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KEYWORD "Universal Credit" - 92 RESULTS
Local Housing Allowance - momentum grows for annual increase

Propertymark is joining a growing chorus demanding an annual uprate of working age benefits and Local Housing Allowance. LHA rates have been...

25 March 2024

From: Breaking News

Shelter lobbies politicians with ‘rental plan to end homelessness’

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

27 February 2024

From: Breaking News

Local Housing Allowance - call for even more help for low-income renters

Low-income renters will get a boost next spring - but a pressure group wants more government help for this sector. The Chancellor’s...

12 December 2023

From: Breaking News

Universal Credit and private renting - agents win case for forum

The Department for Work and Pensions will recommence the Private Rented Sector Universal Credit Engagement Group next month, following a concerted...

23 November 2023

From: Breaking News

Agents demand payment changes in upcoming Autumn Statement

Propertymark is urging the government to use next month’s Autumn Statement to support low-income households in the private rented sector in...

26 October 2023

From: Breaking News

Seminar for Letting Agents ahead of major benefits shake-up

Social housing provider Caridon Property is hosting a series of free seminars to prepare letting agents for the migration of Housing...

09 October 2023

From: Breaking News

‘Bad to disastrous’ - sharp fall in private rental listings

New research shows a 41 per cent reduction in the number of London properties available for private rent since the Covid-19...

06 July 2023

From: Breaking News

Politicians told to do more to help tenants on benefits

Propertymark has told a group of MPs that many benefit recipients are excluded from the private rented sector due to the...

15 May 2023

From: Breaking News

Reinstate Mortgage Interest Tax Relief - agents’ plea to government

Propertymark has told the government it should have three priorities for next month’s Budget. 1. Improving welfare system for vulnerable and low-waged...

02 February 2023

From: Breaking News

Homelessness spike threat as private rents soar even higher - claim

London faces a possible homelessness spike this winter due to the cost-of-living crisis and increases in private rents, a group of...

05 September 2022

From: Breaking News

Tenants demand better quality and bigger HMOs, survey shows

Tenants are demanding better quality HMOs according to new research from specialist buy to let lender Paragon Bank. The bank’s survey of...

18 August 2022

From: Breaking News

Far reaching reforms demanded by lettings industry chiefs

A collection of rental experts in a body called The Lettings Industry Council have set out what they want to see...

25 May 2022

From: Breaking News

Plea for tenants in arrears to contact their local council

A senior Welsh politicians has urged anyone who has fallen behind in paying rent because of the pandemic to contact their...

14 January 2022

From: Breaking News

Covid-created arrears still rising, warns trade body

The National Residential Landlords Association says average rent debt owed by tenants as a direct result of the pandemic is still...

09 December 2021

From: Breaking News

Evictions: Labour claims “stark rise” in homeless since ban lifted

A senior Labour politician in the capital claims that there’s been “a stark rise” in people losing their homes since the...

06 December 2021

From: Breaking News

Industry anger as Budget ignores private rental sector

All sides of the industry have expressed anger and frustration that yesterday’s Budget effectively ignored the private rental sector. ARLA Propertymark’s policy...

28 October 2021

From: Breaking News

Benefits of scrapping S21 outweigh problems, insists Shelter

The chief executive of Shelter says the experience of Scotland shows that the scrapping of S21 eviction powers produces benefits that...

01 October 2021

From: Breaking News

Safeagent at odds with lettings groups over Covid arrears solution

Not-for-profit accreditation scheme safeagent wants the government to help tenants clear Covid-related arrears through an overhaul of Discretionary Housing Payments. Enhancing these...

30 September 2021

From: Breaking News

Potential ‘cliff edge’ for renters and landlords as furlough winds up

Private tenants and landlords across the country face a cliff edge as the end of furlough coincides with cuts to benefit...

21 September 2021

From: Breaking News

Charity: Covid debt crisis will escalate unless Universal Credit cut is reversed

A £360 million wall of rental debt built up during the pandemic, combined with cuts to Universal Credit, threatens to leave...

17 September 2021

From: Breaking News

Tenancy disputes tumble thanks to Covid caution by tenants

Reluctance to move during the pandemic is thought to be a key reason for a sharp drop in tenancy disputes between...

03 September 2021

From: Breaking News

Propertymark steps up attack on government benefit cuts

Earlier this week Propertymark revealed it had co-signed an open letter criticising proposed government cuts to benefits.  That open letter was co-signed...

19 August 2021

From: Breaking News

Agents back charity groups over poverty threat from benefit cuts

Propertymark has joined a series of charities and a landlord body to warn about the poverty risk of expected changes to...

17 August 2021

From: Breaking News

End all S24 evictions now, demand Baroness and Lord

A prominent member of the House of Lords and a rental activist are calling for an immediate suspension of all Section...

19 July 2021

From: Breaking News

Police called to protest outside lettings company office

Police were called to a protect outside a lettings firm in Oxfordshire after a crowd picketed the office over a dispute...

16 June 2021

From: Breaking News

Private sector could benefit from letting to social tenants - claim

A property investment platform has taken the unusual approach of accusing the government of driving up homelessness through its policy of...

15 June 2021

From: Breaking News

Possession cases FALLEN during pandemic, not risen - government

Official figures show that far from seeing a rise during the pandemic, there has been what the government calls “a massive...

25 May 2021

From: Breaking News

Activists stage DSS protest outside agency office

Activists from the Acorn renters' campaign group have held a protest outside a branch of Chancellors in Oxford. The group says the...

04 May 2021

From: Breaking News

Rent guarantees could mean more DSS tenants in private sector

Rent guarantees and upfront cash payments from local authorities are the most effective means of opening the private rented sector to...

09 April 2021

From: Breaking News

Agents demand radical overhaul of eco-targets for rental sector

Agents and other industry players have penned an open letter to government demanding a radical overhaul of targets for energy efficiency in the...

07 April 2021

From: Breaking News

Agents’ anger that Budget didn’t offer cash help for rental sector

The Association of Residential Letting Agents says it’s disappointed the Budget failed to address the funding of the private rental sector.  “Extending...

04 March 2021

From: Breaking News

‘Inaccurate’ anti-eviction petition gains 30,000 signatures

An online petition which appears to inaccurately say private tenants can still be evicted “for no reason” has won 30,000 signatures...

23 February 2021

From: Breaking News

Tenant loans the only answer to growing arrears, says think tank

A think tank says large scale intervention in the rental market via loans to tenants is the only way of addressing...

16 February 2021

From: Breaking News

Agents tell government - Use Budget to help private rental sector

ARLA Propertymark has issued a list of 10 demands for Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s long-awaited Budget on March 3, with a financial...

04 February 2021

From: Breaking News

Charity claims under-25s ‘cannot afford private rent anywhere in England’

A charity claims that young people under 25 in full-time work across England are unable to afford privately rented accommodation anywhere in the...

21 January 2021

From: Breaking News

Section 21 Abolition - Labour offers to work with Tories

Labour housing spokesperson Thangam Debbonaire has released details of a letter seeking further clarity and commitments on the rental sector eviction...

06 January 2021

From: Breaking News

Government must act on eviction backlog and landlord hardship - ARLA

ARLA Propertymark has given a detailed response to a government consultation on how the pandemic has hit the private rental sector. The...

04 December 2020

From: Breaking News

Private tenants should get bigger benefits says Generation Rent

Generation Rent’s campaign for more public funds for private tenants continues unabated with a call on Chancellor Rishi Sunak to increase...

25 November 2020

From: Breaking News

‘We want public funds to pay rent arrears’ - campaigners renew call

The Generation Rent campaign has renewed its call for public money to be allocated to clear at least some rent arrears...

23 November 2020

From: Breaking News

Think tank wants government help for households hit by pandemic

The Resolution Foundation has added its voice to that of many charities and other think tanks demanding more government support for...

17 November 2020

From: Breaking News

“Thousands” of Tier 3 private tenants face eviction, claim activists

Campaign group Generation Rent says thousands of tenants in areas of the country under Tier 3 Coronavirus restrictions are in danger...

23 October 2020

From: Breaking News

Deposit scheme wants new role negotiating rent repayment deals

A deposit scheme has launched a new service designed to help tenants and landlords who have experienced issues with rent arrears as...

28 August 2020

From: Breaking News

Agents urged to call council before serving eviction notices

A local authority is urging letting agents within its boundary to get in touch before serving eviction notices on private tenants. Gedling council...

17 August 2020

From: Breaking News

Widespread evictions when ban ends? Don’t you believe it…

New research pours cold water on claims by anti-agency campaigners that there will be a glut of evictions when the ban ends...

10 August 2020

From: Breaking News

Shelter “doubling up” its checks on letting agents for compliance

Campaigning charity Shelter says it is “doubling up” its efforts to make sure letting agents comply with anti-discrimination legislation when it...

15 July 2020

From: Breaking News

Government must help young renters hit by furlough end - lettings group

A lettings sector trade body, acting with homelessness charities, is urging the government to do more as young people in rented...

07 July 2020

From: Breaking News

Agents must help landlords as Corona-fuelled arrears grow - call

A call has gone out for agents to offer extra support to landlords in the coming months as arrears may well...

19 June 2020

From: Breaking News

Labour silent on whether pre-Covid evictions should go ahead

Labour has thrown its weight behind campaigning pressure groups in a general call to avoid what the party’s housing spokeswoman calls...

17 June 2020

From: Breaking News

 There never was eviction crisis looming, insists lettings group

A lettings sector group says there was never any eviction crisis looming for private tenants, contrary to a slew of recent claims. New independent...

08 June 2020

From: Breaking News

Call for loans-for-landlords as part of anti-eviction plan

The Chartered Institute of Housing has published proposals aimed at avoiding a spike in private rental sector evictions when the current...

02 June 2020

From: Breaking News

Extra buy to let mortgage holiday opposed by activists group

The possibility of an extended mortgage holiday being introduced, for landlords as well as home owners, has been sharply criticised by...

22 May 2020

From: Breaking News

Guide for letting agents produced by … Shelter

Campaigning charity Shelter, which has been outspoken in its criticism of many letting agents in recent years, has now produced a...

15 May 2020

From: Breaking News

Labour wants tenants to have two years to pay back virus arrears

Labour wants tenants running up arrears during the Coronavirus crisis to have two years to repay them, as part of a...

11 May 2020

From: Breaking News

Shelter claims thousands of renters face eviction as lockdown ends

Shelter has delivered a 14,000-signature petition claiming that thousands of private renters who have lost their jobs could be facing eviction...

11 May 2020

From: Breaking News

Suspend electricity checks, postpone licensing, aid renters - ARLA demands

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

07 May 2020

From: Breaking News

Lettings body backs Labour call for private rents to have ‘benefit cover’

The new National Residential Landlords Association has backed calls from the Labour Mayor of London to ensure the benefits system covers...

23 April 2020

From: Breaking News

No rent rises for a year! Anti-agent group demands a ban on increases

The Generation Rent pressure group, fiercely critical of agents and landlords in recent months, wants the government to implement a 12 month...

14 April 2020

From: Breaking News

Conquering Corona - self-employment webinar, more PropTech offers

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

07 April 2020

From: Breaking News

All court possession orders suspended immediately

All court possession orders are being suspended from today as part of the changes to the private rental sector to cope...

27 March 2020

From: Breaking News

Pressure building to help private tenants hit by Coronavirus

One of the lettings sector’s leading trade bodies has called on the government and lenders to agree a package of measures...

17 March 2020

From: Breaking News

Section 8 reform and new Housing Court 'should be early Johnson priorities'

The National Landlords’ Association says the new Conservative government must do two things in its early phase in office. The NLA, which...

16 December 2019

From: Breaking News

Industry wants short-let controls, review of landlord tax and stamp duty eased

The Association of Residential Letting Agents and the National Association of Estate Agents have issued their manifesto for next month’s General...

05 November 2019

From: Breaking News

RLA claims scrapping Section 21 'dead on arrival' as consultation closes tomorrow

The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) has submitted its response to the government's consultation on scrapping Section 21 evictions, which closes tomorrow...

11 October 2019

From: Breaking News

A fifth of rental homes would go if Section 21 is scrapped - claim

The private rented sector would shrink by 20 per cent if Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions are abolished, according to an economic...

30 September 2019

From: Breaking News

Direct payment to landlords helps curb Universal Credit arrears - claim

A leading lettings sector trade body says evidence shows the direct payment of benefit to landlords is the biggest possible contribution...

19 September 2019

From: Breaking News

Food banks HQ links with lettings group to combat Universal Credit arrears

The Trussell Trust, which coordinates the vast majority of the food banks around the UK, is working with the National Landlords...

29 August 2019

From: Breaking News

Tenants’ arrears up because of Universal Credit - claim

Universal Credit is causing tenants to fall behind with their rent according to lettings sector trade body the Residential Landlords Association. It...

27 August 2019

From: Breaking News

Benefits tenants could be biggest losers if Section 21 is scrapped

Tenants on state benefits could be the 'biggest casualties' of the government's 'ill-thought-out' plans to scrap the Section 21 evictions process,...

05 July 2019

From: Breaking News

Let your property through us and pay no fees, says council

Private landlords are being asked to consider letting out their properties through the local council.  Slough council is looking for flats and...

13 June 2019

From: Breaking News

Agency investigating 19 ‘No DSS’ properties out of 1,900 units to let

The chief executive of Hunters has told MPs there are 19 properties on its books which specify ‘No DSS’ - but...

25 April 2019

From: Breaking News

Revealed: councils’ feeble enforcement against rogue operators

Figures given through a Parliamentary answer have revealed just how bad councils in England are at policing and enforcement action against...

29 March 2019

From: Breaking News

Thumbs up for Zoopla's 'No DSS' listings ban

The Residential Landlords Association has given its backing to Zoopla’s ban on agents and landlords advertising properties to rent as ‘No...

18 March 2019

From: Breaking News

New clampdown on 'No DSS' ads by letting agents and landlords

The government says it wants “an immediate change” in the policy of some letting agents and landlords who advertise ‘No DSS’...

04 March 2019

From: Breaking News

'Change it now!' - Lettings group demands more Universal Credit reform

The Residential Landlords Association says the government’s changes to Universal Credit don’t go far enough to prevent rent arrears. The RLA says...

07 February 2019

From: Breaking News

Industry welcomes Universal Credit change to pay landlords directly

The lettings industry has welcomed news that reforms to Universal Credit will include a new online system for private landlords to...

14 January 2019

From: Breaking News

Don't discriminate against benefit claimants buy to let lenders told

Urgent action is needed to tackle discrimination against benefit claimants by buy to let mortgage providers according to a leading trade...

22 October 2018

From: Breaking News

Arrears rocket for tenants on Universal Credit

Around two thirds of private landlords with tenants receiving Universal Credit have experienced rent arrears according to new research. Based on responses...

15 October 2018

From: Breaking News

Housing Benefit Row: 'the system is at fault, not the rental sector'

The ongoing debate over some letting agents and landlords allegedly refusing to accept tenants in receipt of housing benefit has now...

24 August 2018

From: Breaking News

Shelter told ‘vilifying letting agents won't solve the housing crisis’

The National Approved Lettings Scheme has issued a sharp rebuke to Shelter and the National Housing Federation following their controversial ‘End...

23 August 2018

From: Breaking News

MPs to debate impact of Universal Credit on private rental sector

MPs today discuss the impact of Universal Credit on the private rented sector, in a debate prompted by the Liberal Democrat’s...

09 January 2018

From: Breaking News

Trade body welcomes U-turn on Universal Credit 'direct payments'

There has been a warm welcome for government changes to Universal Credit by the Residential Landlords Association.  The Department for Work and...

08 January 2018

From: Breaking News

Survey throws kinder light on how landlords regard their tenants

A survey from a specialist rental insurance firm suggests that contrary to popular belief, landlords care more than a little about...

From: Breaking News

Trade body welcomes Universal Credit changes but warns 'more needed'

Changes to Universal Credit have made it easier for claimants to rent homes but the government needs to do more to...

06 December 2017

From: Breaking News

Universal Credit change welcomed by lettings sector groups

A change to the operation of Universal Credit has been welcomed by a trade body which has described it as good...

24 November 2017

From: Breaking News

MPs take up call to bring the homeless into private renting

MPs from the cross-party Parliamentary Group for Ending Homelessness have spoken out on the need to help homeless people into the...

26 October 2017

From: Breaking News

Just 20% of private rental units accept Universal Credit tenants

Only two out of every 10 private rental sector landlords say they are willing to let to tenants in receipt of...

20 October 2017

From: Breaking News

Universal Credit leading more tenants into arrears, warns trade body

Over a third of private landlords with tenants receiving Universal Credit say they are now in rent arrears, up by over...

13 September 2017

From: Breaking News

Young renters likely to have tough task finding places to live

Younger people will have more difficulty finding rented accommodation in coming months as a substantial proportion of landlords actively cut back...

02 August 2017

From: Breaking News

Tenants on benefits 'discriminated by mortgage lenders' - claim

A letting sector trade body says two thirds of the largest buy to let mortgage lenders do not allow landlords to...

03 May 2017

From: Breaking News

Industry body warns of Universal Credit 'disaster' for private rental sector

A trade body is warning that the government’s new Universal Credit payments could have a disastrous impact on private lettings with...

20 April 2016

From: Breaking News

No government U-turn likely on buy to let onslaught, says landlords' chief

Chancellor George Osborne has “effectively declared war on individual landlords” according to the Residential Landlords’ Association - but don’t expect a...

05 January 2016

From: Breaking News

Ethical Letting Agency launches with 'fair fees' claim

A “lettings agency with a conscience” that wants to put £30,000 into the local community over the next two years has...

17 September 2015

From: Breaking News

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