Quick News Updates

New analysis suggests landlords of student properties will have to pay the most to upgrade and meet the EPC deadlines.

This is when amendments will be discussed and voted on in the House of Lords.  Although only government amendments are likely to make it onto the final version of the act.

Comments by official spokesperson following OpenReach campaign suggest ministers are keen to force landlords to accept fibre broadband installation requests.

Rising fears over future rent arrears among landlords has prompted RentGuarantor to report astonishing rise in demand.

The tribunal ruled that the landlord had met all licensing obligations and had, in fact, been the victim of administrative failings by the London Borough of Southwark.

A reverend whose house was sold without him knowing has had the property returned to him nearly four years on, after a family was ordered to leave.

Property Redress also highlights 56% increase in awards to customers complaining about estate agencies to £1.5 million.

So claims Zoopla’s which, within its regular market snapshot, also says Labour’s looming rental reforms risk making the situations worse not better.

Several local authorities which are quick to issue fines to landlords and agents over poor practice including damp and mould, are at it themselves.

Since 2017, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has deducted tenants’ UC at the request of their landlord if the claimants are in rent arrears.

How properties supposedly let to tenants were torn apart to create drug factories, causing hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of damage.

The Grenfell Tower Inquiry phase two report, published in September, called on the government to appoint a single secretary of state to lead on fire safety.

Hello Neighbour has launch a new “Get Listed” service which enables landlords to list on Rightmove, Zoopla and OnTheMarket and then manage viewings and offers

England’s criminal landlords will face restrictions on benefit payments they receive for running substandard properties in supported housing

All private landlords in England and Wales will be required to meet Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) C or above by the end of the decade, up from the lower EPC E level currently required.

The government has launched a consultation on a new strategic approach to managing land use in England to give decision makers the data they need

The Second Reading of the Renters’ Rights Bill in the House of Lords takes place on Tuesday 4 February 2025 where peers are being urged to take the opportunity to push back against overly restrictive regulation.

From today, leaseholders will no longer be required to have owned their property for a minimum period of two years before being able to make a statutory lease extension claim of a flat.

New Acres provides 1034 homes across 18 buildings next to Wandsworth Town Station, making it L&G’s largest Build to Rent (BTR) scheme to date.

Housing minister Matthew Pennycook yesterday signed regulations to remove the two-year ownership rule for leaseholders of flats and houses to extend their lease or buy their freehold.

Kieran Parker returned to his flat late one night to find the locks changed and his belongings later dumped outside the front door.

The Government is to effectively end the Right to Buy scheme by substantially tightening the eligibility criteria.

Tourism minister Chris Bryant says initial set-up work is now complete and that only ‘technical matters’ on how scheme will run need to be sorted out before a launch.

It has now gone to the House of Lords with the second reading scheduled for 4 February.  Read our report on the report and third reading debate:

Daniel McAfee of Lawhive, looks at the Renters’ Rights Bill and its potential to transform landlord-tenant dynamics.

Leading lettings expert and Past President of ARLA Propertymark, Maxine Fothergill outlines the changes and offers advice on how to prepare

The NRLA says the Government is taking away an assurance to landlords, that tenants can afford the rent ahead of a tenancy starting.

Councils will be given more power to force landlords to rent out vacant residential properties as part of the government’s English Devolution white paper.

New guidance from the Government reveals that councils will no longer have to seek Whitehall approval for selective licensing schemes of any size.

The tribunal has found in favour of a £250 fee for a mid-tenancy change of tenant.

The sentencing comes after a three-bedroom bungalow located in Egham, Surrey, was found to have been turned into a 15-room unlicensed HMO.

Find out more and a consultation:

After that date, physical documents will no longer be acceptable as evidence for Right to Rent verification.  However, there are serious concerns about the eVisa system.

Data collected from Councils shows that more than 100 authorities say that they have not prosecuted any landlords at all in half a decade.

Matthew Pennycook has made the promises within a statement within which he said commonhold will soon become ‘default’ tenure.

Regulations have been laid in the UK Parliament which means the reporting obligations will apply to all letting agency work and not just in relation to lettings where there is a monthly rent of €10,000 or more.

Nick Lyons shares some hard lessons from his nightmare experience of discovering a full-blown cannabis factory in one of his properties.

A Georgian oligarch’s daughter is suing vendor for £36m for moth ‘plague’ in home that was not disclosed.

The CIEH wants MPs to scrap the 24-hour notice period that councils must currently give to landlords before entering a rented property.

At this year’s National Residential Landlords Association 2024 Landlord Conference, he confirmed that he wants to work with landlords and does not want them to exit the market.

Three West Northants landlords have together been fined a total of £452,796 for a series of unlicensed and unsafe HMOs.

The CIEH, sponsoring the amendment, says licensing schemes should be put on a more permanent footing.

Up to one in seven rental homes owned by Prince William’s £1.3bn Duchy of Cornwall estate have F or G-rated EPCs

Safety information for consumers – and tenants!

Matthew Pennycook has committed to implementing the Regulation of Property Agents working group proposals that the Tories failed to implement.

Landlords face an ongoing buy-to-let investment challenge as a new report reveals that a third of all homes for sale in Britian have an EPC rating below a C.

Propertymark says members of the Welsh Parliament’s housing committee have agreed with many of its recommendations.

In an attempt to preserve social housing.

Many landlords, letting agents and tenants are unaware of the support available from local councils.

The Radix Big Tent Housing Commission urges the Government to stop treating landlords as the part of problem.