Quick News Updates

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Plymouth City Council says it wants to “showcase how to do it right” when it comes to enforcing the Renters’ Rights Bill once the legislation receives Royal Assent in the next few weeks.

The Distress for Rent Act 1737 is one of the oldest statutes that you may see in your practice with (at s18) a draconian remedy for landlords: a claim for ‘double rent’.

The Renters’ Reform Bill is nearing the end of its legislative journey after the House of Lords rejected several key amendments. The Bill will now return to the House of Commons for final approval before receiving Royal Assent.

When the music stops in May and the students pack up early, who’s left to foot the bill?

The new policy includes introducing rent controls, scrapping the Right to Buy scheme, applying business rates to short-term lets such as Airbnbs, and imposing double council tax on long-term empty properties.

According to Action Fraud data, from April 2024 to March 2025, 143 cases of payment diversion fraud were reported, with an average loss of £82,000 per victim.

More tenants prefer to deal with a landlord directly rather than being managed by a letting agent, new research from the NRLA reveals.

Steve Reed removes one property tax threat from the table but with the Budget looming, concerns grow over what the Chancellor will target instead.

New research highlights a rental sector undergoing significant transition.

Despite London Mayor Sadiq Khan saying that powers to cap rents are “at the top of his list,” the Labour government insists it has no plans to introduce them.

The companies were fined under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 for breaching Client Money Protection rules and failing to display clear fees.

In an unprecedented move, Merton Council has forcibly taken over the long-term running of a landlord’s rental properties after he repeatedly failed to license them.

Paul Hoy tells The Neg the banning of rent in advance within the Renters’ Rights Bill is likely to create a significant increase in demand for rent guarantor service like his.

Pet damage insurance launch offers first ‘dual cover’ for landlordsDespite the Government doing a U-turn on allowing landlords to request tenants get pet damage insurance, Total Landlord has now launched its product into the market.

Despite the media narrative of landlords lining their pockets with cash, more than half (51%) of individual private landlords report gross income of less than £10,000, according to Savills.

A letting agent has been barred from operating in the property sector for three years after threatening to unlawfully evict a tenant with a young family.

Concerns have been raised about a new amendment to the Renters’ Rights Bill, which would allow local councils to carry out surprise inspections of private rented properties without giving advance notice to landlords.

Almost half – 46% – of renters surveyed were unaware they could challenge unfair deposit deductions, and only 4% had used the formal dispute resolution process to recover funds.

Assuming progress continues smoothly, Royal Assent is now likely to be granted before 16 September, when MPs head off again for the autumn party conference season.

Matthew Pennycook responds to MPs who say the Government is not acting quickly enough to deal with mould problems in the private rented sector.

Looking at the changing rules for possession claims and how this will affect landlords and letting agents

A second consultation on this important topic.  Scroll down the page (past the first consultation).

The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government has laid out the implementation of ‘phase 1’ of Awaab’s Law, with regulations being laid today. for Social Housing.

New specialist housing teams issue 113 civil penalties as authorities make use of strengthened powers to target ‘criminal property owners.’

Whether you’re attending a massive expo or a smaller training day, the goal is the same: take one or two useful things and actually do something with them.

The Bill’s restriction on limiting advance rent payments to one month could hinder access to housing for vulnerable groups of people such as overseas applicants, self-employed people and those lacking a UK credit history.

The inquiry will focus on reports of delays to approvals by the regulator for new high-rise buildings and maintenance of existing buildings.

t remains unclear when the Renters’ Rights Bill will become law despite a new date for its latest stage in the Lords being given – July 1st.

Expulsions relate to a six month period last year when the estate agencies either did not cooperate over complaints, or failed to pay awards.

The decision has sparked concerns about openness in the legislative process.

Despite Energy Secretary Ed Miliband’s insistence that rents hadn’t increased when standards were raised during previous initiatives, Justice Minister Sarah Sackman has now said there are grounds for “higher market rents”.

Anger at poor housing conditions in social housing could boil over into social tension as the Ombudsman’s office recorded a 474% increase in complaints about substandard living conditions since 2019/20.

A new proposal could compel landlords in Wales to submit detailed rent information to Rent Smart Wales (RSW), as part of an effort to enhance transparency in the private rented sector.

Westminster City Council is to hugely expand its property licensing with a selective scheme that will cover 15 of the borough’s 18 wards and means thousands of landlords will be required to obtain licences for their rental properties.

Local authorities are applying double standards to rental rules by regularly fining private landlords while failing to address the same poor conditions in their own rental stock, a damning new report from the Housing Ombudsman has claimed.

Landlords and letting agents must now comply with AML sanctions regulations on every tenancy regardless of cost.

Selective licensing schemes are catching landlords off guard with fines that can spiral into the hundreds of thousands pounds,

Industry leaders warn of ‘considerable confusion’ as rules are withdrawn after less than two years.

A landlord who failed to license his unsafe and overcrowded HMO has failed in his bid to have a £11,000 fine dismissed.

Surveyors have been warned they face serious repercussions if they provide expert evidence for solicitors acting in bulk housing disrepair claims.

Serco, one of the three private contractors working for the Home Office, has offered landlords five-year guaranteed full rent deals at the taxpayers’ expense if they agree to house asylum seekers, according to reports.

Government plans to restrict a key student housing exemption to larger Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs) risks undermining supply and disrupting the annual student rental cycle, warns NRLA

The HMO market in England & Wales is valued at £78bn and generates annual rental income of £6.3bn, fresh analysis shows.

Conservative peers have called for significant amendments to the Renters’ Rights Bill as scrutiny begins in House of Lords.

A consultation on new and enlarged selective and additional HMO licensing schemes is being run by Havering Council which will cover a large proportion of the borough’s private rented sector.

NRLA has made the comments as Bill prepares to enter Committee Stage in Lords, saying action is needed to bolster courts, include all student properties and reverse plans for rent arrears extension.

The landlord of two unlicensed East London HMOs has been fined a combined total of £263,555.68 for rule breaches.

Matthew Pennycook has reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to regulation of property agents, while fielding questions in Parliament about property manager, FirstPort.

An unscrupulous letting agent in east London who conned hundreds of people over the course of five years has been jailed