Abolishing leasehold is far from the easy process some of our politicians would have us believe – there are some powerful forces ready to counter the move.
Former Housing Minister Esther McVey has been claiming tens of thousands of pounds in Parliamentary expenses for renting a London flat, despite her husband owning a property a mile away, it has been claimed.
The government has been urged to stop “sitting on its hands” and bring forward changes to protect tenants, leaseholders and landlords from poor practices in the lettings industry.
A new DIY lettings service for landlords should help Hello Neighbour fulfil its ambition of becoming the biggest letting agent in England, according to co-founder Richard Jenkins.
A landlord who rented out his unlicensed, seven-bedroom HMO to 13 tenants has been ordered to pay £3,000.
Landlords' rent increases reflect rising mortgage rates and operational costs, not profiteering, amid a challenging property market.
Landlord and tenant groups have welcomed proposals by MPs on the Work and Pensions Select Committee to introduce an annual ‘uprating guarantee’ to the Local Housing Allowance (LHA).
Propertymark poll reveals only 18% of landlords understand the Renters (Reform) Bill; 52% find official guidance insufficient.
The Guardian suggests that Government may start to veer towards a “surprisingly simple solution to the UK housing crisis” which could see them squeeze landlords further, blaming them for the current housing crisis affecting home-buyers.
A new report published today claims that 390,000 jobs rely on the private rented sector as critics of the sector, including the Guardian newspaper, have called for it to be shrunk or abolished entirely.
Landlords in Oxford who fail to sign up to the city’s licensing scheme are being threatened with fines and enforcement action after a year of relative ‘grace’.
Falling UK inflation could herald some good news for BTL landlords over the coming months, according to mortgage experts.
Until recently landlords only had to concern themselves gas safety checks - but now all residential landlords or their agents must arrange for regular electrical safety checks (every 5 years)
Infamous property guru Glenn Armstrong, who misled dozens of investors by promising to make them rich, has been handed tough bankruptcy restrictions lasting 12 years.
A tenant who discovered that his landlord had not licenced the HMO in which he lived is to pocket £5,000 after winning a rent repayment order (RRO) during a Tribunal hearing.
Budget fails buy-to-let landlords – tax reliefs slashed and housing crisis ignored, despite CGT cut and NI tweaks.
A landlord who was jailed for culpable homicide in 2008 has been refused permission to rent out flats in Glasgow, despite claiming he has taken ‘responsibility for his actions’ and moved on.
Letting agents have blamed poor Scottish government policies for the growing number of councils declaring ‘housing emergencies’.
Nearly a quarter (23%) of people without a smart meter say it’s because - incorrectly - they live in a rental property that can't have one installed.
Scotland’s minister for tenant’s rights is oblivious to the havoc he’s wreaking in the PRS and the harm being caused to tenants, says Tory MSP.
New research from the consumer campaign group paints a grim picture of renters facing tough financial conditions as they struggle to pay the rent.
Welsh Housing Minister Julie James has warned that Rishi Sunak’s green U-turn means many tenants will continue to rent draughty, inefficient homes and face high energy bills for years to come.
A lack of public money to back landlords keen to upgrade their properties islikely to have been a major factor behind Rishi Sunak’s decision to scrap changesto minimum energy standards, an expert has claimed.
Increasing regulation of the private rented sector, the pain of finding tradespeople to do property repairs and increasing fraud are pushing more landlords into the arms of letting agents, it has been revealed.
London renters can flag up breaches of the Tenant Fees Act to Trading Standards by using a new reporting tool.
The Conservatives have put housing high on the agenda at their upcoming party conference, with at least 30 fringe meetings scheduled to discuss the topic.
Homeowners are buying the vast majority of rental properties being offloaded by landlords, reducing local rented supply.
Ousted tenants right minister Patrick Harvie has urged the SNP’s new leader John Swinney to honour the government’s Bute House pledge to deliver rent controls and stronger tenant rights.
Landlords could find themselves in a legal tangle when asking for rent in advance if the Renters Reform Bill goes forward as drafted.
A leading letting agency in London has claimed that the Government’s Renters (Reform) Bill going through parliament, along with promises by Labour to go even further than the Tories if they gain power, are eroding landlord confidence in the private rented sector.
A letting agency in Liverpool has vowed to appeal a banning order successfully sought by the city’s council after the firm was found to have been operating unlicenced HMOs.
Improving your rental properties will make your property more efficient, easier to let and get your tenants to stay longer
High interest rates, higher operating costs and a shift to remote working have conspired against office space in particular
COVID impact still being felt on UK high streets four years on from the first lockdowns: commercial real estate lending is down but agents see signs of optimism.
Landlords’ bank accounts could be monitored as part of new legislation that aims to reduce overpayments to people claiming benefits and fraudulent claims.
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.
Landlords are more concerned about tenants’ right to request to keep a pet than the potential abolition of Section 21, a new poll reveals.
More landlords can now try out Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax after HMRC paused the pilot last February.
Average rental yields have hit a six-year high with HMOs and properties in the North East offering landlords the best returns.
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.
