Secretary of State tells newspaper over the weekend that he also intends to ban developers who don’t replace cladding on at-risk towers. Housing secretary Michael Gove admitted over the weekend that wishes to see the leasehold system through which most apartments and many houses are sold, abolished. “I don’t believe leasehold is fair in any way. It is an outdated feudal system that needs to go. And we need to…

The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, which implement the majority of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry recommendations, came into force this week on 23 January 2023. These are new requirements for ‘responsible persons’ of mid and high-rise blocks of flats to provide information to fire and rescue services to assist them with operational planning and provide additional safety measures. In all multi-occupied residential buildings, residents should now be provided with fire…

Agents’ body Propertymark wants more government action to boost housing supply – and it wants the views of the industry on the issue. In December the Department for Levelling up Housing and Communities launched a consultation on its upcoming planning reforms.  Propertymark says it wants the views of agents and other industry players ahead of making its response to the consultation. Timothy Douglas, Head of Policy and Campaigns comments: “Propertymark…

The Labour Party is to launch a major review of the private rental sector, led by the head of a London council. Few details have yet been released but on Saturday the review was announced by shadow Levelling Up Secretary Lisa Nandy. The review is to be led by Stephen Cowan, the leader of Hammersmith and Fulham council. Nandy says: “Housing isn’t a market. It’s a fundamental human right. “That’s why Labour has…

Proposed Government reforms of the private rented sector threaten to make it harder for students to enter higher education, according to a letter signed by the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) and organisations from across the higher education sector, which has been sent to the Ministers for Private Housing and Higher Education respectively. The Government’s plans, outlined in its White Paper on rental reform, propose that all student housing, with the exception…

Attempted fraud in the letting sector has risen sharply over the past two years, it’s been claimed. Tenant reference provider Homeppl claims that 91 per cent of the fraud it flags up in UK rental applications stem from applicants attempting to conceal their true affordability by modifying original financial documents or creating completely fake ones.  It adds that on average it now costs £44,000 to evict a fraudulent tenant in the…

Propertymark has told a UK government to stop ignore the damaging effect of its policies on the private rental sector. An outspoken statement from the trade body has been issued following a debate in the Scottish Parliament – the same parliament that recently imposed an emergency rent freeze and eviction ban on landlords.  Tories in the Parliament have said that the consequences of the rent freeze and eviction ban constitute a…

October 1st is a very common day for new legislation to come into force in the UK, and this year is no exception. Both right to rent and smoke and carbon monoxide alarm requirements change on Saturday and landlords will have to ensure they are compliant from this date. Smoke and CO alarms As of 1 October PRS properties must have a working carbon monoxide alarm in almost every room…

Landlords are calling on the Chancellor to adopt a cost of living plan for the private rented sector as tenants and landlords face ever growing costs. In a letter to Kwasi Kwarteng, the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) warns that whilst private rents are increasing by less than inflation, rising energy, food and other bills will make it more difficult for many tenants to meet their rent payments. The NRLA…

Almost 90 per cent of landlords feel the Government’s White Paper on rental reform demonstrates an anti-landlord agenda, according to new research by the NRLA.  The NRLA surveyed 3,500 landlords immediately after publication of the document ‘A Fairer Private Rented Sector’, and while the full data set is still being analysed, early indications are that landlords have serious concerns about where proposed changes will lead. When questioned, 87 per cent said…

Landlords are being urged to prepare for changes to Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm Regulations that introduce an obligation to repair or replace any alarm which is found to be faulty during a tenancy. Forthcoming changes to the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm Regulations are expected as soon as Autumn 2022 when carbon monoxide alarms will be mandatory in rooms with a fixed combustion appliance in private rented homes and…

With a new report showing almost 230,000 new PRS homes a year will be needed in the coming years NRLA chief executive Ben Beadle calls for Government action to help landlords continue to supply homes for those that need them. Demand has been outstripping supply in the PRS for some time now, with rents rising as competition for homes intensifies. Now a new report by the economics consultancy, Capital Economics, commissioned by…

The UK needs almost 230000 new private rented homes a year to meet government housing targets across the UK, according to a new report by the economics consultancy, Capital Economics. The report, commissioned by the National Residential Landlords Association, observes that Government targets would amount to the need for 340,000 new homes a year across the UK by the middle of the decade. Capital Economics finds that if owner occupation…

Around 10 per cent of PRS landlords with UC renters have faced at least one experiencing hardship because of the benefit cuts according to a survey carried out by an industry trade body. The government cut the extra £20 a week payments for UC recipients in October last year after the pandemic related temporary increase was ended. ‘Hot on the heels’ of the government’s announcement the industry trade body undertook…

It is widely anticipated that at long last the DWP is going to drastically reduce the wait for repayments of Universal Credit tenants rental arrears, which will be a huge relief to both landlords and affected tenants. The Department for Works and Pensions has just held discussions with several stakeholders including a firm running an accreditation scheme for agents, and unveiled their plans to change the timescale of repayments for…

Almost one in four private landlords faced rental income losses as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. With those landlords affected almost twice as likely to sell property as those who were not, the National Residential Landlords Association is warning that the pandemic has exacerbated a supply crisis now facing tenants. A new poll by YouGov for the NRLA has found that, between March 2020 and September 2021, 23 per…

Propertymark has hit back at the latest demand by politicians for rent controls. The London mayor Sadiq Khan renewed his call for rent controls last week, when unveiling a new qualification for Trading Standards officers investigating so-called landlords and rogue agents. And the Labour mayor of Bristol, Marvin Rees, has made a similar demand for his city, while Welsh nationalist party Plaid Cymru – which has an alliance with Labour…

Trading Standards and the government have jointly announced compulsory new data which must appear on property listings. A property’s council tax band or rate (for lettings and sales) and the property price and tenure information (for sales) must be included on all property listings by the end of May. Data fields for these particulars will start to appear on portals over the coming weeks. These changes represent the first phase of a project by the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team…

Fears have been raised that landlords’ needs won’t be properly served by the new digital tax system for self-employed people due in 2024 after it was revealed that only nine people are taking part in the pilot. HMRC admitted a sharp decline in the uptake of volunteers to test the new software since the trial began three years ago when 900 people signed up to take part, leading to concerns…

Losing mortgage interest tax relief – landlord tax changes – has prompted one in three landlords to think about selling up and one in four have raised rents. New research from The Landlord Works for Nationwide reveals that 37% of landlords have considered selling rental properties as a result of the tax changes. If found 77% feel the changes unfairly punish them, with the same percentage saying there should be more…