Scotland’s housing emergency could worsen without proper backing for small-scale, part-time landlords who now dominate the rental market, property expert David Alexander says. His warning comes as the Housing (Scotland) Bill prepares to become law, with fresh research highlighting how crucial small landlords have become over three decades. A comprehensive study by the UK Collaborative […]

Despite London and the South East seeing a drop in the salary required to rent, regional differences remain, with rents continuing to rise across parts of the UK. According to Propertymark’s rental price and average salary tracker, London and the South East recorded the sharpest year-on-year declines in the average salary needed to rent a […]

Most landlords take pride in maintaining safe and decent homes. Yet every so often, stories emerge of letting agents marketing and renting out properties that are clearly unfit for human habitation. These cases grab national headlines because they strike at the heart of trust in the rental market. In one case reported in the UK […]

This week, the Green Party backed a plan to see the end of private letting. A motion passed at its party conference at the weekend called for the party “to seek the effective abolition of private landlordism”. Whilst this is laughable, many landlords aren’t seeing the joke, because the Green Party, despite not being in […]

A Propertymark member agent warns, “landlords are running scared of the Renters’ Rights Bill.” Propertymark’s Housing Insight Report reveals member agents are worried about the bill as landlords look to leave the market. The report also shows that, despite a drop in rent arrears and a steady return of available rental properties, this is still […]

A tenant group claims landlords selling up won’t be bad for renters, as there’s no evidence of the private rented sector shrinking. Director of the Renters’ Reform Coalition, Tom Darling, made the bold claim during a panel on reforming the private rented sector at the Conservative Party Conference. As previously reported by Property118, landlords selling […]

Labour’s housing target of 1.5 million homes by the end of this Parliament is doomed to fail without urgent action, claims firm. Analysis from planning consultancy Lanpro reveals delivery is 10% down on the ten-year average, and well below the 300,000 per year widely accepted as the minimum needed to reach Labour’s pledge. At the […]

An agent did a viewing with a new prospective tenant and noticed cockroaches. Unfortunately, the agent didn’t inform us and told the previous tenants to treat it by themselves instead of being treated professionally and to receive some sort of guarantee to say the property is clear to be let out again. The agency proceeded […]

Rent rises are cooling in some parts of the country, but not enough to help alleviate tenant affordability issues, research reveals. The latest data from Canopy’s Q3 Rental Affordability Index also found that the average renter is now spending 41% of their take-home income on rent. The index, which draws on more than 112,000 data […]

Getting onto the property ladder may be more achievable than many first-time buyers realise, data from Lloyds reveals. The bank says that buying a home with a 5% deposit is typically 17% cheaper than renting, even with higher mortgage rates. The findings compare average rent payments with first-time buyer mortgage costs in 11 major UK […]

Industry bodies are warning Scottish landlords that blanket “no pets” policies are likely to become harder to enforce. Under the Scottish Housing Bill, tenants will be able to request permission to keep a pet in their home, and landlords will not be able to unreasonably refuse such requests. While pet charities have welcomed the proposal, […]

Imagine this: you’re scrolling through rental listings, and one advert shows a gorgeous, modern two-bedroom apartment with sleek furniture, stylish décor, and a pristine kitchen. A tenant rushes to book a viewing—only to discover that the actual flat is nothing like the photos. Instead, it is dated, tired, and bears no resemblance to the dream […]

Mystic Mortar’s Landlord Horoscope Edition: Friday 3 October 2025 Welcome, star-gazers and key-holders, to another week where the skies sprinkle both promise and puzzles across your landlord journey. Gather close, for the stars whisper secrets of charm, caution and opportunity in the property realm. This week, the Sun in Libra joins Mercury and Venus, making […]

Last weekend, Green Party members voted like lemmings to ‘seek the effective abolition of private landlordism’ at their conference in Bournemouth, and become the first political party to effectively declare war on much-maligned landlords around the country. The motion, aptly titled ‘Abolish Landlords’, won strong delegate backing to become official party policy and promise heavy […]

Buy to let lenders have unveiled a wave of new mortgage products and lending criteria to meet the changing demands of the BTL landlords. The Mortgage Works has broadened its line-up for incorporated landlords with remortgage deals on two- and five-year fixed terms without solicitor costs. Its portfolio for multi-tenant dwellings gains fresh fixed-rate choices […]

A property expert has warned fears over the Renters’ Rights Bill are driving many landlords to house asylum seekers instead. Paul Shamplina, founder of Landlord Action, told the i newspaper that landlords are now striking deals with Serco instead of renting to private tenants. Industry experts told the i landlords are drawn by guaranteed rent […]

Landlords are pulling out of the PRS at the fastest rate since the early pandemic to leave behind a growing shortage of rental homes, RICS says. In its latest Residential Market Survey, the organisation warns that as a consequence, tenants are being facing affordability issues. The latest data shows that tenant demand was broadly unchanged […]

UK room rents have reached record-breaking levels, as undersupply and high demand leave renters struggling. According to data by SpareRoom, the UK average room rent has reached an all-time high of £753 per month. Over the past five years, rents in the UK have risen 28% and in London by 37%. We need to address […]

New research has uncovered a striking property price gap between homes near the nation’s best and worst-performing train stations. Findings by estate agents eXP show that across the 20 best-performing stations, where just 1.85% of trains are cancelled on average, the typical sold price of a home is £507,044. In contrast, across the postcodes of […]

Landlords in Wales are enjoying the UK’s strongest returns, data reveals. According to Paragon Bank’s Q3 Buy to Let Yield Report, the region recorded an impressive average gross yield of 8.84% by September’s end. That’s a rise from 8.59% in the previous quarter and a big jump from 7.13% in early 2023. High tenant demand […]

Letting agents play a vital role in the rental sector, but sometimes their mistakes are so outrageous that they leave both landlords and tenants speechless. From bizarre miscommunications to costly oversights, these real-world stories highlight what can go wrong when agents get it badly wrong. In this new series, we will be sharing some of […]