Archive

Last weekend a story by The Sunday Times’ Deputy Political Editor indicated that the Government is proposing implementing a £250 cap...

Propertymark has urged the UK Government to consider other ways of boosting the supply of homes for purchase.  The Government has two...

Plans to set ground rents at a ‘peppercorn rate’ are reported to have been dropped amid opposition from freehold campaigners and...

The Government has given local authorities powers to double the council tax charged on long-term empty homes after 12 months. The time...

From medieval castles to Elizabethan manor houses, Georgian townhouses and Victorian terraces, the UK’s historic buildings are central to our country’s...

Let's be honest – landlords are the lifeblood of any letting agency. Winning and keeping their business keeps the wheels turning...

Yulia Barnes is founder and managing partner of Barnes Law   2024 is set to be another significant year for the property...

After months of negative messaging and anti-development sentiment, espoused both nationally by the Government, and locally during May’s local election campaigning,...

The debate over the Green Belt, and the newly branded ‘grey belt’, has made the headlines a lot recently and will...

The Government recently consulted upon a revised approach to local plans. Throughout the consultation document, frequent use is made of the...

Leasehold campaigners are urging anyone responding to the Government’s consultation on ground rents reform to boycott all options but capping them...

There has been much barn conversion activity in recent years perhaps as a result of the change in farming methods making...

The Government has outlined five proposals to reduce ground rents for existing leaseholders as its latest attempt to reform the sector...

By Neil Cobbold Recent data from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities show that 24,260 households served a valid Section...

A client account is essential to your lettings business, but the rules and regulations you need to follow to keep this...

Knight Frank has entered a redundancy consultation process with staff. The agency and property brand has said up to 3% of roles...

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC)  was this week due to conclude its consultation on proposed changes to...

Introduced to Parliament in May, the Renters (Reform) Bill seeks to improve the private rental sector for both tenants and landlords....

Purplebricks staff are facing job cuts just months after the takeover by Strike. A spokesperson for Purplebricks has confirmed rumours that it...

The Government has set out yet another attempt to meet it manifesto commitment to build 1m homes over this Parliament. Prime Minister...

There’s a warning today that confusion over plans to transition rural properties to greener heating systems may be deterring buyers. Trade association...

Landlords are exiting the market in droves. According to an accountancy firm who analysed HMRC data, 70,000 buy-to-let landlords left the sector...

As the unending attack on landlords continues, many are succumbing to the pressures of increased taxes, interest rates rising, regulations becoming...

Is it really just a year ago that we were nervously wondering whether yet another Christmas would be Covid-affected? Little did we...

The Government has officially watered-down proposals for mandatory local housebuilding targets as it brings its flagship Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill...

The Northern Ireland Executive should seek devolved powers over Stamp Duty, Propertymark claims. The agency trade body has urged the Executive to...

The Government has unveiled a pilot scheme aimed to help more flat owners whose homes have become unsafe and, in some...

The Government is being urged to exclude spray foam insulation from its new Eco+ scheme aimed at improving the energy efficiency...

There was plenty of upset off the pitch after the Football Association’s last-minute u-turn – in fear of FIFA sanctions -...

Given their leading role in the recent upfront information revolution, interest in the work of the National Trading Standards Estate &...

MPs have criticised the lack of detail in the government’s flagship Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill when it comes to housebuilding...

I look back on when my dad helped me buy my first car and shared his pearls of wisdom on what...

Zoopla has informed employees of staff cuts this morning. It has entered a consultation process with employees across a number of teams...

A high-profile review of the governance and purpose of the RICS has said the need for change at the institution is...

It’s easy to overestimate the importance of something in one’s own industry or work, but there seems good reason for believing...

Local residents are to be given the final say on changes to the name of their street under new government plans. The...

PayProp’s recent Rental Confidence Index survey polled property professionals about their biggest concerns for 2022. Unsurprisingly, new regulations were a top...

There’s still one part of the UK where agents enjoy almost unfettered freedom without legislation or redress - and this has...

Propertymark is urging agents to respond to a consultation exercise being conducted by the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agents...

The Bank of England has issued a consultation on changing the affordability tests for large mortgages introduced in the wake of...

A bid to regulate second home ownership in part of the UK through changes to planning policy will add complexity and...

An estate agency has announced what it calls a ‘Global Citizenship Division’ to take advantage of a surge in interest for...

A consultation exercise on government proposals for its business rates review is totally “underwhelming” according to property agency Colliers. The consultation ends...

A famous environmental campaigner has sold his home to a local - because he feels second homes are “obscene and grotesque.” Green...

Will he stay or will he go? You don’t need me to say who ‘he’ is - it’s the only story...

Owners of second homes who abuse a tax loophole by claiming their often-empty properties are holiday lets will be forced to...

Leasehold, quite rightly, remains not just an emotive topic given what has happened over the past decade, but it’s very much...

Estate agents, and indeed all professionals, should be offered the option of flexible working when they are appointed to the job. That’s...

HM Revenue & Customs is consulting on how it can clamp down on property professionals and buyers who allegedly try to...

A pilot scheme has been announced to test ways of limiting second home ownership and reducing the impact additional properties have...

Disclaimer: This article is intended for information only and does not constitute legal advice. As part of its 2020 budget, the UK...

Controversial London agency Foxtons is to review its policy on top management bonuses. This follows a shareholder revolt at the agency's AGM...

In this guest editorial, experienced property solicitor Lorraine Richardson argues that reservation agreements - designed to reduce the number of fall-throughs in...

The government is reportedly planning to abandon its next stage of planning reforms. The proposals, previously under consultation, would have given councils...

A nationalist party has blasted a Labour government in one national region of the UK for its lack of intervention in...

The estate agents’ trade body has set out three ways conveyancers can further help the sales process. Propertymark has made the suggestions...

Here’s a new way to encourage house moves - pay the potential vendor £50,000. The Scottish Government is launching an official consultation...

Ben Ridgway gives his views on the current market, material information and PropTech for agents. What is your current view of the...

A call has gone out for Property Logbooks to receive official recognition as “digital assets” by the Law Commission: the move...

The race to complete home sales before the stamp duty holiday came to an end on June 30 has created what...

A consultation into the draft New Homes Quality Code has been published with a consultation period for the industry ending on...

The Oxfordshire-based PropTech founders and software developers of Openview, today announced they have welcomed Pattinson Estate Agents to their list of clients.   Peter Grant, Managing...

Agents’ views are being sought by Propertymark on how best to improve the housing supply in Northern Ireland. The province’s Department for...

In an industry which is faced with constant changes in day-to-day practices and even more so given the Covid terrain which agents...

A report by the Office of Tax Simplification on Capital Gains Tax has called for a series of changes. They include extending...

The Trading Standards agency team has outlined to Estate Agent Today the process it will follow to improve what it calls...

The controversial demands of Trading Standards for more “material information” to be provided upfront in property details have been criticised by...

The government has launched a formal consultation process on a new residential property developer tax which is to contribute towards cladding...

Controversial Foxtons chief executive Nic Budden is to pocket a bonus package of around £1m - despite a huge shareholder rebellion at...

It’s costing taxpayers £750,000 just for the government to update its IT systems to handle the stamp duty holiday.  In a document...

Some 30 tax documents have been released by HM Treasury this afternoon - a mix of responses to past consultations, proposals...

The events of the last 12 months have potentially shaped the future of our sector for years to come. There has been...

There is growing speculation that a raft of tax proposals to be unveiled next week will include reform of Capital Gains...

As a property agent, fancy marketing terminology such as ‘omnichannel’ might not hold too much interest for you right now. We’re in...

Chancellor Rishi Sunak says the stamp duty holiday on properties up to £500,000 will be extended from March 31 to June 30; from...

Tax experts suggest the widely expected reform of Capital Gains Tax is unlikely to be announced in tomorrow’s Budget - at...

It’s been revealed that some far reaching changes to property taxes may not be unveiled at Wednesday’s Budget and may wait...

Propertymark has slammed government energy efficiency proposals as being “unrealistic, too simplistic and could deter people from moving home.” A formal consultation...

A new body which says it will “champion better outcomes for buyers” is described as independent but is to be chaired...

Almost a year ago the government announced that estate and lettings agencies were to be included in the business rates relief...

A property industry body representing developers wants the government to think again about making it easier for redundant High Street shops...

It now looks likely that Hunters will be taken over by The Property Franchise Group after several months of talks, subject...

In a wide-ranging video interview for his Move iQ service, Phil Spencer speaks to buying agent and TV property pundit Henry...

In the not-too-distant future, it will be possible to order a driverless car to collect you and then drive you to...

An estate agency group has launched new franchise business models to help those in the industry impacted by Covid-19. Century 21 UK...

In a dramatic New Year’s Eve statement on the London Stock Exchange, Countrywide has agreed the terms of a recommended offer...

Propertymark has told the government that it needs to introduce overarching regulation of agents now, because existing piecemeal provisions are unmanageable...

A report commissioned by the government suggests a doubling of Capital Gains Tax on profits from the sale of second homes. The government -...

Foxtons has announced that its remuneration policy for senior management is to stay unchanged - and it says a voting problem...

One of the country’s major regional agencies has unveiled a ‘super hub’ structure which began life as a lockdown measure but...

OnTheMarket has confirmed it is “considering” making redundancies - the second of the large portals to be in this position. Rumours have been...

If a week is a long time in politics (an old phrase, for younger readers), then a year is a very long...

Earlier this month, it was revealed that property industry bodies have joined a new Code of Practice Steering Group to enact...

The new code of conduct for estate agents has been dismissed as “a waste of time” - and the senior industry...

Agents now have a chance to say what they think should be in a new Code of Conduct being discussed following...

Speculation is mounting that Capital Gains Tax could for the first time be applied to gains made when owners sell first...

A London Labour council has won draconian powers to effectively ban For Sale and To Let boards in several parts of...

Propertymark is calling in the government for agents to be trained in the use of software operating the Unique Property Reference...

A new estate agency Code of Practice is to be written by a group set up by the Royal Institution of Chartered...

Back in the day, party politics and the private rental sector used to be straightforward. Conservatives were pro-landlord, Labour were pro-tenant, while...