With the Government announcement this week of another national lockdown across England amid the surging coronavirus infections, it once again puts...
Archive

Here’s hoping you managed to have as good a Christmas and New Year as Covid rules allowed. Journalism in early January is...
02 January 2021
From: Features
02 January 2021
From: Features
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This is a time of year when many people consider buying a pet as a present but for the millions of...
16 December 2020
From: Features

Recent debate about urgent need for reform and better collaboration within the property industry, has once again come under the spotlight...
04 December 2020
From: Sponsored Content

Back in September, Westminster Council launched a new strategy to help 'protect tenants' and 'ensure they live in good-quality and well-managed...
28 November 2020
From: Features

The Boomin portal, which incentivises agents to cross-sell and benefit from referral fees, is to receive advice on fee disclosure from...
19 November 2020
From: Breaking News

It’s been an unexpected year for the property market, shaped by the effects of the pandemic. We didn’t quite anticipate the...
27 October 2020
From: Sponsored Content

The announcement of the Renters’ Reform Bill in the Queen’s speech last December caused a collective groan across the country from...
27 October 2020
From: Legislation & Compliance

In recent years, the extent and role of the private rented sector (PRS) in the housing market has seen significant changes. The...
24 October 2020
From: Features

Book review by Graham Norwood, editor of Estate Agent Today, Letting Agent Today and Landlord Today. If a letting agent wants to...
17 October 2020
From: Features

The pandemic and the way the government has reacted to the private rental sector (PRS) has got me thinking about the...
19 September 2020
From: Features

Life as we know it has changed – for everybody – and what tenants want, need and expect in this post-pandemic...
15 August 2020
From: Features

There’s been a very large rise in the number of complaints submitted by consumers to the Property Redress Scheme. This is partly...
29 July 2020
From: Breaking News

They are the names we hear about often, pushing for this or seeking clarifications on that. They are the representatives of...
04 July 2020
From: Features

Over the last few years, there have been a number of high-profile court cases in which renters took action against letting...
30 May 2020
From: Features
Letting agents up and down the country have undoubtedly felt the financial strain added by the outbreak of COVID19. Whilst this will continue,...
26 May 2020
From: Sponsored Content

In these unprecedented times, Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS) aims to reassure letting agents, landlords and tenants on any legislative changes, relating...
06 May 2020
From: Features

The Property Ombudsman is advising agents to use virtual viewings only as a filtering process with offers being agreed only ‘subject...
01 May 2020
From: Breaking News

This month saw the introduction of the final stages of the Section 24 tax changes, first introduced in April 2017. Whereas buy-to-let...
18 April 2020
From: Features

The last five years have seen unprecedented changes to the property market and agents and their clients have never faced such...
15 April 2020
From: Features

Much like PropTech, Open Banking has been used as a buzzword in recent years. However, when it comes to the rental...
04 April 2020
From: Features

Purplebricks Local Property Experts are asking sellers who are not allowing agents into their homes during the virus crisis to draw...
03 April 2020
From: Breaking News

By now, most letting agents and landlords will have heard about the draft legislation laid in Parliament concerning a mandatory minimum...
04 March 2020
From: Features

The Trading Standards report on the future of referral fees is almost completed and will be sent to government next week. However, James...
28 February 2020
From: Breaking News

Foxtons is warning that 2020 will be yet another difficult year for the agency despite the so-called Boris Bounce helping the...
28 February 2020
From: Breaking News

The property management industry is evolving at a rapid pace, thanks almost entirely to the rise in PropTech. Hundreds, if not thousands...
26 February 2020
From: Features

There’s something of a conspiracy of silence over the problem of short lets. That is a stark claim but many siren voices...
22 February 2020
From: Features

Earlier this month, Boris Johnson carried out a reshuffle of his cabinet, telling ministers they must 'repay the trust of those...
22 February 2020
From: Features

Hello and welcome to a new week, and a new edition of PJT. If you’re on the move or your firm has...
20 January 2020
From: Breaking News

We are facing a new world in the lettings industry, with the proportion of households in the private rented sector (PRS)...
08 January 2020
From: Features

After a year dogged by Brexit deadlock, political turmoil, and slow growth, estate agents’ confidence in the property market hit a...
04 January 2020
From: Features

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...
14 December 2019
From: Features

With Brexit still unresolved, the domestic agenda has been pushed from the headlines by the seemingly overwhelming public and political discord...
07 December 2019
From: Features

It’s been clear for a while that the additional regulation landlords and agents are facing has helped professionalise the private rental...
30 November 2019
From: Features

It’s beginning to look a lot like…we’re running a very popular service for agents, as we’ve been inundated with more fund-raising...
29 November 2019
From: Breaking News

In just over two weeks, the UK population will head to the polls for the fourth general election since 2010. Of course,...
27 November 2019
From: Features

Reservation Agreements are the subject of the moment in the agency industry. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is to...
09 November 2019
From: Features

An estate agency will pay out over £40,000 after being found to have misled customers and allowing one of its own...
29 October 2019
From: Breaking News

Hello and welcome to a new week - one with darker evenings and colder days. But there is still plenty of activity...
28 October 2019
From: Breaking News

There’s no doubt that we live in politically charged times and every day appears to bring something new to the ‘party’. For...
05 October 2019
From: Features

We know that the tenant fee ban has cost letting agents dearly, with an estimated loss of £300 million paid to...
02 October 2019
From: Features

In recent years, governments and local councils have sought to change the private rented sector (PRS) to make it more appealing...
28 September 2019
From: Features

If you thought - perhaps hoped - that five weeks of prorogued Parliament meant a break from politics, think again: the...
14 September 2019
From: Features

Estate and letting agents are being urged to check that they are signed up with an approved redress scheme that covers...
25 July 2019
From: Breaking News

Sometimes having prior knowledge of a stressful event can be more stressful than the event itself, just look at Brexit for...
24 July 2019
From: Features

The trade headlines may be dominated by a revolution proposed for how agents are regulated, licensed and trained but one thing...
19 July 2019
From: Breaking News

Increasing legislation and regulation has arguably been the biggest talking point in the private rented sector (PRS) over the last few...
29 June 2019
From: Features

Britain lives in fundamentalist black-and-white times - all the more surprising when the country's most divisive point of contention sits on...
22 June 2019
From: Features

In today’s crowded property marketplace, the needs of tenants have changed. With a greater emphasis on quality of living, tenants are increasingly...
29 May 2019
From: Features

The head of the Property Redress Scheme is urging agents to prepare for yet more regulation and legislation changes likely to...
28 May 2019
From: Breaking News

With a mere matter of weeks until the Tenant Fees Act comes in to effect, I can’t help but wonder just...
11 May 2019
From: Features

The leasehold scandal continues to generate plenty of column inches, with fresh stories emerging almost daily of people living in unsellable...
18 April 2019
From: Breaking News

No, this isn’t about Brexit. But as the saga of leaving the EU is likely to bring about the downfall of...
13 April 2019
From: Features

The recent ARLA Propertymark conference featured a hugely interesting line-up of speaks and session during a watershed time for the lettings...
13 April 2019
From: Features

When it comes to major issues confronting housing, and in particular the direction that the government would like to take the...
23 March 2019
From: Features

The Law Society claims that the unforeseen charges faced by some purchasers of leasehold properties could be addressed “if developers and...
20 March 2019
From: Breaking News

The topic of introducing rent controls in London crops up time and time again in our industry. But it’s been hitting...
16 March 2019
From: Features

The National Association of Estate Agents has led the support for stricter new guidelines on transparency for referral fees. The clampdown means agents...
01 March 2019
From: Breaking News

The National Trading Standards Estate Agency Team has this afternoon revealed new industry guidance to make referral fees more transparent to...
28 February 2019
From: Breaking News

Nobody likes change. It makes people feel threatened, undermines their confidence, and makes them worry about the future. But regardless of...
27 February 2019
From: Features

Kit Malthouse has been making headlines this week, but – in keeping with his tenure as Housing Minister so far -...
02 February 2019
From: Features

When it comes to letting a property, it is important that landlords and renters have faith in their agent. The more...
26 January 2019
From: Features

Our latest case study come from a recent news item to have hit the industry and national press. A disgruntled tenant is claiming...
16 January 2019
From: Sponsored Content

There is a perfect storm brewing in the lettings market, and as the saying goes, “you can’t change the direction of...
12 December 2018
From: Features

Has no one told the industry that it’s December and things are supposed to be slowing down? This week’s Property Jobs...
03 December 2018
From: Breaking News

The circus surrounding the fate of online agency Emoov has taken an unexpected turn. Yesterday Sky News revealed that the company was...
30 November 2018
From: Breaking News

Perhaps it’s been our pre-occupation with Brexit, or on the other hand maybe we’re bored with politics, but this year’s Budget...
27 October 2018
From: Features

It’s now almost a month since the government introduced new rules on Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO), as part of its...
27 October 2018
From: Features

An open rental market, where neither landlord nor tenant is in a dominant position, enables rents to rise and fall, which...
27 October 2018
From: Features

You will perhaps have seen recently that the Government has decided to boost funding to the regulator, the National Trading Standards...
29 September 2018
From: Features

In our previous 2 blogs we have covered the definitions of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations (CPRs) and what the practical...
29 August 2018
From: Sponsored Content

In 2014 The Properties Misdescriptions Act was repealed and replaced with the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations, otherwise known as...
29 August 2018
From: Sponsored Content

For too long the private rented sector has been complacent towards customer satisfaction. In the changing rental landscape, the smartest letting...
25 August 2018
From: Features

In our previous blog, we looked at the definitions outlined by the CPRs. In our next blog we’ll look at the...
21 August 2018
From: Sponsored Content

The Property Redress Scheme says it’s recruited another 1,750 members following the shake-out last week when one of its rival redress...
13 August 2018
From: Breaking News

With all the recent change and upheaval in the rental sector it may be time to consider how letting agencies will...
04 August 2018
From: Features

The National Trading Standards Estate Agency Team has this morning issued a warning to agents that they must be signed up to...
19 July 2018
From: Breaking News

Renting has long been characterised as a stepping stone onto the housing ladder for the younger generations. But in recent years,...
07 July 2018
From: Features

100 years ago, 90% of the UK population rented a home. Today, that figure has flipped, and over two thirds are...
26 May 2018
From: Features

There is a common misconception that the private rented sector (PRS) is entirely made up of young professionals and students. While...
18 May 2018
From: Sponsored Content

Recent void statistics have had me wondering how agents can juggle client and consumer demands in the face of the impending...
05 May 2018
From: Features

Who are you and what does it say on your business card? Ben Robinson, Director of Agency Services at Landmark What is Landmark...
03 May 2018
From: 60 Second Interview

If you want to know whether buy to let, landlords and letting agents will be in the firing line for more...
28 April 2018
From: Features

The Property Redress Scheme - one of the three government-approved redress schemes handling complaints about sales and lettings agents - has...
13 April 2018
From: Breaking News

The Property Ombudsman has launched an online training module which it describes as the first of its kind. The interactive module -...
29 March 2018
From: Breaking News

Thanks once again for your contributions to this weekly round-up of agents’ good works; we love covering these stories which show...
16 February 2018
From: Breaking News

This week I carry out a question and answer session with one of the most high-profile names in property. Isobel Thomson has...
10 February 2018
From: Features

A new year means new predictions for what’s to come in the letting industry. Sometimes things come to fruition as expected....
10 February 2018
From: Features

Another new year is nearly upon us and, once we’ve got the season of mince pies, mulled wine, pigs in blankets,...
16 December 2017
From: Features

As we hurtle towards the end of 2017, it’s time to reflect on the year that’s just been. Even better, this property-based...
25 November 2017
From: Features

Earlier this week, Chancellor Philip Hammond delivered the Autumn Budget with a strong focus on housing. The decision to cut stamp duty...
25 November 2017
From: Features

A large part of the DCLG’s Call for Evidence on the home buying and selling process focuses on the role of...
18 November 2017
From: Features

Like many of Labour’s recent policy proposals, its call for rent controls leaves more questions than answers. There has been widespread criticism...
07 October 2017
From: Features

The UK is home to four million leasehold properties in private ownership, according to government figures. The majority of which require...
30 September 2017
From: Features

It used to be so easy. Around 20 years ago there were what we now call full-service estate and letting agencies, and...
23 September 2017
From: Features

I’ve written before about the impact of headlines on the property industry. Interest rate speculation. Market booms and busts. Demand...
16 September 2017
From: Features

Whenever any research is released, part of me can’t help thinking of that old adage, ‘lies, damn lies and statistics’ especially...
02 September 2017
From: Features

Countrywide has announced an extensive reorganisation of senior management at its Hamptons International brand - with a pledge to "reach into...
09 May 2017
From: Breaking News

Jamie Lester, the former Apprentice reality TV star who ran a high-profile estate agency in London until last autumn, has resurfaced...
04 May 2017
From: Breaking News
It seems prop-tech is exploding at a scary rate, and the latest brands are all trying to grab our attention by...
17 March 2017
From: Sponsored Content

Chancellor Philip Hammond delivered his first Budget this week pledging extra funding for the NHS, transport in the Midlands and the...
11 March 2017
From: Features

With tax relief changes, a rise in Stamp Duty for second homes and strict mortgage affordability checks now in place, it...
04 March 2017
From: Features

If you work in lettings, I’ll already have a pretty good idea on how you feel about the current Conservative Government. The...
11 February 2017
From: Features

The chronic shortage of housing supply in the UK relative to demand has been a national issue for decades. The Government...
11 February 2017
From: Features

Annoying isn’t it. You take on a stunning property, agree a compelling asking price and your Vendor is desperate to get the...
02 February 2017
From: Sponsored Content

The end of 2016 saw the launch of 30,000 new build-to-rent (BTR) projects in London alone. With market growth projected to...
21 January 2017
From: Features

The rental market has had to face a raft of changes over the past year, including the introduction of the 3% stamp...
14 January 2017
From: Features

One of the key factors associated with an active private rental market in the UK, as detailed in the Dataloft PRS...
09 December 2016
From: Features

Listening to all the coverage of the tenant fee ban, all I hear is consumer groups talking about how some agents...
26 November 2016
From: Features

London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s aim of creating a 24-hour city is one step closer with the appointment of London’s first Night...
26 November 2016
From: Features

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors is the latest body within the industry to warn its members against portal juggling. Following statements...
15 November 2016
From: Breaking News

When a tenant paid his initial one month’s rent in addition to a tenancy deposit in exchange for the keys to...
05 November 2016
From: Features

The growing size and scale of the private rented sector is not new news. Headlines shout about the changing profile of...
05 November 2016
From: Features

As many northern cities struggled to recover from the 2008 global financial crisis, the north-south divide returned to plague the British...
28 October 2016
From: Features
The key lies in improving your customer experience through technology For Agents, the tremendous growth in online estate agents highlights a strong...
13 September 2016
From: Sponsored Content

The huge rush to acquire buy-to-let property in the first quarter of the year ahead of the stamp duty change deadline...
09 September 2016
From: Features

With an anticipated “Call for Evidence” from the Dept of Business Innovation & Skills looking into the home-buying experience ETSOS is...
01 September 2016
From: Sponsored Content

The Property Redress Scheme, one of three official redress schemes for the sales and lettings sector, has now signed its 5,000th...
18 August 2016
From: Breaking News

An estate agency has been fined after a trading standards team accused it of making misleading statements on its website. Warwickshire county...
17 August 2016
From: Breaking News

What is Properstar? Properstar helps UK estate agents cross the chasm from local to global in respect of advertising their properties. Using...
16 August 2016
From: Sponsored Content
Paying too much every month for your website? Move your website to us and we guarantee to halve your monthly bill I want...
16 August 2016
From: Sponsored Content

With ever increasing obligations, estate agents know that compliance matters now more than ever. However, being able to obtain access to the...
12 August 2016
From: Features

The National Trading Standards Estate Agency Team is warning agents not to engage in portal juggling - an activity it describes...
12 August 2016
From: Breaking News

What a month it has been. By the time you read this, we'll have a new Prime Minister, a new Cabinet,...
15 July 2016
From: Features

So we now have a new 'official' index of house prices, and much good may it do us. For the chattering classes...
17 June 2016
From: Features

When, during his budget speech, George Osborne announced Capital Gains Tax (CGT) was going down to 20%, I experienced a mix...
25 March 2016
From: Features

Property has long been a safe investment. Before the downturn in 2008, sellers were able to gain a healthy capital return. Post-economic...
25 March 2016
From: Features

In today's budget, the Chancellor, George Osborne, has announced a number of measures which will impact the property industry. The Chancellor confirmed...
16 March 2016
From: Breaking News

What are we going to do about Generation Rent? Only as recently as February 2016 did tenants steal the headline away...
27 February 2016
From: Features

Public relations used to be a minor part of estate agency, something only ‘the big boys’ paid for and with little...
30 January 2016
From: Features

One of the three approved Ombusdman-style operators, the Property Redress Scheme, is to hold its first agents’ workshop in March. The morning...
26 January 2016
From: Breaking News

Let Mid West Displays get your window in shape! Never underestimate the power of high street presence. Image is everything, and what...
14 January 2016
From: Sponsored Content

Who are you? I’m the Head of Redress at the Property Redress Scheme. I previously worked for Legal & General PLC dealing...
23 December 2015
From: 60 Second Interview

There are a number of fairly recent regulations that agents need to comply with. One of them, now just over a year...
18 December 2015
From: Features

You might recall a collective sigh of relief emitted by stakeholders in the housing market and private rental sector back in...
04 December 2015
From: Features

Once you go beyond the industry’s anger about the Chancellor’s three per cent stamp duty surcharge – and that’s an anger...
27 November 2015
From: Features

Negativity. There’s a lot of it about in the lettings industry right now. Where you might see barriers, hurdles and more...
20 November 2015
From: Features

I make no apologies for returning to Build To Rent, the institutional investment in building and managing blocks of flats to...
13 November 2015
From: Features

An insurance company claims that around 60 per cent of estate agents do not check with their vendor clients about disputes...
10 November 2015
From: Breaking News

Someone told me the other day that it’s now only seven Mondays till Christmas. Now there’s a scary thought. Best get...
06 November 2015
From: Features

A reader of Industry Views is unlikely to need converting to the virtues of buy to let, but anyone involved in...
30 October 2015
From: Features

It would seem that now is a better time than ever for investors to join the buy-to-let market. The Royal Institute of...
16 October 2015
From: Features

It’s been nearly a year since all lettings and property management agents have been legally required to join a redress scheme...
25 September 2015
From: Features

The party's over. It's probably the best double entendre in the world of politics right now. For centre or right-leaning Labour...
25 September 2015
From: Features

If there’s one thing that looks like a good move right now, it’s becoming a letting agent. Whereas some years ago we...
18 September 2015
From: Features

So housing made itself top of the list of questions by the new Leader of the Opposition’s first PMQs on Wednesday...
18 September 2015
From: Features

A High Street estate agent has branded the latest guidance to the industry on Consumer Protection Regulations as “a complete mess”...
14 September 2015
From: Breaking News

We’ve enjoyed a bit of an Indian summer this week. Not sure it makes up for one of the coldest and...
11 September 2015
From: Features

There have been concerns raised over new trading standards guidance for estate agents on having to reveal ‘significant defects’ about properties...
03 September 2015
From: Breaking News

A new trading standards Guidance on Property Sales has been launched aimed at improving estate agency service to customers. The Powys-based National...
02 September 2015
From: Breaking News

This month analysis by the Office for National Statistics revealed that the average home in England and Wales cost a record...
28 August 2015
From: Features

The first annual report from Property Redress Services, one of the three government-approved redress schemes applying to both the sales and...
22 July 2015
From: Breaking News

Consider the scene. It is July 8th and new Chancellor, Ed Balls, stands at the Dispatch Box giving his first Budget...
17 July 2015
From: Features

Watch the latest weekly video round-up of news from Estate Agent Today and Letting Agent Today, featuring stories on Channel 4's...
17 July 2015
From: Video Articles

Watch the latest weekly video round-up of news from Estate Agent Today and Letting Agent Today, featuring stories on Channel 4's...
17 July 2015
From: Breaking News

The National Trading Standards Estate Agency Team has prepared a draft of revised guidelines on property sales, to replace the old...
14 July 2015
From: Breaking News

Wednesday’s budget proved a grim viewing for those who have worked in the rental sector for some time and watched the...
10 July 2015
From: Features

Watch the latest weekly video roundup of news from Estate Agent Today and Letting Agent Today, featuring stories on the Scottish...
26 June 2015
From: Video Articles

Watch the latest weekly video roundup of news from Estate Agent Today and Letting Agent Today, featuring stories on the Scottish...
26 June 2015
From: Breaking News

The Property Redress Scheme (PRS) is delighted to announce their partnership with the award winning mediation provider, Small Claims Mediation (SCM) The...
11 June 2015
From: Sponsored Content

Earlier this week we passed the official deadline for letting agents to fully publicise their fees as well as providing evidence of...
29 May 2015
From: Features

The Conservative Party’s manifesto pledge to extend the Right to Buy scheme was confirmed in yesterday’s Housing Bill. The Bill was part...
28 May 2015
From: Breaking News

The Brian Cox estate agency, at the centre of a weekend newspaper allegation about £2,000 deposits from buyers, has strongly defended...
12 May 2015
From: Breaking News

Ian Wilson, the head of Martin & Co, recently threw his hat into the ring regarding Labour’s stated intention to cap...
04 May 2015
From: Features

Two rival redress schemes applying to sales and lettings agents are claiming increased business. A press release from the Property Redress Scheme...