Quick News Updates

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

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.