Archive

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

The Property Ombudsman received a record number of enquiries with 57,635 people seeking support with their property and housing related issues...

A new guide from Propertymark explains the rights which private rental tenants have - and sets out how they can challenge...

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

Winkworth’s first trading statement of 2024 reveals that it saw a five per cent rise in rental revenues in 2023 -...

The company which acquired London-focussed agency Chestertons in October has now snapped up another lettings and sales operation. This latest purchase is...

A London lettings agency has been expelled from The Property Ombudsman for not paying compensation to a landlord following a failure...

Young couples are delaying marriage and starting families until they get out of the rental sector, research by Yorkshire Building Society...

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

A rogue lettings agency in London has been expelled from The Property Ombudsman scheme but is still thought to be trading. Hawks...

New figures released this morning from The Property Ombudsman show that the overwhelming number of disputes in the past year involved...

A stark warning has been made to lettings and estate agents that interest rates as high as seven per cent may...

Interim inspections are a necessity if you want to avoid property issues and tenant relationship breakdowns. They’re a no brainer –...

The rental market is set to benefit from a surge in potential buyers putting their purchase plans on hold. Data from NerdWallet...

The government has back-tracked on its decision to publish the long-awaited Renters Reform Bill this week. The Mirror newspaper reports that “procedural issues”...

Property portal Citylets says average rents in Scotland rose 12.4 per cent in the past year to £1,007 per month -...

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

The Property Ombudsman has ruled that a letting agency’s ban on renting to a family with children was discriminatory against women...

It’s been revealed that agents have been kicked out of The Property Ombudsman in recent months for failing to pay compensatory...

The Observer newspaper has investigated the way letting agents apply so-called zero deposit schemes - and claims that in some cases...

The Property Ombudsman has reported a big rise in enquiries over last year and a huge rise since the pre-Covid year,...

Five agencies have been expelled from The Property Ombudsman scheme - all for compliance failures. The first is Home Trader Properties, in...

The next meeting of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee has been delayed by a week. A tweet from the BoE...

The first six months of 2022 saw 171 per cent more enquiries from tenants looking for properties in London compared to...

Two senior agents are joining the Propertymark Qualifications board to bring a combined 64 years of experience. Jan Hytch - residential and...

Six agencies have been excluded from The Property Ombudsman for failing to pay compensation to wronged complainants. One was the Belvoir...

Senior figures in the agency industry have backed new guidance from the National Trading Standards Estate and Lettings Agent Team regarding...

The appeal of city living has been reignited across Scotland with new figures showing a surge in demand and rents for...

Two agencies have been expelled from The Property Ombudsman scheme for failing to pay compensation awards. Thamlet Estates, based in east London,...

A member of staff at a Connells-owned branch has been quoted as saying the agency had “no lawful basis” for passing...

A checklist for agents to help ensure they steer clear of unwanted fines or claims has been provided by the Guild...

Six agencies have been expelled from The Property Ombudsman for failing to pay compensatory awards - five of them for offences...

Lettings once again dominated the complaints received by The Property Ombudsman according to its latest annual report - out today but...

New rules out for consultation concerning block management aim to improve professionalism across the sector, root out rogue agents, and increase...

The Property Ombudsman and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors are seeking views of agents, landlords and tenants on a new...

The UK Association of Letting Agents trade body is warning of “widespread evictions” unless government support is offered to tenants. UKALA chairman...

Halo.rent, a proptech startup from the UK, announces the launch of its tenant engagement platform that streamlines the entire rental onboarding...

Another lettings agency has been expelled from The Property Ombudsman scheme for failing to pay an outstanding compensation award - but...

A lettings agency that failed to pay a compensation award ordered by The Property Ombudsman has been expelled from the scheme...

A lettings agent in Slough, called Saville Park Ltd, has been excluded from The Property Ombudsman for failing to pay an outstanding award of £300.  TPO received a complaint from tenants...

FirstPort, the residential property services provider, has teamed up with The Turing Trust to help equip a new computer lab at...

The annual ARLA Propertymark conference and exhibition, which wasn’t held at all last year because of Coronavirus, has been pushed back...

With the Government announcement this week of another national lockdown across England amid the surging coronavirus infections, it once again puts...

The Scottish Parliament has postponed new fire and smoke alarm legislation for 12 months. This move, by its local government committee, follows...

Recent debate about urgent need for reform and better collaboration within the property industry, has once again come under the spotlight...

An overwhelming 98 per cent of agents who are members of The Property Ombudsman scheme pay compensation when an investigation is...

It’s been an unexpected year for the property market, shaped by the effects of the pandemic. We didn’t quite anticipate the...

Data from Knight Frank suggests that average rental values in prime central London fell one per cent last month, taking the...

Three agents have been expelled by The Property Ombudsman for failing to pay compensation awards.  In the case of Foremost Lettings Ltd...

The Association of Residential Letting Agents has postponed its conference - for a second time. Back in March it was postponed until...

Some weeks later than usual for understandable reasons, the ESTAS Awards 2020 are almost here - and for the first time...

Registration is open for The Property Ombudsman’s annual conference, being held as a webinar later this month. The event can be watched...

Demand in the prime London lettings market is catching up with supply, reducing short-term downwards pressure on rental values. That’s the view...

The rental market effectively disintegrated in the early days of lockdown before showing signs of a rebound which are still active...

There’s been a substantial 20 per cent rise in formal complaints about agents taken up by The Property Ombudsman.  The figures refer...

ARLA Propertymark has made a series of demands on the government in the light of the Coronavirus crisis.  In a formal written...

The Property Ombudsman has announced the expulsion of eight agencies, all for contravening TPO codes of practice. Most of the expulsions were...

Hello, this is the final Conquering Corona for the week as we continue to help agents with advice and guidance through...

Good morning and welcome to today’s edition, helping agents find a way through the Coronavirus crisis by sharing information with the...

A local authority has postponed the extension of its private rental sector licensing regime - but it’s warning agents not to...

Paul Shamplina, the founder of Landlord Action and star of a Channel 5 programme on evictions, says he fully backs the...

The landlords’ newly-merged trade body has renewed its call for the government to do more to help the private rental sector...

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has confirmed that the government is bringing forward measures to “protect” private tenants against eviction during the...

Tomorrow’s National Landlord Investment show, scheduled for London’s Olympia, has been postponed because of the Coronavirus crisis. The organisers say they reached...

The Association of Residential Letting Agents has postponed its conference until September. In a statement to registered attendees last evening ARLA says: “After...

The Property Ombudsman is warning agents not to discriminate against tenants through a No DSS or any similar policy. Following the legal...

The Property Ombudsman has expelled five agencies, mostly for failures to honour awards: four of them are lettings operations and one...

Confusion among renters over the complex Tenant Fees Act could trigger a surge in complaints about agents to redress schemes -...

A BBC investigation suggests some agents may be mis-selling deposit alternative schemes. Tenants are then hit by what the probe says are...

A Southampton lettings agency owner has been jailed after defrauding landlords and tenants out of £230,000. Andrew Whitehead has been jailed for...

Three lettings agencies have been expelled from TPO - in each case the agency failed to honour a payment as instructed...

The Property Ombudsman has expelled three lettings agencies from its scheme because of unpaid awards to landlord clients. The first is Kingsman...

Two London agencies have been expelled from The Property Ombudsman scheme for failing to honour two compensation awards. The first is Chase...

The Property Ombudsman has announced a slew of expulsions after six agents failed to comply with redress rules. They failed to abide...

Rents in London are rocketing but a leading market commentator says this is no reason to give in to a “Marxist dystopia”...

Letting agencies can reduce the number of complaints about the industry and improve their own customer service and relationships by improving...

Seven agencies have been expelled from membership of The Property Ombudsman after failing to pay compensation awards made by TPO. All are...

The Property Ombudsman has issued a reminder to all agents to ensure they have the correct redress membership to cover the...

The Property Ombudsman (TPO) has released its annual report for 2018, showing that for the first time the value of awards...

Mother and daughter lettings agency fraudsters have been told to expect jail sentences after defrauding landlords and tenants of £266,000 over...

The Property Ombudsman says agents can display weekly rents for homes they market - but they should be displayed alongside monthly...

There’s been broad support from the lettings sector for the wide-ranging reform of the redress system announced yesterday by housing secretary...

Mystery surrounds the whereabouts of a letting agent who appears not to be in any redress scheme, is being investigated by...

The power held by tenants is growing across the UK, as new research indicates 61 per cent of buy to let...

Two lettings agencies have been expelled from The Property Ombudsman scheme for failing to pay awards. One is OJ Residentials Limited trading...

Two more lettings agencies have been expelled from The Property Ombudsman as a result of unpaid awards following disputes involving landlords...

An agency has been expelled from The Property Ombudsman after receiving over 100 separate complaints, and failing to pay over £419,000...

In our previous blog, we looked at the definitions outlined by the CPRs. In our next blog we’ll look at the...

Propertymark has launched a new Client Money Protection system, Money Shield, with a support statement from much of the lettings sector...

Two lettings agencies have been expelled from The Property Ombudsman scheme. The first is Bower & Bower (B&B), a sales and lettings...

A leading PropTech entrepreneur has renewed his call for letting agents to use more technology to clean up their act when...

The Property Ombudsman has issued its annual report for 2017 and it makes grim reading for the rental sector - there’s...

The scramble for members amongst rival redress systems continues apace. Earlier this week The Property Ombudsman announced it was to waive joining...

The Property Ombudsman is the latest property industry player to throw its support behind the introduction of mandatory qualifications and a...

The Property Ombudsman has released details of two letting agencies expelled over financial issues, and the extension of an expulsion period...

The Observer newspaper has published a story alleging that a London lettings agency “pressured” prospective tenants into accepting accommodation without viewing...

The Property Ombudsman scheme has today announced three expulsions of agencies as a result of non-payment of rent or awards. Firstly, a...

The Property Ombudsman scheme has launched the third and latest phase of its national campaign with the Chartered Trading Standards Institute...

The Property Ombudsman scheme (TPO) has extended its expulsion of a letting agency by an additional four years. Premier Property Management, based...

The Property Ombudsman has expelled a London lettings and estate agency after it failed to honour a compensation payment to a...