The government has been warned by trade body Propertymark that the controversial Renters Reform Bill must fairly reflect the importance of letting agents. The Bill is scheduled to receive its Second Reading in the House of Commons today, with its main provision being the abolition of Section 21 eviction powers. A statement from Propertymark says it’s actively engaged with MPs on the content of the Bill throughout the summer and…

The National Audit Office says the government will soon have to take hard decisions on the future for the Homes For Ukraine scheme. The British public’s generosity enabled the government to move at speed to temporarily support Ukrainians seeking refuge from war, successfully supporting 131,000 Ukrainians arriving into the UK since March 2022 with £2.1 billion in funding. A new NAO report out today says the visas for the first…

Government data shows that as of 2022 some 15.29 per cent of homes in England are privately rented, with 14.9 per cent in Scotland and 14.0 per cent in both Wales and Northern Ireland.  London is the location with the most privately rented homes, with 20.81 per cent. The North East of England has the least, with 13.27 per cent. An analysis of this data and separate figures by the…

MPs have given the UK Renters Reform Bill its Second Reading – a procedure which means it now continues into the Committee Stage, at which it will undergo line-by-line scrutiny. No vote was taken, as is common at the end of this stage of parliamentary business. Opening the debate Housing Secretary Michael Gove repeatedly spoke of the need to balance the needs of tenants and landlords in the progress of…

Propertymark has called on the government to reintroduce the Empty Homes Programme following the latest news that England has a growing empty homes problem. England used to have an Empty Homes Programme, which provided funds to bring empty homes back into use. The programme ran between 2012-15 but was not renewed after the Tories won an outright majority that year. Recent figures from property purchasing specialist House Buyer Bureau found…

Nearly half of tenants are struggling to make their monthly rent payments, Which? has claimed, urging those in trouble to seek help from their landlord for ‘temporary help’. A poll of some 4,000 households by the consumer advocacy group found widespread financial problems when paying for a roof over their head with 46% saying they were struggling, which equates to approximately seven million people. Although the poll included both mortgage…

An estimated seven million UK households are struggling to keep up with their mortgage or rent payments, Which? warns, with millions more at risk of tipping into financial difficulty by the end of 2024. A Which? survey of 4,000 people found 46 per cent of households with mortgages or who are renting have been struggling to keep up with their housing payments – which equates to an estimated seven million…

Police are urging letting agents and landlords to act swiftly if they think one of their let properties is being used as a cannabis factory. Cannabis factories cause thousands of pounds worth of damage to the let properties in which they are housed and can pose a serious risk to the local community due to the bypassing of the electrical supply. Rented properties – both commercial and domestic – are…

Westminster’s Labour controlled council is stepping up its war on Airbnbs and other short-term rentals. It was a mandatory registration system for short-term rentals, would like powers to impose its own overnight levy on users, and make AirBnb landlords pay higher council tax. In a speech in London the council’s leader, Adam Hug, describes the proliferation of short lets as an ‘enforcement nightmare’. And he points out that in one…

Propertymark has given strong support to the government’s “flexible and affordable” approach to the green policy agenda. Timothy Douglas, Head of Policy and Campaigns at Propertymark, says: “Property agents have been desperate for clarity from the UK Government on new green policy agenda for energy efficiency targets and now we know that the planned changes will be scrapped with no new targets for homeowners and landlords. “Propertymark continues to want…

An agency has been fined by a London council for failing a property licensing it was managing. Gracechurch Property Services has been prosecuted by Enfield council over the breach. The property management and letting agency was convicted for managing a privately rented property that was required to be licensed under the council’s selective licensing scheme. Gracechurch Property Services received a £7,500 fine and was ordered to pay £1,299 in costs…

Fewer than one in five homeowners support the government’s gas boiler ban plans in new homes by 2025, with 83 per cent in favour of the delay announced this week.  First announced in 2019 the gas boiler ban had originally intended to phase out all gas boilers by 2025.  However, while the delay to the ban has been focussed around giving landlords and homeowners more time to make the change,…

A prominent housing industry supplier is urging agents and landlords to lobby MPs to suggest improvements to the Renters Reform Bill. Housing industry supplier PayProp UK says informed comments may bring about some last-minute changes if the Bill is enacted soon – or may influence its ongoing direction under a new government. As the Renters (Reform) Bill currently stands, it is viewed negatively by 62.1 per cent of respondents to…

The chief executive of Propertymark has reiterated his call for the government to make investment in buy to let attractive. Nathan Emerson says: “The growing disparity in the number of homes available to rent when compared with increased demand from prospective tenants is alarming and continues to widen from already worrying levels which is putting pressure on rents. “In turn, more and more tenants are falling into arrears as affordability…

The National Residential Landlords Association is urging the government to make clear how it will help courts tackle a growing backlog of possession cases. In an open letter, the National Residential Landlords Association sets out the need to tackle the delays of sometimes six months or more before landlords can take back possession of their rental property – particularly so with section 21 set to be abolished in the Renters’…

A new survey reveals that rental properties with a low EPC rating below C are already more difficult to sell to other landlords, despite uncertainty over when strict energy efficiency rules kick in. A survey for Foundation Home Loans reveals that 71 per cent of almost 1,000 landlords who responded said they were unlikely to buy a property which has an EPC rating of less than C – for portfolio…

A legal advice service for landlords and their agents says it’s identified several areas with particularly lengthy delays in finding court time for possession cases. Several factors have contributed to the backlog, including delays caused by the pandemic and funding cuts; and Legal4Landlords, a legal advice service for landlords, says the issue has been made worse because of fears about the Renters Reform Bill forcing landlords to leave the sector.…

Propertymark has fired a broadside at Labour saying it must provide agents with a proper court system to handle no-fault evictions. Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner – who is also shadow housing secretary – has told her party conference in Liverpool that if she came to office she would push through the ban on Section 21 evictions. This is also a key feature of the Conservatives’ Renters Reform Bill. A…

Labour’s new shadow Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Secretary, Angela Rayner, says she will put council housing at the heart of her reform agenda, in a bid to reduce demand in the private rental sector. Rayner has told the TUC Congress: “As a young single mum, it was a Labour government that levelled the playing field for me. When I most needed it, a council house gave me and my…

More people are struggling with their private rental payments according to a new government survey. The study, by the Office for National Statistics, does not differentiate directly between tenants and owner occupiers but among those currently paying rent or a mortgage, 45 per cent reported that their private rental payments or mortgage payments had gone up in the past six months. Among those who are currently paying rent or a…