The farcical implementation of the government’s Green Homes Grant scheme has been sharply criticised by Propertymark. Timothy Douglas, the organisation’s policy and campaigns manager, says: “The Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme was the first we have seen after years of no funding and it’s extremely disappointing that the scheme was poorly executed.  “The time frame for its application was unrealistic and therefore failed to provide landlords and home owners with enough…

The number of international tenants searching for UK property has reached its highest level since before the pandemic. High end agency Knight Frank says almost a quarter of all web users looking at its lettings properties in August were based overseas, the highest figure since January 2020.  The average figure in the 18 months to June was lower – just 17 per cent. Furthermore, the number of international web users…

Whether to allow pets in your property is something of a thorny issue. The benefits of pet ownership are well publicised, however since the Tenants Fees Act effectively banned pet deposits, some landlords have been worried about accepting animals over concerns they could cause damage. A new report out today by animal charity Advocats East Mids is calling for an amendment to the act, to allow for either landlords or…

Landlords with vacant properties are being urged to work with councils to help refugees who need to be urgently re-housed in the UK. As events in Afghanistan unfold, the UK Government recently announced plans to launch the Afghan Citizens’ Resettlement Scheme, which aims to help 5,000 Afghans to settle in the UK, with the long-term goal total of 20,000. Local councils have been asked to play their part in finding settled accommodation…

This week the NRLA, along with over 100 other organisations across the UK, joined with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation to issue the following letter to the Prime Minister urging the government to not proceed with the planned £20-a-week cut to Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit: Dear Prime Minister, We are writing to collectively urge you not to go ahead with the planned £20-a-week cut to Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit at…

The property industry has broadly welcomed Michael’s Gove appointment as Housing Secretary after he replaced Robert Jenrick yesterday afternoon. “We welcome today’s appointment of Michael Gove as the new Secretary of State for Housing. Over the past 18 months housing has been high on the political agenda, with the long term Covid-19 inflicted stamp duty holiday and evictions ban due to close at the end of the month,” Nathan Emerson,…

Temporary changes to Right to Rent checks, introduced to minimise face-to-face contact, will remain in place until April 2022, the Government has announced. Adjusted checks were introduced in March last year in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and were originally due to end on 20th June this year. This was then extended until 31 August, to give landlords more time to adjust. The NRLA had written to the Home Office on the issue.  However, the Government…

Reluctance to move during the pandemic is thought to be a key reason for a sharp drop in tenancy disputes between renters and agents. TDS says just 0.7 per cent or 26,907 of tenancies ended in a dispute during 2020/2021 – well down on the 2019/20 figures of 0.85 per cent and 34,993. TDS chief executive Steve Harriott says the drop is “most likely down to the pandemic” with fewer…

Pressure is growing to amend the 2019 Tenant Fees Act to allow charging additional deposits and insurance to cover pets in private rental accommodation. The political website Politics Home says Conservative MP and long-standing animal rights campaigner Andrew Rosindell has written to the Housing Secretary urging that private tenants be allowed to keep pets in their properties. The letter is supported by Labour’s Andrew Gwynne, Green Party MP Caroline Lucas, Liberal Democrat…

A council has written to Housing Minister Chris Pincher calling for a new approach to the short lets issue. Oxford council leader Susan Brown says there are up to 900 homes in the city, entirely rented out on short lets for all or most of the year.  She acknowledges that short lets play an important part in helping Oxford’s tourist economy but believes they reduce the stock of homes for…

An agency says its bizarre list of items left behind by departing tenants shows how many renters actually appear to keep pets. A survey of 500 landlords on the books of online agency Intus Lettings shows that amongst the least surprising items left behind at check out were clothes, appliances, discarded rubbish and post house party mess. But some findings have been much more shocking. Animals – dead and alive –…

Pressure is growing to amend the 2019 Tenant Fees Act to allow charging additional deposits and insurance to cover pets in private rental accommodation. The political website Politics Home says Conservative MP and long-standing animal rights campaigner Andrew Rosindell has written to the Housing Secretary urging that private tenants be allowed to keep pets in their properties. The letter is supported by Labour’s Andrew Gwynne, Green Party MP Caroline Lucas, Liberal Democrat…

A council has written to Housing Minister Chris Pincher calling for a new approach to the short lets issue. Oxford council leader Susan Brown says there are up to 900 homes in the city, entirely rented out on short lets for all or most of the year.  She acknowledges that short lets play an important part in helping Oxford’s tourist economy but believes they reduce the stock of homes for…

An agency says its bizarre list of items left behind by departing tenants shows how many renters actually appear to keep pets. A survey of 500 landlords on the books of online agency Intus Lettings shows that amongst the least surprising items left behind at check out were clothes, appliances, discarded rubbish and post house party mess. But some findings have been much more shocking. Animals – dead and alive –…

Temporary changes to Right to Rent, introduced to minimise face-to-face contact, will remain in place until April 2022, the Government has announced. Adjusted checks were introduced in March last year in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and were originally due to end on 20th June this year. This was then extended until 31 August, to give landlords more time to adjust. The NRLA had written to the Home Office on the issue.  However, the Government has…

New data from Rightmove shows that demand for pet friendly rental properties has increased by 120 per cent compared to last summer. The significant increase in demand for a pet friendly rental property – measured by prospective tenants enquiring about properties via Rightmove – highlights the rise in pet ownership during the lockdown periods.  The jump compares to total tenant demand rising by just 13 per cent. The search for…

Lettings once again dominated the complaints received by The Property Ombudsman according to its latest annual report – out today but relating to 2020. Overall, TPO says enquiries increased year-on-year with a record 39,285 reported, up 29 per cent on 2019.  Over 34,000 enquiries were resolved at first contact and 5,122 enquiries were accepted as complaints by TPO. Whilst this was a rise of only 0.3 per cent as the…

New rules out for consultation concerning block management aim to improve professionalism across the sector, root out rogue agents, and increase transparency for all parties according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.   RICS and The Property Ombudsmen are amongst a collection of professional groups to launch the Block Management Sector Code and want agents, homeowners and tenant input.  The code – which is part of the work from…

Rent controls are to be introduced into part of the UK as a result of a deal between two political parties. The Scottish National Party fell just short of an overall majority in the last elections to the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, with 64 MSPs; so now it has entered into a pact with the Green Party, which was seven MSPs and which will give the combined forces an easy…

An internal job advert published by Lloyds Bank has revealed that it intends to acquire 50,000 build-to-rent properties by 2030 and become the nation’s largest private landlord, it has been reported. The Financial Times says it has been shown briefing papers that Lloyds is hoping its private home rental brand Citra Living will help it diversity away from traditional lending as, like many UK high street financial institutions, continuing low…