Archive

Estate agency has changed. No longer is it required to sit in a high street office working the old way. Provide a...

First off, my own quick tribute to the Queen, who died on Thursday afternoon aged 96. Despite her age and declining...

Former Housing Secretary James Brokenshire has died at the age of 53. The Conservative ex-Cabinet minister, who was diagnosed with lung cancer...

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has changed its name to reflect the government’s levelling up agenda. The department’s...

Boris Johnson's sudden and unexpectedly ruthless Cabinet reshuffle, which drew comparisons with Margaret Thatcher's 'purge of the wets' in 1981, ended...

In a day of unexpected drama, Boris Johnson carried out a surprisingly brutal and widespread Cabinet reshuffle which saw a number...

Robert Jenrick has been sacked from his post as Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary. He was the third major name to...

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

I’m sorry to break this to you but in 10 days’ time it will be autumn - and we will have...

The number of Energy Performance Certificates issued for new build homes in England rose 16 per cent in the year to...

Agents have given their backing to the government’s First Homes initiative, offering discounted houses for local people and key workers and...

The Grenfell Tower disaster in June 2017 exposed the dangers of inflammable cladding on residential tower blocks, and what has come...

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has revealed that what it calls its “second HQ” will be in Wolverhampton,...

The government has set up a committee to push forward ideas on the collective form of homeownership known as commonhold. Housing Secretary...

A trade body says it’s been contacted by the government explaining how agencies can get Coronavirus asymptomatic testing for staff. The Guild of...

It’s now more than a year since the government offered an additional £4 million to councils to combat rogue landlords. At the...

The government has given details of two new taxes to provide funds to address the cladding problem on high rise tower blocks...

Agents and a wide range of property experts have demanded yet more government funds to end the cladding crisis that is...

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has announced “an exceptional intervention” promising that leaseholders in high-rise buildings above 18 metres will bear no...

An estate agent has shut both branches of his business for safety reasons and wants tighter Coronavirus restrictions on the industry.  ITV...

The Westminster government has published extensive guidance on the operation of the new Tier 4 Coronavirus restrictions in England. This includes a...

A scathing document produced by MPs slams the government for its “deplorable” housing policies which are "invented, abandoned and reinvented" -...

Propertymark is in touch with the government to see how the new Tier structure being introduced on December 3 will affect...

There’s one key takeaway for agents from the weekend’s announcements on the next England-wide lockdown - the housing market is staying...

Another attempt is being made to introduce property logbooks to the selling and buying process, and agents are invited to play a...

The Times has revealed new allegations concerning the behaviour of Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick. The Cabinet member has been under the spotlight...

Since June 1, under The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, landlords in England have been...

New guidance on face coverings for agents working in branches, and for those dealing directly with visitors, was issued last evening. A statement...

Home owners in England will be entitled to add up to two storeys to the height of their home via a...

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

The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 - which require increased electrical testing in rental properties...

More than 24 hours after the government's announcement about the compulsory wearing of facemasks by shoppers in England, and there is...

A PropTech supplier claims that an agency has secured the first ever transaction where the complete chain used Reservation Agreements.  Harrison Residential,...

Government guidelines regarding future Leicester-style local lockdowns suggest that branches can remain open and viewings can continue. However auction houses must shut. So...

It may be that by the time you read this it’s all over for Robert Jenrick, the Secretary of State for...

Housing minister Chris Pincher has now been named in media investigations into allegations concerning his political boss, Robert Jenrick, and the...

Guidance issued by the government explicitly advises agents, buyers and sellers that more activity should be done online if possible. “The process...

There has been much speculation about when agents will be allowed back to work, and what the new office working environment...

There’s been a furious response to the agent who appears to have breached government rules by opening his branch to the...

NAEA Propertymark has made a series of demands on the government in the light of the Coronavirus crisis.  In a formal written...

Agencies, many of which campaigned vigorously to be included in the business rates holiday announced in March by the government, have...

A trade body has reported some council search departments to the government for refusing to provide email details and forcing search...

It’s been reported that the government is talking with banks and building societies about putting the housing market ‘on ice’ during the...

The government has at last issued extensive advice on home moving and the activities of estate agents during the continuing Coronavirus crisis. This...

Propertymark has been told the agents should shut their offices immediately - they are not “essential businesses” under the new Coronavirus...

The head of a firm that has been creating digital property log books for well over a decade says the house-moving...

The government has launched a competition to attract what it calls “the best and brightest talents of the housing industry” to...

The Trading Standards report on the future of referral fees is almost completed and will be sent to government next week. However, James...

Trials of reservation agreements for buyers and sellers have been delayed until the late spring. Statements last year from the Ministry of Housing, Communities...

The government has - once again - announced the introduction of a New Homes Ombudsman.  The news came yesterday when Housing Secretary...

Earlier this month, Boris Johnson carried out a reshuffle of his cabinet, telling ministers they must 'repay the trust of those...

Esther McVey has been sacked as housing minister; she was the ninth housing minister in as many years. Her successor is the...

The HomeOwners Alliance, a leading property consumer group, has now suggested it has some concerns about the government’s First Homes scheme. This...

One of the leading consumer groups has backed the government’s controversial First Homes policy, which aims to give 30 per cent...

Now we’re well into the second month of the year, we have reached a crucial point in the ongoing plans to...

The government has announced its First Homes scheme - a policy under which it says some new homes will see their...

It is possible that agents and their business partners in the conveyancing, mortgage and survey industries could be obliged to have...

The group charged with pioneering Reservation Agreements in the house buying process admits both the industry and the public are split...

The Law Commission has set out three ways to cut the cost that leaseholders have to pay to buy the freehold...

It’s one of the most crucial aspects of the homebuying and selling process but is too often bogged down by frustrating...

The government has given details of a scheme allowing 30 per cent reductions for what it calls ‘local first time buyers’...

A law firm has spoken out about two possible problems in the government’s much-publicised idea of considering Reservation Agreements as a...

Yes, believe it or not, we’ve nearly reached the end of a whole decade. And what an eventful decade it’s been. We’ve...

In the firmest sign yet that PropTech has entered the mainstream, Housing Minister Esther McVey recently launched an expert advisory council...

Reservation Agreements are the subject of the moment in the agency industry. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is to...

A London council wants government backing for a borough-wide Section 7 direction - effectively banning all agents’ boards being erected without...

Housing Minister Esther McVey has launched an expert advisory council that the government says is “dedicated to the digital transformation of...

Buyers and sellers changing their minds lie behind almost a third of fall-throughs - the single biggest reason why transactions collapse,...

Reservation Agreements may require bigger financial penalties than the £500 to £1,000 currently envisaged if they are to work. That’s the view...

Another estate agency has come out in favour of reservation agreements. High-end agency Chestertons says transactions currently fall through too frequently and the...

There are many adjectives that can be applied to Boris Johnson, probably very few of them complimentary, but there’s one that...

A London agency has told Estate Agent Today that it makes some of its buyers pay upwards of £5,000 in Reservation...

It was in this very column, back in July, when I wrote about how the British government was starting to take...

One of the country’s most prominent estate agents has given renewed backing to a pilot project on reservation agreements, being tested...

First details have emerged of the information vendors may have to provide up-front In future transactions if government house buying reforms...

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has given more details of the trial of reservation agreements likely to take...

Reservation agreements locking in buyers and sellers could be trailed with some agencies and conveyancers early in 2020, a government official...

The reform of the buying process is to take centre stage at a special conference called Bold Legal LIVE! taking place...

The Guild of Property Professionals has welcomed government steps to provide buyers and sellers with greater transparency in transactions - and...

A £3.6 billion Towns Fund to support towns across England to build prosperous futures through innovative regeneration is a perfect chance...

The government has issued a revised version of its official How To Buy and How To Sell documents, aimed at consumers...

There has been a sceptical response by agents and others in the property industry to the government’s latest headline-grabbing tweaks to...

The National Association of Estate Agents has told the government that it wants one single Ombudsman to provide redress across all...

A briefing note for MPs prepared from government statistics shows that housing starts and completions have increased from the lows observed...

There’s been only a vague government response to the recommendations for an estate and lettings agency regulator. Last month the Regulation of...

With Boris Johnson winning the Conservative leadership election and becoming Prime Minister, he has spent his first few days in office...

Esther McVey is to be the new housing minister - one of the most seasoned politicians to take the job in...

The new Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government is the relatively unknown Robert Jenrick -  but his new housing...

The government has published proposals for far-reaching changes to the way estate and letting agents are regulated, trained and licensed. The proposals...

Some of the most radical reforms ever proposed for estate and letting agents are expected to be signed off today by...

A new industry regulator is likely to be in place within two years according to the chair of the government’s Regulation...

Increasing legislation and regulation has arguably been the biggest talking point in the private rented sector (PRS) over the last few...

The minister at the centre of reforms to the estate and lettings industry sector has apologised for what she calls “inappropriate...

The National Audit Office says many users of Help To Buy would have been able to purchase a home anyway, without...

Housing minister Kit Malthouse appears to have some difficulty being taken seriously as a candidate for Conservative party leader and Prime...

The head of the Property Redress Scheme is urging agents to prepare for yet more regulation and legislation changes likely to...

There’s been a mixed response to the government’s surprise announcement that it would make permanent the right of home owners to...

The National Association of Estate Agents has welcomed the commitment by the Competition and Markets Authority to investigate the mis-selling of...

Reforms to the house buying process in England and Wales to bring it more into line with Scotland could slash the...

The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) has launched its long-awaited ‘How to sell a home’ and ‘How to...