The Renters Reform Bill cannot succeed without PRS industry support from letting agents and landlords, Propertymark argues. According to a Freedom of Information request submitted by Propertymark, 52 per cent of local authorities in England have not had a landlord forum since 2021. The purpose of landlord forums is for local authorities to engage with landlords and property agents about new legislation, share best practice and to receive feedback on… Continue Reading PRS Industry Support Needed For RRB

A law professor has dismissed a Labour call for letting agent qualifications as “eye poppingly silly” and “snobby.” Labour’s shadow housing minister Matthew Pennycook has tabled an amendment to the government’s Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill retiring the regulation of all agents.  Specifically, Pennycook wants to prohibit anyone from working as an agent without at least one A-level, or managing an agency unless they have a degree. Now Andrew Tettenborn,… Continue Reading Letting Agent Qualifications Is Laughable

Seventeen housing organisations have sent an open letter to the government rejecting its idea of prioritising British families when it comes to housing lists. The letter is signed by some of the country’s leading housing organisations and experts from the likes of the Chartered Institute of Housing, National Housing Federation and Local Government Association, along with vocal critics of many landlords and letting agencies such as Shelter and Generation Rent.… Continue Reading Housing Organisations Send Open Letter

New research shows there are 36,210 long-term vacant homes across London – that’s around one in every 100 properties. The borough in which vacant units make up the largest proportion of local stock is the City of London. While there are just 261 empty properties, they equate to 3.4 per cent of all dwellings.  Southwark is home to the second highest proportion of long-term empty homes, accounting for 2.0 per… Continue Reading Long-Term Vacant Homes Slammed

The Building Research Establishment – which undertakes research, advice, training, testing, certification and standards-setting for the housing sector – is calling for a major rethink of Energy Performance Certificates. A new BRE report – Energy Performance Certificates: Enabling the Home Energy Transition – is published this week, just as the government is consulting on a new Home Energy Model to replace the Standard Assessment Procedure, currently used to assess and… Continue Reading Building Research Establishment EPC Rethink

Stamp duty receipts dipped four per cent to £2.4 billion in Q3 of last year – no less than 25 per cent lower than the same period a year earlier. HMRC data shows that the number of stamp duty receipts in the fourth quarter of 2023 was in total only one per cent down on the previous quarter although there was a larger dip in the transaction volumes of those… Continue Reading Stamp Duty Receipts Blow For Chancellor

Private rented sector landlords will not come under the Awaab’s Law which will be introduced solely for social housing landlords. Last week the Department of Housing, Communities and Local Government started it’s consultation on targeting rogue social landlords who are failing to ensure they provide safe homes. It suggests the introduction of far tougher time limits for social housing providers to act swiftly in rectifying life threatening hazards such as… Continue Reading Social Housing Landlords New Law

Figures released by HMRC show that the Treasury raked in £5.7 billion in inheritance tax receipts in the nine months from April to December 2023. This is £400m more than in the same period a year earlier, continuing a long-term upward trend. One in every 25 estates pay inheritance tax, although the proportion of families affected is higher, and the freeze on inheritance tax thresholds paired with decades of house… Continue Reading Huge Rise In Inheritance Tax Receipts

Over £100m has been invested into a new site that will offer purpose built accommodation for 713 students beds in London.  NatWest and Virgin Money have backed a new student residence in Hammersmith which is currently under development through a forward funding agreement between Scape Living Plc and Dominus Group. The project will offer 713 beds close to Hammersmith Broadway station: the site is accessible to a wide range of… Continue Reading Purpose Built Accommodation For Students

London house prices dropped 6% overall but there have been wild fluctuations between boroughs London house prices dropped six per cent in the year to November 2023, the steepest annual drop since the 2008 financial crisis, according to the latest house price index from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). But this does not tell the strikingly varied local story of the capital’s housing market. At a borough level, house… Continue Reading London House Prices Plunge

First-time buyers, buyers, sellers and estate agents had been looking forward to the end of 2024 for a sweet spot in which to transact, with house prices expected to fall over the next 12 months and interest rates expected to fall after an autumnal general election. Just a few weeks ago, the property industry was collectively foretelling this window of calm in late autumn. However, new data and a sudden… Continue Reading Advice For First-Time Buyers, Renters And Owners

The letting agents’ trade body Propertymark says one of the UK governments should go further in ensuring the safety of tenants and owners in tower blocks. The call comes in Propertymark’s response to the Welsh Government’s consultation on combustible cladding and fire safety amendments which has taken place as a result of the 2017 Grenfell Tower Inquiry. Amendments were made to building regulations following a consultation that began in 2018… Continue Reading Safety of Tenants and Owners in Tower Blocks

Letting agents’ body Propertymark is throwing its weight behind a mandatory licensing and short let registration scheme for landlords. Anyone who lets out what is described as “visitor accommodation” in Wales must register – this will include Airbnbs and any other short lets, in addition to more traditional bed and breakfast operations. The first phase will be a statutory registration scheme for all accommodation providers, which will provide a register… Continue Reading Propertymark Backs Short Let Registration Scheme

A severe shortage of properties to rent, fierce competition to secure the homes that are available, and rising rental prices led more renters to explore new areas outside of cities. That’s according to Rightmove, which says that rising rental prices across 10 major cities it has seen 54 per cent of renters looking to move outside of the city they lived in rather than within it in 2023, compared to… Continue Reading Rising Rental Prices Push Tenants To Outer Areas

Insurance giant Aviva is urging consumers to be on their guard after seeing a seven per cent increase in customer claims over the past year for fires started by rechargeable devices. These are commonly found in rechargeable devices like mobile phones, tablets, power tools, e-bikes, and e-scooters. The data, which looks at fire claims for rechargeable devices across 2022 and 2023, includes a significant house fire started by an e-cigarette… Continue Reading Rechargeable Devices Fire Hazard

Leaders Romans Group’s Kim Lidbury says that there is a strong likelihood that the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard or something similar to EPCs will reappear. In September Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that landlords will no longer be required to meet the minimum EPC minimum energy rating of C by 2025 (for all new tenancies) and 2028 (for existing tenancies). Despite a consultation starting back in 2020, the proposed legislation… Continue Reading Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard Will Reappear

Airbnb and other rent a room short let platforms are from this week required to send data on their clients’ earnings to HMRC. And a property tax specialist says this could leave many casual landlords exposed – especially if their earnings are exceeding the Rent A Room threshold.  And he warns that for many Britons who might be choosing to rent a room out to a lodger on a casual… Continue Reading Rent A Room Short Lets Tax Change

The latest figures from HM Revenue and Customs show that inheritance tax receipts increased to £5.2 billion in the eight months from April 2023 to November 2023. This is a £400m increase from the same period in the previous year, and continues the upwards trend over the last decade. Currently, one in every 25 of estates pay inheritance tax, but the freeze on tax thresholds, decades of house price increases… Continue Reading Inheritance Tax Grab – Big Rise

Housing Secretary Michael Gove has given what some commentators have interpreted as a sign that private rental licensing from councils may be made redundant by the Renters Reform Bill. At a public speech made by Gove just before Christmas he was asked by a rental expert whether the new property portal – a nationwide licensing system which every landlord will have to sign up to – will make local council… Continue Reading Will 2024 Be The End Of Private Rental Licensing?