The new Government’s plan to ‘Get Britain Building’ is ambitious, to say the least. And it is central to their mission, not...
Archive
20 July 2024
From: Features
![Every home EPC rated B or above in 10 years - party pledge](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Energy%20and%20Green%20Homes/EPC-2-400x310.png)
A political party is pledging that if elected it will make every home in the UK have an EPC rating of...
13 June 2024
From: Breaking News
![Unintended consequences of 'rushed' leasehold law](/upload/images/5%20--%20Proofed%20--%20Unintended%20consequences%20of%20rushed%20leasehold%20law%20By%20Mark%20Chick.jpg)
In what are some of the biggest changes to the residential leasehold sector in the last 21 years since the Commonhold...
01 June 2024
From: Features
![Industry Views - The Housing Battleground for General Election 2024](/upload/images/1%20--%20Industry%20Views%20-%20The%20Housing%20Battleground%20for%20General%20Election%202024.png)
So we’ve been sent the ‘Save The Date’ card - it’s July 4. Now all we need is the invitation to the...
25 May 2024
From: Features
![Radical reform of Right To Buy demanded by industry group](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Property%20Market/Will%20the%20post%20Christmas%20boom%20materialise%20this%20year%20CoupleMakingOffer-400x310.png)
A property industry group has called for a reduction in the discounts available for council tenants buying their own home, after...
24 April 2024
From: Breaking News
![Jonathan Rolande: Times to ask serious questions about the UK's social housing crisis](/upload/images/Shutterstock-only%20images/Property%20Market/BTR%20and%20affordable%20housing%20-%20By%20Andy%20Jones%20Property%20Investor%20Today%20BuildToRent-400x310.png)
Last week the Government published new housing data which has largely gone unreported. The vacuum was probably linked to the Budget, and...
15 March 2024
From: Breaking News
![Wrong To Buy - our worst ever housing policy](/upload/images/__thumbs/1%20Proofed%20----%20%20EAT%20-%20IndustryViews%20(003)%20-%20October%202023%20by%20Graham%20Norwood.jpg/1%20Proofed%20----%20%20EAT%20-%20IndustryViews%20(003)%20-%20October%202023%20by%20Graham%20Norwood__400x267.jpg)
What a waste. Islington council announced in recent days that it will buy back 310 ex-council houses this winter, to add to...
21 October 2023
From: Features
![Property Natter - The long arm of the law that changed the property market](/upload/images/Property%20Natter.jpg)
It was a genuine pleasure to read this week about Yorkshire estate agent Ian Bradbury who clocked up 40 years selling...
19 August 2023
From: Features
Analysis: What did Boris Johnson do for the UK property market during his 3 years as Prime Minister?
![Analysis: What did Boris Johnson do for the UK property market during his 3 years as Prime Minister?](/upload/images/library/BorisJohnson-4-400x310.jpg)
Time is up for Boris Johnson's tenure as Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party, serving 3 years and 44...
17 September 2022
From: Features
![What is Right to Buy and am I eligible?](/upload/images/library/First-TimeBuyer-Questions-400x310.jpg)
In this Guides & Tips piece, the team at Together set out what Right to Buy is and who is eligible. If...
21 July 2022
From: Legislation & Compliance
![Agency groups hope to 'maintain momentum' with new Housing Secretary](/upload/images/Logos/NAEA-PropertyMark-400x310.jpg)
Estate agency trade body Propertymark is hoping to “maintain momentum” with newly appointed Housing Secretary Greg Clark. He replaces Michael Gove, who...
08 July 2022
From: Breaking News
![Why everyone in the property industry must focus on supply](/upload/images/Housing%20Market%20%26%20Property%20Images/Property-MagnifyingGlass--1-400x310.jpg)
Anyone working in the property market should have at least one eye on supply. Of course, it’s a constant issue for...
02 July 2022
From: Features
![Opinion: Bank of England rate rises are nonsense and will increase inflation](/upload/images/Housing%20Market%20%26%20Property%20Images/Bank-of-England400x310.png)
The Bank of England’s continued rise in interest rates – the latest being a shift up to 1.25% - is, in...
25 June 2022
From: Features
![Housing Secretary: 'We don't know how Right to Buy will be funded yet'](/upload/images/Politics%20(MPs%2C%20party%20logos%2C%20etc)/MichaelGove-400x310.jpg)
The government’s new Right to Buy policy for housing association tenants appeared to unravel last night after the Housing Secretary said...
14 June 2022
From: Breaking News
![Agency trade body calls for stamp duty exemptions as part of housing reforms](/upload/images/Logos/NAEA-ARLA-Propertymark-400x310.jpg)
Agency trade body Propertymark has called for the government’s housing market reforms to go further and has even suggested targeted stamp...
13 June 2022
From: Breaking News
![Why are landlords so unpopular?](/upload/images/Housing%20Market%20%26%20Property%20Images/LandlordStressed-400x310.png)
This question is not as flippant as it sounds because over recent years the status of the private landlord has taken...
11 June 2022
From: Features
![Property market questions pace and funding of PM's housing reforms](/upload/images/Politics%20(MPs%2C%20party%20logos%2C%20etc)/Boris%20Johnson01.png)
Property professionals and MPs were left wanting more after Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s much-anticipated housing announcements yesterday. Johnson yesterday promised a review...
10 June 2022
From: Breaking News
![PM unveils mortgage and benefits review to boost homeownership](/upload/images/Politics%20(MPs%2C%20party%20logos%2C%20etc)/BorisJohnson-3-400x310.png)
Boris Johnson has promised a review of the mortgage market and housing benefit rules to help more people to get on...
09 June 2022
From: Breaking News
![Mortgage and Right to Buy overhaul expected today](/upload/images/Housing%20Market%20%26%20Property%20Images/Mortgage-image400x310.png)
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to unveil a flagship policy today to help more people onto the property ladder. It is...
09 June 2022
From: Breaking News
![Home ownership policy promised as PM survives no-confidence vote](/upload/images/Politics%20(MPs%2C%20party%20logos%2C%20etc)/BorisJohnson-3-400x310.png)
A significant housing announcement has been promised by Prime Minister Boris Johnson as a part of a sweetener that saw him...
07 June 2022
From: Breaking News
![Extending Right to Buy won’t fix the housing shortage](/upload/images/Politics%20(MPs%2C%20party%20logos%2C%20etc)/BorisJohnson-4-400x310.jpg)
Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently announced that he is considering extending Margaret Thatcher’s Right-to-Buy scheme, that gives council tenants the chance to...
14 May 2022
From: Features
![Right To Buy - what on earth is government playing at?](/upload/images/Housing%20Market%20%26%20Property%20Images/Mortgage-House-Keys-400x310.jpg)
What a difference two months and some local elections make. Cast your minds back to March 9 and the annual report of...
07 May 2022
From: Features
![Lies, Damned Lies, and House Building Targets](/upload/images/BTR%2C%20PBSA%2C%20Co-living/build-to-rent400x310.png)
We’ve probably all learned to be a little less cynical about politicians in recent weeks, given the tragic events. We perhaps...
30 October 2021
From: Features
![Top Tories set up firm to buy back former council houses](/img/default/eat.png)
Former Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond and strategist Sir Lynton Crosby - the architect of many Conservative election campaigns -...
19 July 2021
From: Breaking News
![The Holiday Home Debate - Don’t Let Politicians Get Away With It](/img/default/eat.png)
At first sight it’s a tough ask to defend holiday homes when there’s evidence that many who want to buy can’t,...
10 July 2021
From: Features
![Vote, Vote, Vote - Housing and the 2021 Local Elections](/img/default/eat.png)
Local elections rarely set the pulse racing and this year’s poll on Thursday faces a similar problem. But this time, it’s a...
01 May 2021
From: Features
![Prince Philip: how the property landscape changed during his century](/img/default/eat.png)
For many, the funeral of HRH Prince Philip will be a solemn affair, while for some it will also be a...
17 April 2021
From: Features
![House prices to drop 10% thanks to virus, warns OnTheMarket partner](/img/default/eat.png)
A mortgage broker that’s just become a partner of OnTheMarket is warning that house prices are likely to fall 10 per...
23 March 2020
From: Breaking News
![Property Natter: what has the last decade meant for the property industry?](/img/default/eat.png)
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
![General election 2019: The housing crisis remains a top issue](/img/default/eat.png)
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
![Election 2019: what agents should expect from the main parties](/img/default/eat.png)
It’s on - although judging by the early lack of enthusiasm amongst the British public, you might be forgiven for thinking...
01 November 2019
From: Breaking News
![How can the government help the millions of 'trapped' movers?](/img/default/eat.png)
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
![Will the current political landscape encourage Generation Rent to vote?](/img/default/eat.png)
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
![Has Labour backed off from its controversial Right To Buy policy?](/img/default/eat.png)
Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, who earlier this month told a newspaper that he wanted to introduce a Right To Buy policy for...
24 September 2019
From: Breaking News
![Government ‘trying to put a lid on house price rises’ admits minister](/img/default/eat.png)
The new housing minister has admitted that her party has tried to “put a lid” on house price rises and has...
17 September 2019
From: Breaking News
![Party Conferences: what agents should look out for](/img/default/eat.png)
If you thought - perhaps hoped - that five weeks of prorogued Parliament meant a break from politics, think again: the...
14 September 2019
From: Features
![Agent stands up for industry as MPs squabble over Brexit and election](/img/default/eat.png)
A leading London estate agent has written to The Times dismissing MPs who have been squabbling over Brexit and a possible...
04 September 2019
From: Breaking News
![Now is not the time for ‘BoJo Bravado’](/img/default/eat.png)
If you’d asked me at the start of the year how I thought the political landscape might look now, I wouldn’t...
03 August 2019
From: Features
![Theresa May’s legacy - how has housing fared under her government?](/img/default/eat.png)
Theresa May arrived in Downing Street some three years ago - but her premiership has not been a smooth ride. As she...
06 July 2019
From: Features
![Back to the future? A home ownership crisis](/img/default/eat.png)
With this summer marking forty years since Margaret Thatcher came to power, her legacy continues to invoke both celebration and consternation...
06 July 2019
From: Features
![Blond ambition - Does Boris Johnson have any housing policies?](/img/default/eat.png)
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
![So farewell Theresa May and thanks for...well, not much](/img/default/eat.png)
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
![Shelter and Generation Rent? Radical? Don’t make me laugh…](/img/default/eat.png)
Campaigning groups like Generation Rent and Shelter like to think they are simultaneously edgy and radical; likewise some think tanks believe...
30 March 2019
From: Features
![Don't rely on politicians to solve housing crisis, says Phil Spencer](/img/default/eat.png)
Phil Spencer is on the warpath against “constant tinkering” by government in housing matters - and instead, he wants the problems...
02 January 2019
From: Breaking News
![Forget narrow demands - Work together for more homes](/img/default/eat.png)
Any day now we’ll hear the date for the Autumn Budget: it may be delayed to wait for a Brexit deal...
15 September 2018
From: Features
!['Voluntary Right To Buy' pilot launched in one region](/img/default/eat.png)
A regional pilot has been launched for what is called the Voluntary Right to Buy - a scheme giving housing association...
17 August 2018
From: Breaking News
![Government quietly scraps controversial sell-off of large homes](/img/default/eat.png)
The government has quietly scrapped a proposal to force councils to sell off their most valuable assets, which would have included...
16 August 2018
From: Breaking News
![New service aims to help 'Right Of First Refusal' leasehold flat owners](/img/default/eat.png)
A new website has been set up specifically to help leasehold flat owners who have been served a Section 5 Notice...
04 July 2018
From: Breaking News
![Right To Buy: top agency hints at need for 'fundamental review'](/img/default/eat.png)
Savills has suggested that it may be time for a fundamental review of what’s left of the flagship policy of Margaret...
20 June 2018
From: Breaking News
![May's new housing adviser is ex-Shelter ex-Livingstone policy chief](/img/default/eat.png)
Theresa May has appointed a controversial former Shelter executive as her new housing policy adviser working in Whitehall. Toby Lloyd was until...
01 May 2018
From: Breaking News
![Right To Buy is unsustainable without new homes, say councils](/img/default/eat.png)
Right To Buy is unsustainable without local councils being given the right to set discounts for their areas and replacing every...
06 February 2018
From: Breaking News
![Advertising watchdog slaps down House Raffle competition wording](/img/default/eat.png)
The Advertising Standards Authority has told the organisers of a house raffle that they must not repeat a promotion because of...
13 December 2017
From: Breaking News
![Property Natter: it’s time to party (political-style)](/img/default/eat.png)
In this week’s Natter I’m going to get all political. Don’t worry, I won’t be giving my opinions on Brexit, Trump...
02 September 2017
From: Features
![Property Natter - a short history of estate agency](/img/default/eat.png)
Property has been changing hands for centuries, but when did estate agents as we know them today – with their branches,...
04 August 2017
From: Features
![An inconvenient truth - Help To Buy mostly helps the better off](/img/default/eat.png)
Government schemes like Help To Buy, supposedly assisting more people get on the ladder, have little impact on improving social mobility...
04 July 2017
From: Breaking News
![Controversial £2.875m raffle of Right To Buy house is back on](/img/default/eat.png)
The controversial raffle of a home reportedly purchased in 2014 under the Right To Buy scheme for just £360,000 is back...
30 June 2017
From: Breaking News
![General election 2017: Facing the UK’s housing crisis](/img/default/eat.png)
Theresa May’s call for a snap general election on June 8 took many by surprise. But estate agents have been broadly...
03 June 2017
From: Features
![Manifesto wants new Land Value Tax and urges Right To Buy scrapped](/img/default/eat.png)
The Green Party, one of the final political groups to launch their manifesto for the June 8 General Election, wants an end...
23 May 2017
From: Breaking News
![Tories propose house buying reforms in election manifesto](/img/default/eat.png)
The Conservatives have this morning announced a reform of the house buying process in the party’s manifesto for the June 8...
18 May 2017
From: Breaking News
![New homes must be marketed to Britons first, say Liberal Democrats](/img/default/eat.png)
The Liberal Democrats have set a building target of 300,000 new homes a year, have pledged to scrap housing association Right...
18 May 2017
From: Breaking News
![New homes: where is the supply being concentrated?](/img/default/eat.png)
Since the seventies, housing starts and completions across England and Wales have been on a downward trajectory. The long run average...
12 May 2017
From: Features
![Councils 'spending millions' buying back Right To Buy properties](/img/default/eat.png)
An investigation by the BBC has revealed that councils are spending million buying back homes they sold at a discount under...
04 May 2017
From: Breaking News
![Another part of the UK prepares to scrap Right To Buy](/img/default/eat.png)
Wales is the latest part of the UK to formally scrap the policy which was once the flagship of Margaret Thatcher’s...
14 March 2017
From: Breaking News
![Quote, unquote - What the industry said in 2016](/img/default/eat.png)
Forecasts are so last year: who anticipated Bowie, Brexit or Balls for example? Quotes, on the other hand, really ARE last year...
17 December 2016
From: Features
![ICYMI: What agents need to know from the Autumn Statement](/img/default/eat.png)
In case you missed it yesterday, here’s a summary of everything relating to property that was in Chancellor Phillip Hammond’s Autumn...
24 November 2016
From: Breaking News
![Autumn Statement: The property industry's wish list for Philip Hammond](/img/default/eat.png)
It may still be too early to start compiling a Christmas wish list, but it is the right time to provide...
19 November 2016
From: Features
![Agent and conveyancer relationships must go beyond the bottom line](/img/default/eat.png)
Working relationships between estate agents and conveyancers can be mutually beneficial with the referral of work between parties. However, they are missing...
12 November 2016
From: Features
![Is buy-to-let investing still a safe bet?](/img/default/eat.png)
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
![Little England is out of step – on Right To Buy, at the very least](/img/default/eat.png)
If you want an indicator that the United Kingdom isn’t so united any more, have a look at Right To Buy. The...
12 August 2016
From: Features
![Councils replacing only one-in-six homes sold under Right To Buy](/img/default/eat.png)
Councils have started replacing just one sixth of the number of homes sold under Right To Buy in England in the...
12 August 2016
From: Breaking News
![Another part of the UK is set to scrap Right To Buy](/img/default/eat.png)
Wales has confirmed that it is to scrap the former flagship Thatcherite policy of Right To Buy. Since 1980, 138,423 homes have been...
09 August 2016
From: Breaking News
![First part of the UK finally scraps Right To Buy](/img/default/eat.png)
Right To Buy - the controversial sell-off of council and housing association homes initially introduced as a flagship of Margaret Thatcher’s...
01 August 2016
From: Breaking News
![MIRAS: Could Theresa May go back to the future?](/img/default/eat.png)
I’m indebted to one of the most enthusiastic estate agents I’ve had the pleasure of meeting for suggesting the subject of...
15 July 2016
From: Features
![Council in Right To Buy media probe prosecutes fraud-case tenant](/img/default/eat.png)
A man has been prosecuted for fraudulently attempting to purchase a Right To Buy council property from one of the local...
23 June 2016
From: Breaking News
![London mayoral election: A referendum on housing](/img/default/eat.png)
The race to replace London Mayor Boris Johnson has entered its final few days, and like never before, housing is the...
29 April 2016
From: Features
![50,000 Right To Buy homes sold since 2012 but only 5,000 replacements started](/img/default/eat.png)
Government figures claim almost 50,000 households in council and other forms of social housing have taken up their Right To Buy...
29 March 2016
From: Breaking News
![Bungalows vulnerable under government sell-off, says think-tank](/img/default/eat.png)
Bungalows are likely to be sold-off as a by-product the government’s plans to extend Right To Buy, but are unlikely to...
04 March 2016
From: Breaking News
![Housing reviews: A little less conversation, a little more action...](/img/default/eat.png)
As we all know, Peter Redfern is critical to the future of the British housing market and.... What? Wait? You don’t know...
13 February 2016
From: Features
![The weather outside is frightful – A new starter home would be delightful](/img/default/eat.png)
So this weekend some of us will see our first snow of the season. Harsh weather, Christmas adverts and winter generally...
20 November 2015
From: Features
![70,000 new households a year can't afford to buy or rent says agency](/img/default/eat.png)
Over the next five years at least 70,000 new households a year in England alone will be unable to afford to...
17 November 2015
From: Breaking News
![Government clampdown on slow planners in bid to get more new homes](/img/default/eat.png)
The government is telling councils to produce local plans for new homes in their area by 2017 – or Whitehall will...
13 October 2015
From: Breaking News
![Has Corbyn Labour-proofed lettings?](/img/default/eat.png)
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
![Agent secures £1.2m record price for an ex-council flat](/img/default/eat.png)
London agency Barnard Marcus has secured what is believed to be a record sale price for a former council flat -...
17 August 2015
From: Breaking News
![Corbyn will end Right To Buy and keep Green Belt](/img/default/eat.png)
Labour leadership front-runner Jeremy Corbyn says he would vote for a complete end to all forms of Right To Buy and...
06 August 2015
From: Breaking News
![A new twist on the right to buy](/img/default/eat.png)
Competition is hot among home buyers in my part of southern England to take ownership of properties that come onto the...
24 July 2015
From: Features
![Latest Right To Buy idea may be watered down](/img/default/eat.png)
The House of Lords has set the cat amongst the pigeons on the government proposal to give housing association tenants the...
22 July 2015
From: Breaking News
![Budget - Buy To Let interest relief changes plus Non-Dom clampdown](/img/default/eat.png)
The Chancellor, George Osborne, has announced a series of measures impacting on the property industry, including: Mortgage interest relief for buy-to-let homebuyers...
08 July 2015
From: Breaking News
![Government housing action plan coming this week](/img/default/eat.png)
The government says it will publish an action plan this week to explain how it is going to implement some of...
06 July 2015
From: Breaking News
![Boris lobbying government to change Right To Buy](/img/default/eat.png)
The Financial Times says London Mayor and new Conservative MP Boris Johnson is lobbying the government in a bid to persuade...
02 July 2015
From: Breaking News
![Government says 36,000 Right To Buy sales in three years](/img/default/eat.png)
The government claims that over 36,000 new home owners have been created through Right to Buy since 2012. Figures released by the...
26 June 2015
From: Breaking News
![Property industry reacts to Housing Bill](/img/default/eat.png)
The new government has announced its legislative plans for housing in the coming year. In the first all-Conservative Queen’s Speech since 1996,...
28 May 2015
From: Breaking News
![Right to Buy extension confirmed in Queen’s Speech](/img/default/eat.png)
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
![Hollinrake backs Right To Buy extension despite controversy](/img/default/eat.png)
Hunters founder and new Conservative MP Kevin Hollinrake says he supports the Tory policy of extending Right To Buy to housing...
20 May 2015
From: Breaking News
![The spotlight on our sector will not diminish, despite the result of the election](/img/default/eat.png)
I write this article on the day of the General Election so you’ll forgive the political analogies. In particular, how any...
08 May 2015
From: Features
![Blair and Heath top 'price rise premiers' league table](/img/default/eat.png)
Margaret Thatcher may have given the country Right To Buy and David Cameron has created Help To Buy but when it...
23 April 2015
From: Breaking News
![Letter from the Publisher – What are the challenger parties saying about housing?](/img/default/eat.png)
With another hung parliament looking increasingly likely, the so-called ‘challenger parties’ look set to have a major say in who forms...