Archive

The Housing Secretary in the Welsh Government, Julie James, was one of several ministers to quit in yesterday's dramatic day of...

The embattled short let and holiday let industry has hit out at what it calls the “rampant hypocrisy” of councils when...

Propertymark has stepped into the row over whether there should be more controls over second homes, holiday lets and people from...

Anti-second home posters seen in parts of North Wales and on social media have been reported to the police as a...

Letting agents believe Help to Buy has been the most positive influence to the property market in recent times, while on...

A council claims it’s reached an important stage in the process of deciding whether to implement the Article 4 Direction power...

The head of a lettings agency in Kent says it would be a “practical solution” for second home owners to become...

A politician is claiming that second home council tax premiums, where owners pay up to double the normal rate, is resulting...

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

Sharpened rules to double council tax on long term empty properties will come into force from April 1, says the government.  A...

A figure in one of the country’s highest profile lettings companies has hit out at a government proposal to penalise the...

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

A council that is buying private properties in second home hotspots to let to local people has struck a new agreement...

Property taxes in Scotland exceeded £600m over the last year according to analysis of the latest statistics by the country’s largest...

A new Bank of England survey has confirmed a growing outflow of landlords from the private rental sector since 2020. The Bank’s...

Independent polling gives Labour a big lead when it comes to its approach to housing policy. Detailed polling by the Ipsos pollster...

Second homes in the area of Essex known as Tendring - including popular holiday lets resort Frinton on Sea and the...

The long-term shortage of rental accommodation is now addressed by a short-term clampdown on second homes and empty properties, a leading...

Propertymark has told politicians that an additional homes tax will not succeed in increasing housing supply. Timothy Douglas, head of policy and...

The Scottish Government is proposing to give local councils the discretion to charge Council Tax premiums of up to 100 per...

A body largely consisting of councils wants more controls over Airbnbs and other short lets - and it wants local authorities...

HSBC is increasing its maximum mortgage term to 40 years for buy to let, purchase, remortgaging and additional borrowing. Second homes will...

A hate campaign against AirBnb appears to have been launched in a Welsh village. Newspaper reports say a sticker reading 'Death to...

Council tax premiums being considered in Wales would be insufficient to persuade short let and holiday home owners to move their...

A mortgage lender has conducted a survey of homeowners which has produced a string of anti-landlord and anti-overseas investor attitudes. Market Financial...

A long-standing and respected property firm has slammed the government for presiding over the “mess” of taxes applied to holiday lets...

A Liberal Democrat council leader says all properties - even those in properly established lettings businesses - should be charged council...

Investors and second home buyers contributed over a quarter of all property taxes in the last year according to a property...

A holiday lettings agency has come out fighting on behalf of its clients. Following calls by local leaders in Cornwall and Devon...

Labour is considering raising the buy to let and holiday home stamp duty surcharge above the current three per cent if...

A new consultation by one of the national governments within the UK advocates giving more councils power to make huge rises...

An agent has spoken out about a proposal to allow huge council tax rises on second homes and empty properties. New Scottish...

New powers have been revealed to tackle what the Welsh Government calls the ‘problem’ of second homes.  A statement from the Senedd...

Labour’s much-publicised pledge to freeze council tax for the next year excludes empty buy to let properties and second homes it...

A Conservative MP in a tourist region has blamed the switch of rental accommodation to Airbnbs for a shortage of places...

West Oxfordshire council is the latest to demand new government legislation to increase council tax on empty and second homes in...

A council is introducing a service which it claims will help identify properties which cannon future be used as private rental...

A prominent lettings agent has criticised leading candidates for the leadership of the Scottish National Party for anti-holiday let policies. David Alexander,...

Licensing for Airbnbs and similar short lets should be targeted in priority areas only and not the subject of blanket rules. That’s...

The Valuation Office Agency has issued a reminder that changes to eligibility rules for self-catering properties will come into effect from...

One of the politicians backing a tax surcharge on the purchase of second homes and buy to lets has been put...

South Hams council in south Devon - one of the UK’s top holiday spots - has unanimously agreed proposals for second...

Letting agents in Scotland are angry at the Scottish Government for increasing the tax surcharge on buyers of buy to lets...

Land and Buildings Transaction Tax - the Scottish equivalent of stamp duty - has risen to six per cent for all...

A consultation proposing a steep rise in council tax for second homes has won strong public support. Flintshire council in north Wales...

The UK Short Term Accommodation Association has named a new chief executive.  Andy Fenner will support STAA chairperson Merilee Karr and director...

A respected agent is warning that a proposal to increase stamp duty on additional homes could kill off the rental market...

The number of long-term empty homes has risen in every region of the UK during 2022 according to new government figures. The...

A holiday lettings agency has taken the unusual step of speaking out in favour of higher council tax for second home...

The owners of second homes in a key short lets and tourist hotspot are set to have to pay a premium...

Propertymark is calling on letting agents to share their thoughts and experiences on the impact of Airbnb and other short lets.  At...

The government is relying on the private rented sector to bolster its high-profile Homes for Ukraine programme - despite a series...

Agents are being dragged into a debate over whether locals should be given priority to rent or buy, as a result...

One of the country’s second home and holiday let hotspots has been told it will be unable to levy extra council...

A building society which has taken the unprecedented step of stopping lending on second homes has been sharply criticised by a...

A politician has called on Airbnb hosts in his local area to switch their properties to long-term rentals. Isle of Wight councillor...

Holiday lets and second homes in one hotspot in the UK have not, after all, impacted on house prices and affordability,...

Propertymark has set up a working group of experts, agents, landlords and stakeholders in response to radical reforms to the private...

AirBnb says proposed changes to short let rules in Wales should be aimed at property speculators, not ordinary people. The Welsh Government...

Speculation in national newspapers suggests that the government is considering giving local mayors some powers over parts of the private rented...

A tourism chief has likened new anti-holiday let regulations to those of a Stalinist dictatorship. Ashford Price, secretary of the Welsh Association...

The famous seaside town of Whitby in Yorkshire has voted in a referendum considering a ban on new build properties being...

Activists are calling on the government to impose swingeing taxes on some lettings properties “to bring them back into the residential...

Local and central government is losing out on millions of pounds of council tax income this year because of the business...

Propertymark says it welcomes measures in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill that will mean swifter action to get the hundreds...

A Conservative MP is suggesting that there could be a ’25 mile limit’ imposed around certain rental properties to ensure they...

The government has released more details of the powers being given to local authorities to levy additional taxes on second homes.  The...

Leaks from government ahead of this morning’s Queen’s Speech suggest that second homes which are not let out are likely to...

Tax experts say that an attempt to levy higher purchase tax on holiday lets and second homes in one part of...

The activist group Acorn is lobbying a local council to deny people the right to buy a second home or let...

Lettings agency Galbraith reports that landlords are now returning to the residential lets sector from holiday lets after several years without...

ARLA Propertymark has slammed politicians who appear to have ignored a public consultation and gone ahead with draconian changes affecting second...

A so-called ethical lettings agency run jointly by two local authorities is handling private rental properties but is charging landlords just...

Figures obtained by ITV News suggest that one of the country's most popular tourist locations has as many Airbnbs listed as...

A major holiday let company in one of the country’s prime tourist destinations says more affordable homes should be built to...

Politicians who express concern over the number of holiday lets and Airbnbs in tourist areas miss one major point - if...

Owners of second homes who abuse a tax loophole by claiming their often-empty properties are holiday lets will be forced to...

The Liberal Democrats have proposed sharp restrictions on holiday rentals at the heart of the party’s plans to solve the housing...

New figures show how effective the stamp duty holiday was in stimulating buy to let - and how similar measures could...

The government says it’s finalising plans for a new tax regime to apply to additional homes, and in particular those used...

Proposals to regulate Airbnbs and other short lets in one part of the UK should be modified, a trade body says. Currently,...

A leading agent and member of the Propertymark board says London’s letting agencies and private rental sector need government help -...

A new call has come for government action to stop the hemorrhage of properties shifting from long term rental to Airbnb...

A part of the country which has seen a severe long term rental stock shortage as a result of switches from...

Baroness Alicia Kennedy, director of the Generation Rent campaign, says rents in Wales, Scotland and South West England have soared thanks...

Airbnb has issued a lengthy statement in response to a recent raft of criticisms about the effects of soaring numbers of...

A Conservative MP says he is to declare a “state of housing emergency” in his constituency because of the loss of...

A town with one of the UK’s heaviest concentrations of holiday homes is clamping down on future purchases by outsiders who...

There was much publicity this week for the efforts of the Welsh Government to deter the letting of second homes. Now it...

Wales’ Labour-led administration is to announce a three-pronged approach to affordability issues - and it looks likely to involve a clampdown...

A politician in one of the poorest parts of the UK wants his local authority to declare a ‘housing emergency’. Cornish councillor...

Almost 40,000 people have signed a petition urging rent caps for private tenants and hefty tax rises for second home owners. The...

Areas of the country which appear to have had a surplus of rental stock in the past is now reporting a...

A letting agent in Cornwall has told local TV how she finds herself in ”heartbreaking” situations because of the lack of...

An agency is warning that possible Capital Gains Tax changes are now a cause of major worry to their landlord customers.  Barrows and...

A Welsh council has agreed to levy what it calls “a tax premium” on second homes from now until 2027 to...

Councillors from a town council in Wales are to be given an audience with the country’s First Minister to discuss the...

An MP claims the proliferation of short lets via Airbnb and similar online platforms is indirectly pricing local people out of...

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has requested a review of Capital Gains Tax rules from the Office for Tax Simplification - leading to...

A BBC News investigation has exposed some Airbnb and other short let platform users as flouting lockdown regulations. The probe has found...