The Labour Party pledges to extend Awaab’s Law to private sector
admin The Labour Party has committed to extending Awaab’s Law – where social landlords have to fix hazards quickly…
Real Estate
Landlords suffer ‘double jeopardy’ with selective licensing schemes
Landlords can suffer a ‘double jeopardy’ of tenants committing anti-social behaviour and taking action against them due to…
The ever-increasing burden on residential landlords
Michael Ellis, partner in the property & commercial litigation team at Wilsons Solicitors LLP Over the past 10…
Super Prime tenancies a growth area
The amount of super prime tenancies has increased by 10% in 2023, signalling a return of the prestigious…
How can I help my loved one get on the property ladder?
By Sarah Thompson, managing director, Mortgage Scout Compared with a decade ago, today’s first-time buyers are older, more…
North East to buck the trend of house price falls
While property prices are set to fall across much of the UK in early 2024, the North East…
Bristol economy to outpace the rest of the UK
The Bristol economy is expected to grow by 8.9% over the next five years, significantly outpacing the rest…
Propertymark urges government to hold landlord forums
Local authorities need to hold landlord forums to allow them to properly engage with the Renters Reform Bill…
Strong activity in 2024 so far despite ‘buyers market’
There’s been a strong seasonal bounce of mortgage activity – driven by pent-up demand and rates dropping below…
Knight Frank urges use of ‘grey belt’
The UK’s next elected government needs to engage in an “urgent and sensible conversation” around the green belt,…
What landlords should watch out for in 2024
By Allison Thompson, national lettings managing director, Leaders Romans Group 2024 will be a year to watch for…
Landlords show strong demand for building inspections
Building inspections are the most in-demand property management service in London, SBA Property Management has found. This is…
Vancouver residents have huge household debt
People living in Vancouver on average have C$360,683 consumer debt – six times the national average in Canada,…
Buy-to-let landlords flock to Glasgow
Glasgow has been the UK city with the biggest rise in the number of buy-to-let properties in the…
Insolvent tenants of commercial premises – what are a landlord’s options?
James Parratt is in the real estate disputes team at Thomson Snell & Passmore Insolvency numbers have risen…
Holiday homes far more expensive than the PRS
The average cost of a short-term holiday let sits at £3,325 per month across 30 UK hotspots –…
Complete Fibre and Raven Housing Trust partner for Full Fibre rollout
Complete Fibre, the Full Fibre infrastructure specialist, has been selected by social housing provider Raven Housing Trust to…
EXCLUSIVE: Trio of landlord sublet victims come forward
Multiple London landlords have come forward saying they have been scammed by the same letting agent working in…
One in four property insurance claims come from storm damage
Storm damage to property was the cause of over a quarter of claims for their residential property clients…
Government considers introducing 1% mortgage
The government is considering introducing a 1% deposit mortgage scheme as part of Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s upcoming March…
Homes generally took 16 viewings to sell in 2023
It takes an average of 16 property viewings for homes to be sold, research from Quick Move Now…
Propertymark: private sector property managers should be regulated
Estate agency membership group Propertymark has urged the government to make it so private rented sector property managers…
Forward funding – how it works and new complexities
Alan Twine and Celia Berg are partners from law firm BCLP Forward funding structures are typically used when…
Haringey homeowners to pay double council tax on empty homes after a year
The owners of long-term empty homes in Haringey will be forced to pay double their council tax bill…
Another year of change? How property law will evolve in 2024
Yulia Barnes is founder and managing partner of Barnes Law 2024 is set to be another significant year…
Energy efficient homes launched in Darlington
North of England housebuilder, Homes by Esh, has brought forward a development of 144 energy efficient homes in…
Damp and mould changes – a landlord’s responsibility
By Allison Thompson, national lettings managing director, Leaders Romans Group Damp and mould are two of the most…
More landlord-friendly amendments could be added to Renters Reform Bill
Landlords are urging MPs to back ‘pragmatic’ changes to the Renters (Reform) Bill. One change being proposed is…
UK inflation in surprise increase
The CPI inflation rate inched up to 4.0% in December – making the prospect of a base rate…
High-pressure spray foam selling tactics condemned
Relentless sales techniques associated with spray foam insulation have been condemned by manufacturer Huntsman Building Solutions. Salespeople for…
Aspiring buyers prioritise energy efficiency
Having an energy efficient home is important to 72% of buyers – indicating that it’s increasingly becoming a…
SO Resi launches shared ownership homes in Surrey
Cranleigh in Surrey will see its housing stock boosted this winter by one-bedroom apartments and two-bedroom houses being…
Landlords invest in urban flats amidst the return to office working
Landlords are doubling down on urban flats as prospective buyers revert to city living amidst the return to…
EXCLUSIVE: Landlord fighting back in sublet arrears case
A landlord has taken action after being bamboozled into letting to a tenant who didn’t pay the rent…
UK landlords owed an average of £725 in late rent
Property investors are increasingly struggling with tenants who are late or not paying the rent, research from mortgage…
50,000 buy-to-let companies set up 2023
Over 50,000 buy-to-let companies were set up in 2023, highlighting that the limited company model is becoming more…
Wales launches holiday let licensing scheme
Landlords with holiday lets in Wales will have to join a register saying where and how they are…
infinitSpace launches third flexible workspace in London within The Bower
Flexible workspace provider infinitSpace has entered into a management agreement with FTSE-listed real estate firm Helical plc to…
Landlords worried about tenant affordability
Two-fifths (44%) of landlords are worried about tenants being unable to pay rent as we head into the…
Rent drops for second month in a row
Rents fell by 0.9% between November to December – providing some respite to tenants after months of increases,…
Commercial construction lending drops for ninth consecutive year
Lending for commercial construction is expected to fall for the ninth year in a row, underlying how demand…
Social landlord rules won’t be mirrored in private sector
New rules expecting social landlords to tackle issues like mould quickly won’t be passed on to the private…
Trade body’s property protection tips to tackle flooding
Householders dealing with the aftermath of Storm Henk can take steps to protect their homes from future flood…
What insurance protects you against flood damage
At the time of writing there are 82 flood warnings in place in England. Meanwhile there could be…
Stamp duty should be waived for over 65s, report recommends
UK housing stock would be better optimised if stamp duty was waived for the over-65s, persuading more people…
‘Awaab’s Law’: Social landlords must fix hazards in seven days
Landlords that manage social housing must investigate hazards within 14 days and make fixes in seven, under measures…
One in three homeowners renovating in 2024
A third (32%) of UK homeowners plan to take on major home renovation projects next year, according to…
London social landlords the worst offenders on damp and mould
London has the most social landlords with mouldy and unsafe homes in the UK. Some 20 out of…
North East the best region for affordable investing
The North East of England is the place to be if you want to invest in properties under…
Greenwich landlords risk £30,000 fine if they fail to sign up to HMO licensing scheme
Landlords operating HMOs in Greenwich need to ensure they’re signed up to an additional licensing scheme this week,…
Is inheritance tax a dastardly double dip by the Revenue, or a feeble form of wealth distribution?
By, Trevor Abrahmsohn, Glentree International With the spring Budget looming on March 6, there are theatrical whispers about…
More property transactions falling through
Fall throughs cost UK buyers and sellers an estimated £270m in the third quarter of last year. This…
Mortgage Applications: getting ready to buy in 2024
Alan Davison, personal finance distribution director at Together shares his five top tips to help first-time buyers get…
Landlords: Losing Section 21 the biggest challenge of 2024
The abolition of Section 21 evictions poses the greatest challenge in 2024, according to landlords. Limits to rental…
Turkey experiencing fastest house price growth in the world
The Turkish cities of Ankara and Istanbul saw the highest house price growth in the world in the…
Londoners spending less outside the capital this year
Londoners spent £28.7bn on homes outside the capital this year, 29% or £11.7bn less than in 2022 and…
What lies ahead for prime markets in 2024
Charles Leigh, sales director at Finchatton How has the London prime residential property performed in 2023 and how…
Landlords focusing on HMOs – PropertyWire
An increased number of brokers are searching for HMO mortgage products, reflecting that more landlords are taking on…
450 homes being developed in King’s Lynn village
A development of 450 homes will be delivered in South Wootton, on the outskirts of King’s Lynn. The…
30,000 register as overseas property owners
Some 30,000 foreign property owners have registered with Companies House, in what marks a world first. The Register…
Michael Gove points finger at councils
Michael Gove has named and shamed seven councils whom he blamed on blocking housing developments. St Albans, Amber…
House prices way over-valued, says Zoopla
UK housing costs 10-15% more than it should according to Zoopla – as prices have only fallen by…
IMLA: Mortgage market to worsen next year – before rebounding
After falling off a cliff in 2023 mortgage lending will fall again next year – before picking up…
Inflation rate drops to 3.9%
The CPI inflation rate has fallen again to 3.9% in November – meaning the prospect of a base…
Higher mortgage payments haven’t finished filtering through to rents
Almost two thirds of private landlords expect to see their mortgage payments increase over the next 12 months…
Buy-to-let landlords paying nearly 3x more
The cost of mortgage payments have surged by 283% since 2021 for landlords using interest-only, highlighting the dramatic…
Government allocates extra £1.5 billion to Boiler Upgrade Scheme
The government has committed a further £1.5 billion to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme from the £6 billion pot…
Scottish government urged to scrap rent controls in today’s Budget
A lawyer and estate has urged the Scottish government to ‘reset’ its relationship with the landlord sector in…
Housr launches £5m growth funding round ahead of UK and US expansion
Student living start-up Housr has opened the door to investors for a £5 million growth funding round, as…
Banned landlord under fire for using Airbnb
A rogue investor already banned from operating as a landlord has been using Airbnb through a third party,…
Tech company adds AI descriptions and EPC lookups
PropertyBox, which enhances photos using AI, has targeted becoming the first all-in-one AI property marketing assistant for estate…
Falling swap rates indicate lower mortgage rates on the horizon
Mortgage rates are predicted to fall next year as lenders take advantage of cheaper funding, as average swap…
MPs: Funding needed to make Renters Reform Bill work
The Renters Reform Bill is doomed to fail unless local authorities are given more money to carry it…
Spitfire Homes secures site in Halesowen for 61 new homes
Spitfire Homes has completed the acquisition of a 5.6-acre brownfield site in Halesowen. The Midlands-based housebuilder has already…
Unleash human potential and business growth with robotics process automation
Callum Board, client success director at REdirect As more property companies in the UK are embracing PropTech and…
Even wealthy tenants being asked for guarantors
Renters earning between £50,000-£74,999 are 82.3% more likely to have been asked to provide a guarantor in 2023…
Interest rates held at 5.25% – reaction
The Bank of England has opted to keep interest rates on hold at 5.25%, where they have stayed…
Heat pumps could be the norm from 2025
The government has targeted making heat pumps the standard way of heating a property from 2025, after it…
Empty building epidemic worsening – PropertyWire
Empty or derelict commercial properties on the high street are growing, according to 58% of people. Two thirds…
Off-market property platform builds up steam in 2023
Some 50,000 buyers are now using Invisible Homes, a platform linking buyers with off-market properties. The platform uses…
What’s in store for us in 2024?
By Trevor Abrahmsohn, Glentree International As we near the watershed at the end of the year, let’s look…
Labour pledges to make commonhold the default “if the government cannot deliver”
Shadow deputy prime minister Angela Rayner has pledged to make commonhold the default tenure for all properties, saying…
Student loans must reflect higher rents, says Hybr
The size of student loans must increase to compensate for the increasingly high rents charged by landlords, Hybr…
UK Finance: Buy-to-let lending on course for -53% drop this year
The value of new UK buy-to-let lending is set to fall by -53% in 2023 according to trade…
The retirement living evolution – a brighter future for retirement communities.
Dominic Stead is property director at My Future Living The recent Autumn Budget brought some positive news for…
More estate agency mergers predicted in 2024
It’s likely there will be more mergers and acquisitions among estate agencies in 2024, Tom Goodman, managing director…
‘2024 likely to be another tough year for landlords’
Next year is likely to be tricky for landlords due to factors including the uncertainty of a General…
Retrospective leasehold reform could result in £31bn compensation drive
The government’s plans to retrospectively introduce a cap on ground rents could cost the taxpayer over £31bn in…
North London landlord forced to return £20,000 of rent
A landlord in Tottenham has been ordered to pay 12 months of rent and a £2,500 fine for…
Time to take politics out of housing with cross-party group
By Ritchie Clapson CEng MIStructE, co-founder of property development training company propertyCEO The modern era of Doctor Who…
DJ Alexander: Encourage green energy with incentives, not punishments
Scotland’s consultation to introduce green heating systems requires more of a carrot than stick approach, property firm DJ…
Platform specalising in rent-to-rent launches
A property platform has launched which pairs investors with brokers using the rent-to-rent model, called Proptific. The rent-to-rent…
Rogue landlords fined for evicting tenant with brain tumour and relisting property
Landlords in New Zealand have been fined after evicting a single mother with a brain tumour – only…
Three in four landlords raised rent this year
Three quarters of buy-to-let landlords (76%) have raised rent over the past year with the main reason being…
Rents up 7% year-on-year in England
Rental growth sits at 7.3% year-on-year in England, bringing the average to £1,666 in November. The biggest year-on-year…
November property market unusually strong compared to September
Due to the improved economic outlook the November property market was stronger than September, a rare phenomenon. That…
OnTheMarket founder blasts takeover as “short-termism on steroids”
OnTheMarket founder Trevor Abrahmsohn has accused the company’s shareholders of taking “gain today for pain tomorrow” after they…
Leaseholds to eventually be replaced by commonhold
Leasehold flats will eventually be banned and replaced by commonhold – though this is not included in the…
Scottish council to double taxation on second homes
Argyll and Bute council is set to double council tax on second homes and long-term empty properties in…
More landlords taking out 5-year fixes
A growing number of landlords are taking out five-year fixed rates, after they lost popularity following Liz Truss’s…
Mortgage approvals at three-month high
Mortgage approvals rose at a greater rate than economists expected in October, signalling that the UK may be…
Tech growth to continue fuelling North West digital sector
Manchester and Liverpool’s creative and digital sectors are predicted to see growth of more than 10% within the…
Younger buyers more open to green improvements
While a quarter of over-55s wouldn’t make any green home improvements if they have the option, the vast…
Buy-to-let arrears cases double in just one year
Cases of buy-to-let arrears have skyrocketed by 100% in a single year, as more landlords feel the pinch…
Protecting the Bank of Mum and Dad (and other similar “banks”)
Jenifer Martindale is partner in the property & commercial litigation team at Wilsons Solicitors. As property prices have…
Sadiq Khan calls for more action to tackle damp issues
The Mayor of London has asked the government to do more to tackle the issue of damp and…
US housing market to recover in second half of 2024
American home sales are expected to turn a corner in the second half of 2024 after being in…
Investing in Ghana – PropertyWire
Propertywire speaks to sisters Anna and Victoria Agyekum, founders of London-based boutique agency, On Point Property, a firm…
The Renters Reform Bill from an immigrant’s perspective
Olusegun Akinfenwa writes for Immigration Advice Service, a law firm based in the United Kingdom that offers immigration…
Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill moving through parliament
The government has finally started moving the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill through parliament, which will extend standard…
Bellway starts work on townhouses at Barking Riverside development
Bellway London has started work on a range of townhouses at the Barking Riverside regeneration scheme. The homebuilder…
Landlord deposit schemes to go hand-in-hand with evictions
Landlords will need to make sure they’re using a deposit scheme if they want to evict their tenant,…
Any house to be convertible into two flats – Autumn Statement
The government will consult on a law allowing any house to be converted into two flats as long…
Industry lukewarm on ‘housing light’ Autumn Statement
While there were changes to planning reform, national insurance and housing benefit, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Statement seems…
Webinar to help agents prep for the Renters (Reform) Bill in 2024 tomorrow
A webinar is being hosted by Goodlord to explore how agents can get ahead of the Renters (Reform)…
Newcastle the worst city for rental affordability
In Newcastle tenants have the hardest time finding a property based on the average cost of renting, research…
Lender urges industry to bring 95% LTV lending back
Mortgage lenders need to step up and offer 95% loan-to-value mortgages to help tackle the housing crisis, specialist…
Mortgage Guarantee Scheme extended for 18 months
The Mortgage Guarantee Scheme has been extended until the end of June 2025 in the Autumn Statement. The…
Propertymark urges Scottish government to end rent cap
Propertymark has appealed to the Scottish government to end the rent cap following Scottish Labour’s declaration of a…