Archive

It’s been revealed by Propertymark that HM Revenue & Customs has fined agents over £1.6m for branches of anti-money laundering regulations. The...

A report from Propertymark has laid out the stark and in some cases unforeseen consequence of the Conservative government’s phased removal...

Despite once claiming it would abolish Section 21 evictions “on its first day in office”, Labour appears to have gone cool...

A new survey from law firm Weightmans has found that only 24% of renters read tenancy agreements.  It says this is largely...

A representative of the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agents team has told agents to accept new rules about material...

The politician widely regarded as being the architect of rent controls in Scotland says he will shortly present a wider package...

There’s been a rise of over 400 per cent in the monetary total of fines issued for Right To Rent offences...

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

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

Fines for agents and landlords who breach Right To Rent rules increase today from £80 per lodger and £1,000 per occupier...

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

A consultation to introduce boilers into homes and the private rented sector needs ‘more carrot than stick’ according to a prominent...

A revised code of practice for Right To Rent has been issued to agents and landlords. This sixth revision supersedes the previous...

New directives issued by the government put the emphasis firmly on private landlords and their letting agents to take responsibility for...

Law firm Brevis Law is shedding light on the difficulties agents and landlords have in meeting Right To Rent requirements in...

Agents who allow rental properties to be let to migrants who do not have the right to be in the UK...

The average Anti-Money Laundering fine issued to estate agents for non-compliance in 2022-23 is almost half as large again as in...

Propertymark has given an insight into how letting agents are likely to be expected to use a new Landlords Database. The database...

A £5,000 fine has been upheld against a landlord who failed to declare himself as a property agent and did not join a mandatory...

Propertymark has hit out at a proposal from a group of MPs that there should be a single Ombudsman covering the...

The activist group Generation Rent is backing a call by MPs for the government to tighten up proposals to scrap Section...

The Register of Overseas Entities, which came into force back in August, requires all overseas entities owning property in the UK...

The National Crime Agency has the starring role at the first Rightmove Anti-Money Laundering webinar of the year, to be held next...

A second agency chief has warned the Conservatives of the possible electoral consequences of higher taxes aimed at the private rental...

* Angels Media and Letting Agent Today are deeply saddened by the passing of HM Queen Elizabeth II * - Deposit alternative service...

A company which operated an unlicensed HMO and its then-director have lost their appeal against the imposition of financial penalties.  Gatwick and...

An activist group in London has launched a scathing attack on councils which it claims have been ineffective in regulating rogue...

It’s a frequent question in lettings: Who should carry out inventory checks and create reports for a rented property? Should it...

HM Revenue & Customs officers are paying short-notice visits on letting and estate agents to check on their anti-money laundering compliance,...

Propertymark has strongly opposed a proposal by the Scottish Government to radically reform the private rental sector. The proposals put out for...

The lettings agency boss at the centre of a major industry takeover has fired a warning shot about rent controls and...

A letting agency has been issued with penalty notices worth £3,000 for operating illegally. Back in 2014 it became a legal requirement...

Effective enforcement is crucial to stamp out rogue lettings agents and protect consumers says safeagent. In the latest edition of its Effective...

Purplebricks is refusing to say how many tenants and landlords were affected by its failure to comply with the law requiring deposits...

The House of Lords will today discuss the apparently-growing Sex for Rent scandal. Campaigners say a search on websites such as Craigslist...

One of the local authorities with the tightest clampdowns on letting agents has issued a statement celebrating its successes. Tower Hamlets council in...

The chancellor Rishi Sunak has been urged to make it more attractive for landlords to invest in the private rental sector. Sunak...

Details are beginning to emerge of the measures likely to be imposed on the private rental sector in Scotland as a...

Two lettings agencies are amongst three property agents which have been fined by HM Revenue & Customs for breaching anti-money laundering...

An analysis of the Mayor of London’s Rogue Landlord and Letting Agent Checker shows that since it was introduced in 2018...

There’s a warning from an industry trade body that some agents may have failed to take compliance obligations seriously enough.  Paul Offley,...

A London council has secured banning orders against rogue property agents who were previously fined over £70,000 for letting an unlicensed...

There are just two weeks left for letting agents to register with HM Revenue & Customs if they want to be...

Letting agents are not required to conduct retrospective Right to Rent verification on tenants who had a Covid-adjusted check since March...

Letting agents should help landlords through a blizzard of red tape and regulation cause by local licensing schemes, a PropTech entrepreneur...

For most letting agents the last year has been a challenging one which has focused attention on dealing with the immediate,...

New long-term targets for improving energy efficiency across the private rental sector simply are not realistic, the government has been warned. The...

Two landlords have been served with civil penalty notices for operating unlicensed HMOs.  The notices were from Wellingborough council; one was for...

A group of local landlords and others in the private rental sector are challenging a local authority’s licensing proposals with their...

Liverpool’s Labour council, which was prevented by the government from extending its city-wide licensing scheme for another five years, is seeking...

Despite the challenges being thrown up to the lettings sector by Coronavirus, this is a reminder that new MEES regulations on...

It’s easy to forget in the Coronavirus frenzy but from tomorrow, Friday March 20, all tenancies are to become subject to...

A newspaper claims multiple councils are opening investigations into agents allegedly defying the tenant fees ban - and at least one...

New regulations mean highest risk rental properties may not have legally binding electrical safety cover for a prolonged period of time. That’s...

There’s a new warning today for buy to let investors who will be hit by tax changes coming into effect on...

The government has given the green light to a council’s huge licensing scheme, set to cover 18 of its 20 wards...

The government’s hugely-publicised database for rogue letting agents and landlords has been running for almost two years and has…wait for it…just...

The majority of letting agents have lost up to 20 per cent of their revenue because of the fees ban -...

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has backed a five year extension for a massive London council landlord licensing...

A landlord in one of the most scenic parts of Devon had been served with a £18,000 civil penalty because he...

A legal firm is warning agents and landlords that they have less than three months to prepare for the latest MEES...

A landlord has been banned for two and half years after repeatedly putting tenants’ lives at risk by letting unsafe housing. This...

The Chartered Institute of Taxation is urging tenants not to ignore a letter if they receive one from HM Revenue &...

One of the industry’s leading trade bodies has revealed that the number of laws creating an obligation on landlords in the...

A seaside council has issued over £15,000 in fines to owners of unlicensed HMOs.  Torbay council in south Devon adds that “a...

A statement from Hackney council in north east London says those who break its licensing provisions for the private rental sector...

A landlord has been ordered to pay £14,500 after he was found to be illegally letting his property out to 11...

A joint operation between Avon and Somerset Police and North Somerset council has uncovered a string of issues connected with rental...

Another local authority has announced that it wants to introduce another selective licensing scheme and designate its entire patch for HMO...

A campaign by HM Revenue & Customs to encourage buy to let investors to ‘fess up’ to their unpaid tax has...

The number of landlords admitting to not paying tax has soared in the past year, according to new data. During 2018/2019, 16,110...

In the last ten years Google's revenue, largely from pay per click ads (Adwords), has grown by 527% (Source: Statista). In...

A London council wants to extend its private rental sector licensing scheme - and in doing so is boasting of the...

Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt have been given a message from a consortium of groups this morning - Scrap Right To...

A husband and wife must pay joint fines, penalties and costs totalling over £8,000 after complaints about a bungalow they owned...

A leading legal firm is warning that Right To Rent could become even more complicated for letting agents and landlords after...

A buy to let investor has been hit with a £4,000 fine plus costs of over £5,000 after failing to license...

The implementation and costs of landlord licensing schemes in Britain are a lottery. That’s the conclusion of a new analysis of licensing...

One of Britain’s most experienced lettings experts has condemned the government for “almost singlehandedly destroying the traditional lettings market.” Lisa Simon -...

A leading trade body says the argument that councils have insufficient powers to tackle rogue operators isn’t supported by the facts...

The High Court has ruled that the government’s Right to Rent scheme breaches human rights law. Under the Right to Rent landlords are...

A legal firm has renewed its criticism of local authority licensing schemes, accusing them of “persecuting” landlords. David Kirwan, managing partner at...

The Tenants’ Fees Bill has now become law, receiving formal Royal Assent yesterday afternoon - and within minutes, the government issued...

High-end lettings agency Knight Frank is predicting that £75 billion of investment will be committed to the Build To Rent sector...

The Association of Residential Letting Agents says it backs the stricter rules on mandatory electricity checks in rental properties announced by...

The man who is arguably Britain’s most controversial landlord - Fergus Wilson - is likely to be issuing up to 90...

Councils have been accused of routinely pursuing the most serious enforcement option open to them if they find a local licensing...

A local authority has taken the unusual step of issuing a celebratory press release stating that it issued penalty notices adding...

The National Approved Letting Scheme has published the latest version of its Effective Enforcement Toolkit - aimed at helping councils clamp...

Two thirds of local authorities in England and Wales brought no prosecutions against private landlords in 2017/18 according to research by the...

A council says it has been preparing prosecution and penalty notices “for hundreds of private landlords that have failed to apply...

The heavy-handed administration of selective licensing schemes is driving out buy to let investors. That’s the claim from David Kirwan of Kirwans...

A managing agent who used ‘ghost tenants’ as a front so that she could cram 16 people into one overcrowded house...

A call has been made for the Tenants’ Fees Bill to be made even stricter following a claim that over a...

The Labour-led local authority in Hackney has issued a statement pledging fines or even bans if landlords fail to get appropriate...

A property management firm chief who had to pay over £20,000 after being found guilty of nine offences relating to an...

The policy director of the Residential Landlords Association (RLA) is calling on local councils to use the 'extensive powers' they have...

Which?, the consumer body that appears to be taking an increasingly-aggressive line against letting agents and landlords, has now issued a...

Letting agents and landlords will have to win planning consent to erect To Let signs in student areas of Leicester from...

A major Scottish property management firm says agents and landlords south of the border should prepare now for the likely agency...