Archive

Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook has written to one of the key areas he believes vital for achieving Labour’s house-building targets, calling...

Knight Frank has set out its forecast for the rental sector for the rest of 2024 - notwithstanding political uncertainty. In the...

New Freedom of Information (FOI) data from the Financial Conduct Authority shows that Labour’s plan to introduce a ‘Freedom to Buy’...

One of the UK’s most high profile lettings agents is calling on politicians to change course on rent controls. David Alexander of...

The rise in consumer inflation from 2.0% to 2.2% is “an unfortunate but accepted part” of achieving a stable housing market. So...

A charity leader claims spiralling rents are forcing children into what he calls “damp and mouldy B&Bs”. Matt Downie, chief executive of...

Propertymark says stricter rules for EPC ratings in the private rental sector must be backed up with incentives and financial support. The...

The Bank of England has cut base rate from 5.25% to 5.0% - its first cut in four years. It was a...

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has given a warm welcome to Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner’s planning reforms. This week Rayner...

An investment expert says TV property shows - especially episodes recorded some time ago - should carry warnings about soaring buy...

The Building Engineering Services Association has welcomed the new government’s commitment to reinforce the rules that require landlords and their agents...

Rightmove says the number of available rental properties is currently 14% higher than this time last year, while tenant demand is...

A new lettings market index has been launched by the Skipton Group, parent company of Connells, the country’s largest lettings and...

New figures from lettings agency Hamptons suggest that investors purchasing buy to let properties are increasingly looking to the north of...

The average age of landlords acquiring new rental property with a buy to let mortgage has fallen over the past decade,...

ARLA Propertymark and a number of other property industry bodies wants Housing Secretary Angela Rayner to regulate letting and sales agents. An...

Glenigan, regarded as one of the construction industry’s most respected insight and intelligence consultancies, says the sector will enjoy a long-term...

Leaks over the weekend from what would appear to be government sources suggest some 35 new Bills will be in the...

Data sourced from millions of Barclays current accounts reveals spending on rent and mortgages rose just 1.5% year-on-year in June –...

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors says it welcomes the new Labour government’s ambitious housing plans - but it also casts...

There’s a call from a prominent international building science service for the new Labour government to review the Energy Performance Certificates. EPCs...

Labour’s proposed planning reforms indicates that the new government is serious about change and grasping the nettle on housebuilding. That’s the view...

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has congratulated Labour on forming the next government but says it must move quickly to...

A nationwide survey conducted by Leaders Romans Group shows significant concerns over proposed rent controls, property taxes, and regulatory changes. LRG this...

Knight Frank says tenancies agreed in June for properties asking over £1,000 per week were at a level below the asking...

The latest snapshot of the rental market from Rightmove reveals that average advertised rents for tenants outside of London have reached...

Fines totalling £108,000 have been issued to letting agents and landlords breaching HMO rules in part of London.  An additional HMO licensing...

The result of the election isn’t likely to be a gamechanger for the housing market, a prominent business consultancy says.  An analysis...

Some 8,000 people were forced to sleep rough for the first time in London last year, an increase of 25% on...

A huge survey involving analysis of over 14,000 properties suggests an urgent need for the next government to help private rental...

A ban on so-called bidding wars, which Labour now proposes, would have to include letting agents as well as landlords a...

The Property Energy Professionals Association - a trade group representing accreditation schemes for energy assessors - is complaining that it’s not...

Outstanding council tax arrears have soared according to new government figures. Data from he Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities shows...

Bristol’s latest Build To Rent scheme from Grainger claims its pre-leasing phase has exceeded expectations with over a third of homes...

The Bank of England has kept base interest rate at 5.25%. Some industry figures hoped for a cut following yesterday’s inflation news,...

Labour has stepped up its programme clamping down on what it calls “unscrupulous landlords strangling growth.” Specifically this means ending bidding wars,...

A lettings agency director is suggesting the short lets boom may be over. Marc von Grundherr, director of Benham and Reeves, says...

Letting agents’ trade body Propertymark has backed a call by consumer group Which? for radical reforms to Energy Performance Certificates. Yesterday we...

Energy Performance Certificates can be riddled with inaccuracies and give unhelpful advice to property owners. That’s the view of consumer service Which? Which?...

A deposit alternative service has been added to Propertymark’s industry supplier list. Tenants can purchase a Zero Deposit Guarantee from £7.50 upwards...

Mandatory smoke, heat and carbon monoxide alarms will be introduced to private rented sector properties in Northern Ireland.    Under the Smoke, Heat...

Data sourced from millions of bank accounts reveals spending on rent and mortgages increased 6.3 per cent year-on-year in May. Barclays data...

The Property Franchise Group, which calls itself the UK’s largest multi-brand property franchisor, says its merging with lettings giant Belvoir has...

Four fifths of developers believe that the next government needs to do more to support first time buyers, according to the...

Asking rents continue to show posi­tive growth in all regions except Greater London, the UK’s largest rental market, where they continue...

Inflation figures are down - but not as much as many analysts expected. The basic Consumer Price Index figure fell from 3.2%...

Tenants renewing an existing contracts have been faced with high rent rises according to Hamptons lettings agency. It says they rose 8.3%...

A third of homes currently for sale can be bought with a mortgage and monthly repayments that cost less than the...

A Labour MP is calling for rent controls to be introduced, with powers for councils to tweak them as they see...

An Office of National Statistics survey shows that the top three issues facing the UK are still the cost-of-living crisis (89%),...

Propertymark has given its view on why private rents have risen so much - 6.1% in England, 7.0% in Wales and...

London lettings agency Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward is expanding with the opening of a new branch in the centre of Camberwell. Anthony...

Rental growth in prime London postcodes has narrowed to levels last seen in the summer of 2021, says Knight Frank.  Average rents...

The Housing Secretary in Wales says that nation is unlikely to follow the example of Scotland by introducing rent controls. At a...

The percentage of tenants borrowing money to fund their cash deposits on their next property has risen over the last 12...

Five Labour MPs have put forward an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons calling for rent controls - even...

Political parties should stop bickering and instead work together to improve the private rental sector. That’s the view of the Lettings industry...

There’s been at most a one per cent reduction in landlords in the buy to let sector, a think tank claims...

Propertymark has batted away any possible market pessimism as a result of a downbeat price index result from the Halifax  Just before...

The number of new prospective tenants registered per Propertymark member branch decreased from 97 in January to 89 in February -...

A deposit alternative company is calling on agents to help tenants save an average of £1,000 on up-front costs. Flatfair chief executive...

Prime London rental values ticked up 0.3% over the first three months of 2024, according to Savills, as the market continues...

HomeLet and Let Alliance’s chief executive Andy Halstead has called for less “government grandstanding” and more direct action to recognise the...

Property logbook company Chimni is trialling a new form of Digital Property Logbook aimed at the Lettings markets.   The new logbooks...

Agents have expressed their anger at permanent rent controls proposed by the SNP and Green Party politicians running the Scottish Government. The...

A lettings agency has been expelled from The Property Ombudsman scheme following itsfailure to pay £1,100 out of an adjudicated award...

England’s county councils want the next government to set out a long-term plan for housing, as a new report claims there’s...

A prominent lettings agent is calling for an end to what he calls the “archaic” system under which some tenants end...

The all-party House of Lords Industry and Regulators Committee has urged the government to get on with establishing a regulator of...

February saw significant improvements in activity across the prime London lettings market, and annual rental growth also increased slightly after four...

The largest lettings agency in Scotland says purchases by landlords and other investor buyers in that country have risen sharply despite...

Propertymark has urged the Scottish Government to resolve the country’s ongoing housing emergency. The news comes as Scottish Labour MSP Mark Griffin...

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has launched a new Residential Retrofit Standard in a bid to help the housing industry...

Latest inflation figures are announced on Wednesday and the Bank of England makes its next base rate decision on Thursday. The Office...

Asking rents continue to show pos­itive annualised growth in all regions except Greater London and Scotland.  That’s according to respected property website...

A Parliamentary committee has heard that thousands of small and medium-sized letting agencies were debanked in 2023, with financial institutions forcibly...

The letting agents’ trade body Propertymark has made the unexpected move of calling on banks to cut mortgage rates. Rates are typically...

Shelter is calling for the construction of 90,000 rental properties each year for a decade - and it claims this would...

Shelter is asking for public support for radical changes to the Renters Reform Bill, now going through Parliament. The campaigning charity is...

Countryside campaigning charity CPRE has given a warm welcome to Michael Gove’s clampdown on short lets. Earlier this week Housing Secretary Michael...

Renters are less financially resilient than recent remortgagers according to an analysis by business consultants Hargreaves Lansdown. It says over two thirds...

There’s been a surge in enthusiasm for energy efficient homes according to research from heat pump advocates OVO. It says that a...

The trade body representing short lets providers and support companies has reacted angrily to government proposals for a radical shake up. Housing...

Rental growth across prime London slowed again in January, with average rents falling on a monthly basis for the third time...

Propertymark says the regulation of property agents and the creation of a statutory Code of Practice can improve the transparency of...

Prominent MPs from the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties have renewed their onslaught on Airbnb and other short let platforms.  Former Lib...

The Building Research Establishment - which undertakes research, advice, training, testing, certification and standards-setting for the housing sector - is calling...

A Knight Frank survey of 50 house builders shows a staggering 70 per cent support for Labour to win the next...

A return of pent-up demand and mortgage rates falling below five per cent have boosted the start of the year for...

Savills says prime rental growth across London and the country has stalled for the first time in almost three years. In prime...

Two thirds of private renters have experienced a problem with the quality or condition of their property in the past six...

The Property Institute has welcomed a Labour Party move to introduce the regulation of property agents across much of the sector. Tabled...

Propertymark is hosting a webinar where Scott Bailey - policy manager at the Home Office - will answer questions on Right...

Figures released by HMRC show that the Treasury raked in £5.7 billion in inheritance tax receipts in the nine months from...

Deposit alternative company flatfair has announced a major new agency partnership with the Andrews Property Group.  Andrews branches will be able to...

Qualifications for property managers in the social housing sector should be extended to the private rental sector too. That’s the view of...

There are growing fears that the hoped-for Bank of England base rate cut this spring - the first off possibly several...

Rents across the UK continue to retreat from their 2023 highs, falling by 2.9 per cent over the last three months,...

Knight Frank has revised its housing market forecasts for 2024, just two weeks into the new year. It’s done this on the...

The long-running aspiration of many to allow rental payments to be counted towards credit ratings appears to have taken a step...