl
Landlords long-standing criticisms of health and safety regulation that tenants are often the cause of problems such as mould or water leaks look set to be addressed in new government guidance. Councils inspecting rented properties will be formally instructed to exami
Housing Secretary Michael Gove has ordered council bosses to prove they are assessing and improving damp and mould problems in the PRS. Following the death of toddler Awaab Ishak as a direct result of mould in his family home, Gove says theres an urgent need to ensure a decen
The tragedy of the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak in a Rochdale social housing flat rests heavily on the minds of landlords across the country: could this happen in one of my own properties they might well ask? The answer is probably, yes it easily could. In a winter with ris
A Japanese knotweed infestation caused homeowner Charron Ishmael to take her neighbour, retired NHS consultant Dr Sheila Clark, to court over a dispute about the plant. Charron Ishmael was selling her property but because of the presence of the invasive plant in her neighbour
With inflation now into double figures, with all the financial shenanigans over the mini budget, the 10 year risk free bond yield at around 5 percent, its sending mortgages rates above 6 per cent, so how low will house prices go? It seems inevitable prices will fall, but by h
A prominent landlord in the North East has told the BBCs Newsnight programme that unless variable mortgage rates reduce he will have to start handing the keys back to the ten or so properties within his portfolio. <figure id="" class="w-richtext-figure-type- " data-rt-type="" da
Outspoken landlord Tina Knight has incurred the wrath of social media users by outlining the sectors eviction headaches on Good Morning Britain. She told presenters Susanna Reid and Richard Madeley that tenants have too much power and described some landlords
The Newcastle headquartered firm Greggs has won an initial High Court ruling in a �150m Covid related case against the insurance company, Zurich. Greggs claim was over its business interruption insurance with Zurich in which the firm claims it is due monetary compensation fo
London mayor Sadiq Khan says families would save about �3,000 during the next two years if he was given the power to freeze rents in the capital. We are asking government to give us the powers to have rent controls,� he toldhttps://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has announced that the government will reverse almost all the tax measures announced in its recent growth plan. While it will still go ahead with cutting stamp duty, a planned 1p cut to the basic rate of income tax will now be shelved indefinitely� wh
The Renters Reform Bill will be introduced during the current parliamentary session, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has told MPs. <figure id="" class="w-richtext-figure-type- " data-rt-type="" data-rt-align=""><div><img src="https://uploads-ssl.webflow.c
This case highlights the dangers of responding to emails (phishing schemes) and social media appeals promising tax rebates and otherwise ways of receiving large pay outs in return for information. Four men were arrested in a coordinated operation across England by over 50 office
The new Chancellor and former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has been tasked with sorting out the Kwamiikaze mini budget introduced by his predecessor, who holds the dubious gong of having the 2nd shortest tenure in the job ever. Hunt, who has made two weak
Consumer organisation Which? says there is considerable evidence that many EPCs are ‘not accurate’.
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 in Portsmouth say vulnerable tenants are being unfairly displaced due to the council’s draconian additional licencing scheme.
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 Scotland’s PRS unless there is more long-term certainty, according to one leading lettings expert.
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 evictions reached record highs in 2023, with over 25,000 households facing homelessness, prompting calls for urgent reform.
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 have been promised fair compensation by a developer planning to bulldoze scores of homes on one of England’s most deprived housing estates.
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.
Troubled property development company Home Holdings has put another raft of HMOs onto the market in a bid to shore up losses.
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.
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.
A rogue landlord and fugitive fraudster who intimidated his tenants is in jail after more than five years on the run.
A landlord who used an agreement that tried to undermine her tenants’ rights has been fined a total of £5,800.
Financially challenged Somerset Council has capitulated after a concerted campaign by protesters force it to abandon one of its business tenants
Signs that the market is moving into a recovery phase, though there is still ample evidence that there remains a challenging backdrop.
New changes to planning rules mean rogue landlords who illegally convert HMOs could face an unlimited fine.
The Scottish government has been urged to reverse its anti-landlord policies after the SNP ended their power-sharing agreement with the Greens.
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.
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.
Conservative MP Anthony Mangnall voted against the Renters Reform Bill, warning that removing fixed-term tenancies could reduce housing supply.
Abolishing section 21 as soon as the Renters Reform Bill gains Royal Assent would cause chaos in the sector and leave the statute book a “confusing mess”, according to the government.
Conservative MP Natalie Elphicke failed to convince the government to include relocation payments for tenants and to restrict tenancy grounds in its Renters (Reform) Bill.
Environmental health officers have won a concession from the Government after it agreed not to stop councils using selective licencing schemes once England’s national property portal launches.
