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
Will the long-awaited Renters Reform Bill land—or fall flat? Explore landlord reactions and what the new measures could mean.
The https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/news/hold-up-for-renters-reform-bill-blamed-on-procedural-issues/" Renters Reform Bill will increase pressure on landlords and may force even more to quit the market, warns the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (https://w
The Bank of England has hiked https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/news/revealed-why-higher-interest-rates-are-making-it-trickier-for-btl-investors/" interest rates by 0.25 percentage points, pushing the base rate to 4.5% and raising fears that this could exacerbate rental pric
Housing Secretary Michael Gove has dropped plans to abolish leaseholds in England and Wales after Downing Street officials argued there was not enough time to enact such major reforms. Despite describing it as an outdated feudal system� and pledging to get rid of h
Five more https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/news/latest-big-city-to-go-live-with-controversial-selective-licensing-plan/" selective licensing schemes have opened in https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/news/new-devolution-deal-gives-manchester-more-rogue-landlord-powers/"
https://www.shelter.org.uk/" Shelter has strenuously denied that it is involved in any https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/news/rent-to-rent-craze-adding-to-uks-renting-crisis/" rent-to-rent schemes after it was claimed that the charity was either acting as
A leading property lawyer warns that removing risk mitigation strategies will make many tenants on lower incomes “unlettable”.
A landlord must repay tenants £20,000 in rent after he failed to convince a tribunal he wasn’t aware of a licensing scheme.
All private landlords in Barking and Dagenham must get a licence from April following the introduction of its selective scheme.
There’s an often-overlooked impact of couples splitting on the demand for housing and particularly for rentals as splits occur every year in the UK
The Welsh government has agreed to explore the possibility of making landlords give tenants compensation if they are evicted.
A former solicitor and property expert has penned a book on how landlords can avoid litigants and potential crippling fines.
Landlords have been reminded to double check tenants’ documents after several London landlords were handed fake payslips.
Property portals and estate agents are failing buyers of leasehold properties by not flagging up legally required information.
Fees for joining the redress scheme and landlord database could be “significantly higher” following amendments to the Renters’ Rights Bill.
A senior lawyer has told landlords that they cannot blame their tenants if mould appears within privately rented homes.
A fraudulent letting agent who ripped off landlords by failing to register their deposits has escaped a jail sentence.
Three tenants have pocketed £10,060 between them after winning a rent repayment order against their landlord for letting out a mouldy HMO with “lamentable” fire safety.
One of the UK’s largest private landlords has been ordered to pay £16 million towards the cost of fixing cladding-related fire safety problems at a group of five residential towers in London.
An Additional Licencing scheme covering all larger HMOs in Warwick has now gone live following approval of the scheme last year and a consultation.
Select committee report is arguing for a change in the law to force private landlords to have to fix mould within days
The government has revealed more details about how the new Private Rented Sector Ombudsman Service will work in practice.
A cross-party group of MPs says a crackdown on social landlords to tackle damp and mould should be extended to tenants in the private rented sector.
Buy-to-let intermediary Mortgages for Business is rebranding as Mortgage Finance Brokers (MFB) to reflect its more inclusive approach.
1 million extra homes will be needed in England and Wales to house singles and families – this is a continually growing market for the private rented sector.
Tory MPs have tabled a raft of amendments to the Renters Reform Bill to ensure it works for the whole private rented sector.
Property surveyors across the UK have reported a slowdown in tenant demand along with continued levels of diminishing stock.
Four tenants have lost their £309,000 claim for harassment but won a £21,160 rent repayment order for living in an unlicensed flat.
There’s good news for landlords who have postponed selling their rental properties despite falling profits and new legislation making the private rental sector less appealing to most landlords.
Landlords could have to wait slightly longer for the pressure on mortgage rates to ease after the annual rate of inflation hit 4% last month.
UK rents increased by 6.2% in the year to December 2023 - the joint highest annual percentage change since 2016.
Experts and campaigners giving evidence to the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill committee have endorsed a commonhold system.
Tenants across the UK are being asked to comply with an extensive fraud checklist to confirm their eligibility for Universal Credit.
Propertymark has welcomed the Welsh government’s commitment that private landlords shouldn’t have to refer tenants at risk of homelessness.
Up to one million new rental homes will be needed to accommodate growing demand by 2031, particularly from young families, across England and Wales.
Almost 2,000 letting agent branches shut up shop last year which meant 2023 ended with 659 fewer branches on the high street.
Nearly a fifth of landlords believe the government should prioritise better access to finance so they can carry out retrofitting plans.
A record 50,004 limited BTL companies were set up last year, driven by landlords looking to shelter themselves from higher interest rates.
Michael Gove says that under Awaab’s Law, social housing landlords must deal with condensation issues without delay.
Get ready for an intriguing year ahead in 2024, particularly if you're a hands-on landlord, as several forthcoming announcements are poised to reshape the landscape of property management.
