Yesterday the 30th October Countrywide Residential Lettings Nottingham faced a RICS Disciplinary Panel Hearing to defend the following charges: “Between 2008 and 2018, the Firm transferred a sum of £10,093,866 of client funds, representing unclaimed and unidentified client balances that had not been claimed for six years or more, from the Firm’s client account into […]

The UK’s worst Halloween house price drops and the cost of buying with a Halloween road name The latest research by national fast sale estate agent, Springbok Properties, has looked at where UK homeowners are in for the biggest fright this Halloween when it comes to the value change in their property since last year, […]

Too much attention is given to the idea that the sector is a problem which requires management. Instead the Residential Landlords Association argues that what is needed is a positive, ambitious programme for the sector which supports tenants and good landlords whilst rooting out the crooks who have no place in the sector. The RLA’s […]

Annual house price growth remained subdued at 0.4% while October saw a modest 0.2% rise month-on-month, after taking account of seasonal factors. Commenting on the figures, Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s Chief Economist, said: “Annual house price growth remained below 1% for the 11th month in a row in October, at 0.4%. Average prices rose by around […]

Grenfell Tower Phase 1 report response by Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union: “The Inquiry’s interim report must finally be a turning point for fire safety in the UK. Warning after warning from previous fires were ignored; central government must now take responsibility for ensuring that recommendations are applied nationwide, not just […]

NAEA Propertymark has now released its September Housing Report and the number of sales made to First-time buyers increased in September, to 30%. This is the highest figure seen since February. Year on year, this is an increase of 36 percentage points from September 2018 when it stood at 22%. However, the number of house […]

The plot has thickened with regard to what will happen to Section 21. Yesterday, Esther McVey made the following statement with regard to its proposed scrapping: ‘In April this year the government announced that it proposes to consult on the future of Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988.’ Private Rented Housing: 28 Oct 2019: […]

Beware of bats this Halloween as over the winter months bats hibernate to stay out of the cold weather and residential buildings, in particular, present an ideal warm roosting site for female bats to rear their young. Scotland is home to nine species of bats and all have European protection. As such, special consideration has […]

Countrywide Residential Lettings Nottingham are due before a RICS Disciplinary Panel Hearing on the 30th October at 10am. The formal charges are quoted on the RICS website: “Between 2008 and 2018, the Firm transferred a sum of £10,093,866 of client funds, representing unclaimed and unidentified client balances that had not been claimed for six years […]

Our Hon. Legal Counsel, Mark Smith, Head of Chambers at Cotswold Barristers will be presenting an overview of several landlords tax strategies at the pin Bournemouth Meeting property networking event Tuesday 12th November 2019. The event will start at 6:00pm until 9:00pm and will be free for guests of Mark Smith that have not previously […]

Dame Judith Hackitt has been named as the government adviser on the new Building Safety Regulator, which will have the power to apply criminal sanctions to those breaking the new rules. A respected expert in building safety, Dame Judith Hackitt will provide independent advice to the government on how best to establish the powerful new […]

ARLA Propertymark’s Private Rented Sector (PRS) report has just been released for September. The number of tenants experiencing rent rises remains high overall with 58% of agents reporting an increase in rent prices, which  is up from 31% in September 2018, and 27% in September 2017. See Figure 1 below. However, the agents reporting the […]

I have a few apartments. The electrical meters etc. are communal and outside in a cupboard. The management agent refuses to let me have keys. I have asked many times. So, the inevitable happens. Out of hours, my pregnant tenant loses power. I call a sparky, he says it can only be solved by accessing […]

Rent controls hurt tenants by drying up the supply of homes to rent and in some cases increasing rents according to new research published today. With the Mayor of London calling for the power to introduce rent controls across the capital, an analysis of existing research by the Residential Landlords Association on the impact of […]

It costs an average of £245,128 to buy a house in the UK; but how much of that is actually spent on the house itself, from bricks to baths, and how much is generated just from the location? Research from comparethemarket.com indicates which regions are the most expensive in terms of the location alone, based […]

After a section 8 possession hearing, we got the possession granted and before court shelter approached us, but we declined to speak to them. Shelter also confirmed that the tenant was receiving housing through Universal Credit, but not paying us the landlord. I then received this email from BCP council: Good morning, I have been […]

On Monday 28 October at 7.30pm, BBC Inside Out (London*) will highlight the growing number of people making a business out of their tenancy via short-term rental platforms, without their landlords’ permission. The show covers the story of a landlord who ended up £10,000 out of pocket after his tenants ‘professionally’ sublet his property in […]

I am delighted to announce that Hemel and St Albans property network has partnered with renowned industry website Property118, this supports the ongoing commitment I have for education of landlords in the private rented sector, helping raise the awareness of the responsibilities they have throughout the Industry, as well as provide ongoing education events. Property118 […]

The #MyTown campaign gives people a say in how a new generation of Town Deals, each worth up to £25 million, should transform the place they call home. People in 100 places across England have the chance to write the next chapter for their towns thanks to a new campaign launched by Communities and Local […]

Dan Wilson Craw is Director of the organisation that calls itself Generation Rent. He was quoted yesterday as follows: “Without a reliable housing benefit system, Londoners on low incomes are getting into debt, going without food and heating or being forced to move out of neighbourhoods they grew up in. “This is fuelling physical and […]

The RLA are warning of a rented housing supply crisis as a new survey shows more landlords are selling properties than buying whilst demand continues to increase. According to research by the Residential Landlords Association based on a survey of over 2,700 landlords, almost 25% have seen the demand for private rented property increase over […]