Archive

With Labour’s election victory, a new EPC target has been announced. In mid-July, the new Secretary of State for Energy Security and...

Informed reports in the housing and mainstream media suggest that Chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to announce higher social housing rents,...

New research from Direct Line reveals thousands of landlords in England are facing increasing costs due to selective licensing schemes imposed...

The National Residential Landlords Association says it’s met with new housing minister Matthew Pennycook to discuss improving standards in the rental...

The property industry establishment representing agents, surveyors and the volume house builders, has piled in to praise the planning reforms proposed...

A building society says the combination of the UK Labour government’s housing proposals and a regional plan for 20,000 low-carbon homes...

The independent National Audit Office has sharply criticised the former Conservative government for having no strategy or public targets for reducing...

A property firm has branded the current council tax rules for holiday homes “a mess” and says local and national government...

A council has warned so-called “evaders” that they are in its sights after forcing the sale of a property on which...

Landlords purchased just 10% of homes sold across Britain during the first half of this year - the lowest share for...

A council has reported that its Selective Licensing scheme has had only 43% take-up from landlords after two years.  And a report...

The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) has written to Housing Secretary Angela Rayner urging her to make it even easier...

Lloyds Bank - already a player of growing importance in the Build To Rent niche - is now to publish what...

A group of 20 major local authorities - the biggest social landlords in England - have sent an open letter to...

The latest report from the Housing Ombudsman, which presides over social landlords, has named 27 local authorities and social housing providers...

A council is next week considering a move which is seen as a trigger for wider national policy changes regarding Airbnbs...

Chancellor Rachel Reeves' announcement of new measures to accelerate housebuilding in the UK is welcome news for the short lets sector,...

The latest e.surv index shows that house prices in England and Wales are, on average, still some 1.6% below the level...

The biggest rental sector headline from Labour’s manifesto may well be its pledge for the “immediate” abolition of Section 21 eviction...

If Labour wins Thursday’s General Election. expect three major housing announcements within a fortnight. That’s the exclusive claim from the Sunday Times...

As a homeowner in the UK, navigating the complex landscape of taxes and regulations enforced by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC)...

Rent prices tend to rise in the 12 months immediately after a General Election, by an average of 1.96%, according to...

The National Residential Landlords Association has set out what it calls “three key asks” of the new government to protect and...

“When it comes to housing policy, there is little difference between the two major parties” says Aneisha Beveridge, head of research...

Controversial politician George Galloway has issued a party manifesto saying the payment of “exorbitant rents to wealthy buy to let pensioners”...

The Resolution Foundation - which describes itself as an independent think tank, and whose chief executive resigned this month to become...

A manifesto just released by the Labour Party and dedicated to Scotland hints at ent controls. In recent years Labour has backed...

Plaid Cymru, the party of Wales, has issued a manifesto with a clampdown on the private rental sector as one of...

The year to March 2024 saw the fewest new housing sites consented than during any 12-month period since the data collection...

Labour’s manifesto, just released, makes a pledge to enact the “immediate” abolition of Section 21 eviction powers, along with other private...

Another raft of General Election pledges have been made to transform the private rental sector - this time from the Green...

The Conservatives have set out a 78-page manifesto, of which just over two pages are given to housing and related issues.  Here...

The British Property Federation wants the next government to give special assistance to Build To Rent developers to allow them to...

The Liberal Democrats have set out a predictable set of pledges in their manifesto for next mon this election, centred on...

An investigation by Sky News and a housing campaigner have revealed that there are some 33,993 vacant council properties in England...

Now a date for the General Election has been set, the Renters (Reform) Bill has expired with the proroguing and effective...

Private renters in England face a postcode lottery as councils are failing to properly inspect properties with potential hazards. That’s the view of...

Invasive plant species such as Japanese knotweed are developing much earlier in 2024 due to the warm, wet winter, a plant...

The Government has introduced the High Street Rental Auction scheme to tackle vacant high-street buildings and give local authorities more opportunities...

England’s dwindling social housing stock is poised to plummet by an additional 189,000 properties through the controversial Right to Buy scheme...

London councils have slammed government plans for regulating the short-term and holiday lets sector. In a letter to Housing Secretary Michael Gove,...

Just days after suggesting rent controls of any kind were off the table, it now appears Labour may be considering them...

Newly re-elected Greater Manchester Labour Mayor Andy Burnham is to spend £600,000 of council tax payers’ cash on a clampdown on...

Seventeen London boroughs wasted over £2m in the last five years fighting rejected planning applications that were subsequently approved on appeal,...

Data gathered by the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) shows that less than half the fines levied against rogue landlords have...

Over 40% of council houses and flats sold under the long-standing Right To Buy scheme are now owned by private landlords. That’s...

New market analysis by peer-to-peer investment platform easyMoney has identified 10 areas of the nation on track for growth of more...

More landlords predict Scotland will attract the most residential property investment outside of London and the South East in the next...

A politician is claiming that second home council tax premiums, where owners pay up to double the normal rate, is resulting...

It is possible that licensing regimes operated by local councils could cut the fees they impose on landlords. The House of Commons...

Back in 2019, the Government promised a ban on so-called no-fault evictions. Section 21 was to be outlawed. While some housing...

Environmental health officers are making a last ditch bid to save local council licensing. The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health reckons that...

Political parties should stop bickering and instead work together to boost enforcement of rental standards in the private sector. That’s the view...

MPs return to the Commons today after a substantial Easter recess - and with progress on the Renters Reform Bill on...

A prominent lettings sector expert is blaming the media for anti-landlord sentiment and a rise in tenancy disputes. Gina Peters, Head of...

Phase two of the Home Upgrade Grant (HUG2) is a UK Government-funded scheme for properties in England that are not connected...

Rent controls are at the heart of the local election manifesto of the Green Party of England and Wales. Co-leader Carla Denyer,...

Property logbook company Chimni is trialling a new form of Digital Property Logbook aimed at the rental markets.   The new logbooks...

A think tank based in central London says landlords would not quit the sector if much tougher - and more expensive...

An industry supplier is analysing licensing schemes and whether they achieve anything to improve rental housing standards. Yuno says questions need to be...

The popular narrative may have been that first time buyers have been priced out of the market, partly by landlords: but...

The controversial proposal for permanent rent controls in Scotland, published just ahead of the Easter holiday, doesn’t go far enough for...

A charity is calling for landlord licensing schemes which cost enough to fund annual inspections, and the issuing of “sentencing guidelines”...

The Scottish Government’s Housing Bill allows SNP and Green politicians to create rent control areas, triggered by local authorities, and this...

A council has agreed a council tax rise of an additional 100% on second home and long-term empty homes, despite widespread...

New analysis claims that the North East of England has made “no progress on greening the highest-emissions homes in 13 years.” Meanwhile,...

An activist group is demanding that the lower Capital Gains Tax should apply only to landlords who sell with sitting tenants. In...

Supporters of council selective licensing start rearguard action  Some of those involved in local councils have started a campaign to save selective...

Government proposals on limiting short lets "fall a long way short of what's needed and will do nothing to put right...

SNP councillors in Scotland have come up with an innovative suggestion to improve energy efficiency in private rental properties. They want councils...

Countryside campaigning charity CPRE has given a warm welcome to Michael Gove’s clampdown on short lets. Last week Housing Secretary Gove announced...

Reversing the tax penalties imposed on buy to let landlords in recent years would reduce the impact of short lets on...

Airbnb has released new figures showing that the typical host landlord makes a modest £5,500 a year by sharing their space...

A Labour MP who has campaigned for some years against short let landlords says proposals to crack down on the sector...

Housing Secretary Michael Gove’s proposals to restrict Airbnb-style short lets do not go far enough, a group of activists has said. Yesterday...

The Conservative leader of a council which claims it has had problems with Airbnbs and short lets has given wholehearted backing...

Housing Secretary Michael Gove has this morning announced wholesale changes to planning and regulations surrounding short lets. His proposals include: - planning permission...

Airbnb has given its backing to a proposal from Housing Secretary Michael Gove to introduce a mandatory register of short let...

Activists in the Generation Rent campaign says big city Mayors should “tackle the worst landlords and seize their properties.” It also wants...

Bristol’s controversial Labour council is extending previous licensing schemes to other parts of the city at some £1,800 HMO per licence...

The government has overturned its policy to relax HMO regulations on private rental properties used by asylum seekers. The policy had previously been...

Research by Zero Deposit, a deposit alternative service, claims that under-30s face an almost impossible task when it comes to current...

The Generation Rent activist group says the government must “make it clear that landlords and letting agents can let homes to...

The average price of a home in Wales fell to £234,086 at the end 2023 following continued economic and financial pressures,...

A newspaper claims that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wants British families to be given higher priority for social housing. Implicitly this may...

Some local authorities are quick to criticise private landlords for trying to avoid rent arrears but it appears councils themselves have...

The identify of the service running the upcoming Private Rental Sector Ombudsman scheme has been thrown into doubt once more. The Renters...

The average home in England and Wales bought within the last 20 years and sold in 2023 achieved £102,650 or 48...

A think tank says rents set in the social sector should reflect the energy efficiency of a property. It’s one of a...

A building society is calling upon politicians, government, the Bank of England and local councils and other bodies to cooperate on...

A building society says it is considering ending its policy of lending to buyers of holiday lets. Martese Carton, the director of...

Established by the UK Government, the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) was launched in April 2021.  In the summer of that...

With 3.5 million UK adults planning major home improvements in 2024, an energy expert has shared seven adjustments that can properties more sustainable.  The...

Escalating rents have led many first time buyers to adjust their property expectations and accept smaller homes when they purchase, a...

A lack of Energy Performance Certificate enforcement is putting tenants at risk from high energy costs or cold homes, according to...

By Luke Lightfoot, Regional Director of Asset Management at Sigma Capital As the fastest growing sub-sector in the UK rental market, it’s...

Christmas goodwill towards landlords seems in short supply from activist group Generation Rent.  It has this week issued a statement saying the...

The chief executive of the Generation Rent ginger group has called on his former employer to make a case against landlords,...

The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health has given a warm welcome to many of the provision in the Renters Reform Bill...

A countryside body is blaming the government’s failure to provide affordable housing and the rise in short lets for a homelessness...