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?

A Property Registration Scheme launched to shed light on overseas property ownership in the UK now has over 30,000 registrations. The Register of Overseas Entities, which is administered by Companies House, came into force in the UK in August 2022 and requires anonymous foreign owners of UK property to reveal their real identities. The Property Registration Scheme Register forms part of the government’s strategy to combat economic crime. Companies House… Continue Reading Property Registration Scheme Hailed A Success

A new Bank of England survey has confirmed a growing outflow of landlords from the private rental sector since 2020. The Bank’s survey says the “post-pandemic peak in outflow of landlords was more notable in London and the South East than other UK regions.” The verdict from the BoE comes after debate with some critics of the private rental sector claiming there has been no exodus of landlords, while private… Continue Reading Outflow Of Landlords From Private Rental Sector

New Decent Homes Standard contained in the Renters Reform Bill will fail without sufficient resources to ensure they can be enforced. The warning comes from MPs on the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Private Rented Sector. Measures set out in the Renters (Reform) Bill include the development of a new decent homes standard for the private rented sector, a new Property Portal for rental housing and the end of section… Continue Reading New Decent Homes Standard Will Fail

A survey shows double the proportion of PRS Landlords in the Deposit Protection Service shows the scale of change in the private rental sector. The survey shows that double the proportion of PRS Landlords with two or fewer properties are planning to sell up and leave the rental market, compared with those who have portfolios comprising more than 10 properties. The research also shows how almost three times the proportion… Continue Reading Proportion Of PRS Landlords Show Scale Of Change

Low-income renters will get a boost next spring – but a pressure group wants more government help for this sector. The Chancellor’s announcement in the recent Autumn Statement that the Local Housing Allowance will be re-pegged to local rents in April 2024 will bring welcome relief to many of Britain’s poorest households, with those in cities set to see some of the largest financial gains, according to the Resolution Foundation.… Continue Reading Low-Income Renters To Receive Help

Propertymark has set out its pro-agency position on a range of issues contained in the Renters Reform Bill, currently trundling through Parliament. The Bill is currently ending its Committee Stage which has included oral evidence from Propertymark and others; now Propertymark has also released its pro-agency position written evidence, which says there’s concern amongst its members about the private rental sector becoming increasingly hostile to landlords and letting agents.  It… Continue Reading Pro-Agency Position On Range Of Issues

Propertymark has listed a string of legal reforms it wants as part of the government’s modernisation of the court process – and the demands include one for a new Housing Court. The demands come in the trade body’s response to the House of Commons Justice Committee’s launch of an inquiry to explore the work of County Courts amid long-term worries over their capacity and resources.  According to data from HM… Continue Reading Agents Demand Reform And New Housing Court

A major property industry supplier claims that the housing sector could meet government targets to improve the Energy Performance Certificate ratings for homes. Property industry supplier, Landmark Information Group, says that out of the properties that have a valid EPC, some 55 per cent currently fall below the target of band C, and if all suggested changes recorded in the EPC were made to properties – switching to low-energy light… Continue Reading Property Industry Supplier Claims Targets Could Be Met

Propertymark has urged the government to do more to help the country’s most vulnerable rental sector citizens heat their homes. Office for National Statistics data shows which rental sector citizens might find it hardest to heat their homes based on findings from EPCs and the 2021 Census. EPCs are based on data and assumptions about properties collected by approved domestic energy assessors, who then use government-approved modelling software to produce… Continue Reading Rental Sector Citizens Incentives Needed

Former housing minister Rachel Maclean – the victim of a shock sacking by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak last month – has slammed ”unethical behaviour” by some freeholders. Speaking during a Commons debate on the government’s Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill – on which she worked prior to her dismissal – Maclean said: ““I was shocked by how leaseholders have been treated and how their lives have been blighted by this… Continue Reading Freeholders Slammed By Former Tory Housing Minister

Private sector rural tenants are facing the brunt of growing rents caused by the shortage of housing stock, according to new research. Whilst some measures suggest tenants across England had an average 17 per cent increase in rent over the past year, this jumps to 27 per cent among those in rural areas. The survey of over 2,000 private renters was carried out by the TDS Charitable Foundation. Almost a… Continue Reading Rural Tenants Hit Hardest By Rent Rises

Manchester-based chartered surveyors and auctioneers – Landwood Group – has seen a 300 per cent increase in instructions to sell residential buy-to-let properties in the past five months alone. It comes amid increasingly challenging conditions for residential buy-to-let properties investors who are contending with punitive tax changes, high mortgage interest rates, increasing red-tape and uncertainty around regulations which have seen costs skyrocket. Mark Bailey, partner at Landwood Group comments: “The… Continue Reading Residential Buy-To-Let Properties Sales Skyrocket