Archive

Consumer organisation Which? claims there are some 1,000 reports of rental fraud scams a month at this time of year. It says...

Two London agents who traded fraudulently through their lettings business and scammed victims out of over £24,000 have been sentenced. After a...

An analysis of over 600,000 tenancy applications has found that fraudulent applications rose by 140% last year.  The analysis, carried out by...

The Open Property Data Association has released a new version of its property data standards framework to help letting agents comply...

PropTech platform Goodlord has launched a new referencing service for letting agents, offering what it calls ”a carefully curated balance of...

Tenant reference and tech supplier The Lettings Hub claims 25 per cent of fraudulent documents submitted by would-be tenants were identified...

Companies House has new powers from this week to combat fraud. These are measures under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act...

A letting agent who stole over £40,000 from her employer was caught when a bank queried the use of a company...

A free webinar next week will explore how agents can use technology solutions to attract and win new landlords for their...

VISTA, a tenant referencing service first announced back in November, launches today. Insurance and referencing service HomeLet says the product will “provide...

A prominent industry expert says lettings agents and other property sector insiders should be extra-vigilant over cybersecurity breaches. Neil Cobbold, managing director...

A wealthy landlord who set up a fake lettings agency in Hull has been jailed for 11 years for allowing ‘ghost tenants’ to...

A PropTech supplier this week hosts a free webinar for agents to shed light on the rise of attempted tenancy fraud...

Propertymark is hosting a client money security webinar tomorrow lunchtime between 12.30 and 13.30. The webinar will discuss the rise of Artificial...

An organised crime group involved in producing and distributing an estimated £2.4m of cannabis has been found to have e used...

A register launched to shed light on overseas property ownership in the UK now has over 30,000 registrations.  The Register of Overseas...

Two property company bosses have been sentenced following an Insolvency Service investigation which found they had abused a £30,000 Bounce Back...

Propertymark has set out its pro-agency position on a range of issues contained in the Renters Reform Bill, currently trundling through...

UK Association of Letting Agents has announced a link with PropTech supplier Canopy. UKALA member agents will receive a discount if they...

HomeLet claims its new VISTA service will revolutionise the lettings industry by eliminating fraud through the use of detection technology and...

Increasing numbers of landlords are considering instructing lettings agents for the first time because of increased red tape and the complexity...

Propertymark has responded to an HM Treasury consultation on anti-money laundering processes - and in doing so it’s slammed “heavy handed...

The Head of the National Trading Standards Scams Team is one of two new non-executive directors at The Property Ombudsman. Louise Baxter...

The classified ad website Gumtree is issuing an alert about what it claims is the growing threat of rental fraud. It says...

New figures suggest soaring numbers of tenants are at risk from criminals taking advantage of the tough rental market. Scammers place fake...

Zoopla’s Alto cloud-based software has announced a new integration with lettings PropTech supplier Canopy. This will enable tenant referencing to be permitted...

A fraudster lettings agent must repay £122,922.68 to her old firm within three months - or face yet more time in...

Trading Standards has stopped a lettings agency owner from being a company director after he defrauded customers by over £80,000. Francis Smart,...

PropTech supplier Goodlord has announced a partnership with an identity verification technology service which would allow agents to conduct digital Right...

Shelter is telling the government it “must deliver” on the revolution it pledges under the Renters Reform Bill. Chief executive Polly Neate...

PropTech rental platform  Goodlord has partnered with an open banking platform to enhance its tenant referencing service. Goodlord, which first integrated open...

A lettings agency has been accused of falsely claiming deposits were being held in a deposit protection scheme and other related...

A lettings agency maintenance manager stole almost £100,000 from her company - but has escaped prison. Farida Mughal was working at the...

Several lettings agents have been expelled from The Property Ombudsman scheme; they are amongst eight named as having been kicked out...

Corrupt elites and criminal gangs who abuse the property and financial sectors will be identified and stripped of their cash, the...

HomeLet has launched a product to help combat tenancy fraud, which it claims has seen a 36 per cent rise since...

The majority of private landlords would consider switching to a letting agency because of the current complexity of buy to let.  A...

Over half of all fraudulent tenancy applications involve fake or doctored pay slips, a PropTech firm claims. Goodlord analysed a sample size...

A former lettings manager has pleaded guilty to defrauding her agency employers for almost five years - but there’s uncertainty over...

Short lets platform Airbnb - increasingly used by landlords acting as hosts - has issued a warning to consumer users about...

Attempted fraud in the letting sector has risen sharply over the past two years, it’s been claimed. Tenant reference provider Homeppl claims...

A young family have started 2023 in their new permanent home after a London council recovered the property from an illegal...

The head of a Martin & Co office in Wolverhampton has been jailed over fraudulent activity. A court heard that Bhavander Singh...

Data from fraud prevention database CIFAS a marked increase in both identity fraud and false lettings applications in the UK according...

A lettings platform claims that as many as one in 20 rental properties may be let to criminals - that’s some...

The vexed subject of letting agents and landlords preparing for the Making Tax Digital regime is to be examined in a...

Referencing service Homeppl is expanding into Right to Rent checks. A digital R2R check can be integrated into Homeppl tenant referencing checks...

Labour’s new housing spokesperson, Matthew Pennycook, says his party would go further than the government on the subject of private rental...

A growing number of rental applications are being rejected by agents, it’s been claimed. PropTech firm Vouch says that between January and...

According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, organisations worldwide lose $4.7 trillion to fraud each year, with real estate suffering...

Lettings Hub says there were 91,593 cases of tenant application fraud in 2021 alone, with the most common form of fraud...

Trading Standards is calling for more due diligence checks to be made following the jailing of a rogue letting agent for...

A former lettings agent has been jailed for almost three years after admitting conning landlords out of over £80,000. The sentence for...

A letting agent who stole over £80,000 from landlords is awaiting sentence. Frank Smart - owner of Smart Residential Letting Agents in...

An analysis from PropTech firm Goodlord claims that agents and landlords would have lost a combined £1m over the last year...

Landlords and agents face a growing risk of rent arrears and tenant fraud because of the cost of living crisis. That’s the...

The former president of ARLA Propertymark has made an outspoken attack on the government for failing to regulate the agency industry. Maxine...

Letting agents have been told they must have the right technology to reduce the risk of fraud. Olly Thornton-Berry, co-founder of risk...

Industry suppliers are linking up to host a webinar for agents this week outlining the growing risks of tenancy fraud. HomeLet, Let...

PropTech supplier The Lettings Hub has launched a tenant referencing service that it claims allows letting agents to conduct their own...

A PropTech provider has launched a renter guarantor service after claiming there’s been a 10-fold rise in tenancy fraud in the...

Proceedings against a bankrupt letting agent have been delayed 10 weeks to allow mental health reports to be prepared.  Madelaina Eftekhari is...

PropTech company Homeppl has launched two products that it calls “revolutionary fraud detection tools” for letting agents. One of the two technologies...

A lettings agency employee who diverted over £50,000 of landlords’ money into his own account has been given a suspended sentence. Paul...

In this tips piece, Blake Richmond, managing director of referencing at Goodlord, sets out how agents can combat fraud in the lettings process.  Over...

An hour-long webinar this week aims to inform agents how to deter property fraud by greater emphasis on compliance, due diligence...

A leading lettings agent has warned tenants against using social media to find rental properties.  David Alexander - head of DJ Alexander,...

A PropTech firm claims to have saved a client more than £160,000 by preventing a criminal from illegally renting one of...

Property fraud is on the rise and early in 2022 agents will have an opportunity to attend a webinar featuring a...

A fake lettings operation has been uncovered by a leading legitimate agency - and now the National Trading Standards Estate and...

A scam in one city has reportedly seen scores of individuals robbed of thousands of pounds as short lets have been...

A PropTech firm says Open Banking could help to transform the lettings industry for the better if it is fully embraced.  And...

The Build to Rent sector is being targeted by criminals with a 364 per cent rise in fraudulent tenant applications in...

Who are you and what does it say on your business card? Alexander Siedes, CEO and Founder of Homeppl What is Homeppl and...

More and more people are committing tenancy fraud and it’s having a massive impact on the industryAs a lettings agency, you...

An international residential platform which manages 200,000 properties in 29 countries across Europe - including the UK - has signed an...

A lettings agent has been jailed for three years for defrauding tenants and landlords out of more than £182,000.  Lee Clarke, 42,...

A six-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, has been handed to a former lettings agent from Eastbourne for charges of...

A PropTech platform which uses Open Banking to help with tenant due diligence has raised another £1m in funding. Homeppl - which...

Propertymark is alerting agents to ever-more sophisticated fraudulent documents being used in the private rental sector. The organisation recently requested agents to...

Student rent has increased almost 20 per cent over the last year.  In data released as part of the 2021 NatWest Student...

Agents using Reapit now have access to tenant due diligence and guarantee firm Homeppl, which will assist in combating rental fraud. Homeppl...

Two PropTech companies say tenant fraud - reported to be a growing problem in buy to let - is now an...

Propertymark wants agents to come forward with examples of fraudulent tenancy applications - a growing problem in the rental sector. A statement...

There’s a new warning the rental fraud could be on the rise. Due diligence firm Homeppl says the combination of possible job...

Airbnb has launched a scheme it calls the UK Trust and Safety Alliance to offer hosts information on health, safety and...

A lettings agent has told the BBC that he has spotted illegal rental scams using online platforms, but the police have...

The Citizens Advice consumer charity is warning that fake investment scams are amongst the fraudulent activity that’s on the rise across...

The latest rental market snapshot produced by HomeLet shows average rents outside of London soaring to higher levels and dropping in the capital itself.  The...

The online lettings platform Mashroom has set out a list of guidelines it’s offering to prospective tenants to avoid them falling...

Prominent property lawyer David Smith - recently in the news for his guidance for agents and landlords over the eviction ban...

An anti-money laundering PropTech consultancy claims agents are in serious danger of non-compliance with new regulations, unless they ditch paper documents and...

There’s been a huge 263 per cent increase in the value of fraudulent tenant applications in just three months, it’s been...

An automated payments service has teamed up with a student accommodation provider to devise an eCommerce system allowing simpler rent payments. Vyne uses...

Tenant referencing. It’s a necessary evil.  Although most tenants are responsible and pay their rent on time, broke swindlers with dubious...

A landlord who built unlawful extensions to a family home and squeezed up to 14 people into the rooms has forfeited...

A new Right to Rent identity validation and storage system has been launched by industry supplier Canopy, in partnership with tech...

A lettings agency is warning that fraudsters have copied property listings and put them on Facebook Marketplace, demanding deposits from the...

Rightmove is to host an anti-money laundering webinar next week, aimed at lettings and sales agents. The event, which is entitled Five...

A top property law firm is questioning whether the government’s current eviction moratorium - effectively banning evictions until mid-January at the...