And…breathe. For a while back there, the only certainty for the housing market was uncertainty. That isn’t to say the election of Rishi...
Archive
![Former Housing Secretary becomes first MP to welcome Ukrainian refugees](/upload/images/Politics%20(MPs%2C%20party%20logos%2C%20etc)/RobertJenrick-400x310.jpg)
Former Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick is believed to have become the first MP to take in Ukrainian refugees under the government’s...
19 April 2022
From: Breaking News
![New tax likely to fund additional cladding removal from low-rise flats](/upload/images/Politics%20(MPs%2C%20party%20logos%2C%20etc)/MichaelGove-400x310.jpg)
Leaseholders in lower-rise blocks of flats will not have to take out loans to remove dangerous cladding under new government rules...
10 January 2022
From: Breaking News
![Cladding scandal petition reaches key 10,000 signature stage](/upload/images/library/CladdingScandal2-400x310.png)
A petition calling on the government to set up an independent enquiry into the cladding crisis has reached a key 10,000...
01 November 2021
From: Breaking News
![Budget: Details of business rate changes and new development tax](/upload/images/library/house-prices-rise400x310.png)
The Budget has proven more generous than many expected - and with most property taxation left unchanged. Chancellor Rishi Sunak has made...
27 October 2021
From: Breaking News
![Former Housing Secretary dies at the age of 53](/upload/images/library/JamesBrokenshire-400x310%20(2).jpg)
Former Housing Secretary James Brokenshire has died at the age of 53. The Conservative ex-Cabinet minister, who was diagnosed with lung cancer...
08 October 2021
From: Breaking News
![By jove, Gove is off at full steam ahead!](/upload/images/Politics%20(MPs%2C%20party%20logos%2C%20etc)/MichaelGove-400x310.jpg)
There’s good news and bad news from the shake-up in government ministers and ministries that was presented to the nation last...
25 September 2021
From: Features
![How affordable is it to buy a new-build house?](/upload/images/library/NewHousing-1-400x310.jpg)
Affordability has always been a hot topic when it comes to the property market, and this is doubly true for first-time...
22 September 2021
From: Features
![Ministry of Housing rebrands but it’s still a bit of a mouthful](/upload/images/Politics%20(MPs%2C%20party%20logos%2C%20etc)/Parliament-Summer-400x310.jpg)
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has changed its name to reflect the government’s levelling up agenda. The department’s...
20 September 2021
From: Breaking News
![Pincher survives as ruthless Johnson reshuffle concludes](/upload/images/Politics%20(MPs%2C%20party%20logos%2C%20etc)/BorisJohnson-4-400x310.jpg)
Boris Johnson's sudden and unexpectedly ruthless Cabinet reshuffle, which drew comparisons with Margaret Thatcher's 'purge of the wets' in 1981, ended...
17 September 2021
From: Breaking News
![Agents Do Charity – pies in faces, Agent Rainmaker and Three Peaks heroics](/upload/images/Site%20logos/AgentsDoCharity-18-400x310.png)
It’s been a dramatic week in the world of politics – and this has led to another new Housing Secretary, in...
17 September 2021
From: Breaking News
![Reshuffle - Gove replaces Jenrick, but will Pincher survive?](/upload/images/Politics%20(MPs%2C%20party%20logos%2C%20etc)/Parliament-Summer-400x310.jpg)
In a day of unexpected drama, Boris Johnson carried out a surprisingly brutal and widespread Cabinet reshuffle which saw a number...
16 September 2021
From: Breaking News
![Robert Jenrick sacked as Housing Secretary; Michael Gove replaces him](/upload/images/Politics%20(MPs%2C%20party%20logos%2C%20etc)/RobertJenrick-400x310.jpg)
Robert Jenrick has been sacked from his post as Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary. He was the third major name to...
15 September 2021
From: Breaking News
![Leasehold victory – leaseholders with Countryside freed from costly terms](/upload/images/Housing%20Market%20%26%20Property%20Images/UK-Houses-Row-2019-400x310.jpg)
In what will be seen as the latest win for leaseholders across the UK, it’s been revealed that – following action...
15 September 2021
From: Breaking News
![Second Homes Targeted - government ‘preparing triple whammy blow’](/upload/images/Politics%20(MPs%2C%20party%20logos%2C%20etc)/RobertJenrick-400x310.jpg)
Media reports over the weekend suggest the government is preparing a triple whammy - three measures which may reduce the number...
06 September 2021
From: Breaking News
![Self-Build Homes - government backs call for 40,000 a year](/upload/images/Housing%20Market%20%26%20Property%20Images/UK-housing1400x310.png)
Proposals to resuscitate the self-build housing sector have been welcomed by the government. Conservative MP Richard Bacon has published an independent report...
24 August 2021
From: Breaking News
![Appetite for home ownership proven by Help To Buy claims Jenrick](/upload/images/Politics%20(MPs%2C%20party%20logos%2C%20etc)/RobertJenrick-400x310.jpg)
Over 55,000 households bought homes through the government’s Help to Buy equity loan scheme in the past financial year - a...
16 August 2021
From: Breaking News
![EPC figure show new build homes more energy efficient says Jenrick](/upload/images/Energy%20and%20Green%20Homes/EnergyEfficiency-2-400x310.jpg)
The number of Energy Performance Certificates issued for new build homes in England rose 16 per cent in the year to...
03 August 2021
From: Breaking News
![Agents’ clarity over leasehold sales backed by Propertymark](/img/default/eat.png)
Propertymark has welcomed the move by Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick to help make certain leasehold flats more attractive to would-be buyers...
27 July 2021
From: Breaking News
![Agents’ Offices: masks no longer required - announcement soon](/img/default/eat.png)
Agents are to be told this week that employees can drop face masks, social distancing and other workplace measures put in...
12 July 2021
From: Breaking News
![Unique Property Reference Number concept backed by government](/img/default/eat.png)
The government has thrown its weight behind the concept of Unique Property Reference Numbers as a way of speeding up transactions. UPRNs...
28 June 2021
From: Breaking News
![Agents back First Homes - but should government do more to boost supply?](/img/default/eat.png)
Agents have given their backing to the government’s First Homes initiative, offering discounted houses for local people and key workers and...
07 June 2021
From: Breaking News
![The Cladding Scandal – what do you need to know?](/img/default/eat.png)
The Grenfell Tower disaster in June 2017 exposed the dangers of inflammable cladding on residential tower blocks, and what has come...
05 June 2021
From: Features
![Ministry of Housing’s new headquarters is in … Wolverhampton](/img/default/eat.png)
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has revealed that what it calls its “second HQ” will be in Wolverhampton,...
02 June 2021
From: Breaking News
![First time buyers snap up most Help To Buy new-builds](/img/default/eat.png)
Over 300,000 new-builds in England have been purchased using the government's Help to Buy Equity Loan since its launch in 2013. Of the...
19 May 2021
From: Breaking News
![Government unveils new bid to push forward ‘commonhold’ concept](/img/default/eat.png)
The government has set up a committee to push forward ideas on the collective form of homeownership known as commonhold. Housing Secretary...
14 May 2021
From: Breaking News
![New Labour shadow housing minister revealed](/img/default/eat.png)
Labour’s new housing spokesperson is the experienced MP Lucy Powell, who until the weekend was shadow business and consumer affairs minister. She replaces...
10 May 2021
From: Breaking News
![New Property Tax - consultation begins on 'cladding' tax proposal](/img/default/eat.png)
The government has launched a formal consultation process on a new residential property developer tax which is to contribute towards cladding...
30 April 2021
From: Breaking News
![Ground rent scandal: Housebuilders bite back after attack by watchdog](/img/default/eat.png)
Two of Britain’s largest house builders have reacted sharply to calls by Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick and the Competition and Markets...
22 March 2021
From: Breaking News
![Why automation could improve enforcement of PRS regulation](/img/default/eat.png)
It’s now more than a year since the government offered an additional £4 million to councils to combat rogue landlords. At the...
13 February 2021
From: Features
![Two new property taxes announced by Housing Secretary](/img/default/eat.png)
The government has given details of two new taxes to provide funds to address the cladding problem on high rise tower blocks...
11 February 2021
From: Breaking News
![Unsellable: Thousands of flats remain impossible to mortgage or sell](/img/default/eat.png)
Agents and a wide range of property experts have demanded yet more government funds to end the cladding crisis that is...
11 February 2021
From: Breaking News
![New tax and billions more for cladding - but is it enough?](/img/default/eat.png)
Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has announced “an exceptional intervention” promising that leaseholders in high-rise buildings above 18 metres will bear no...
10 February 2021
From: Breaking News
![Agent launches petition for radical overhaul of house buying process](/img/default/eat.png)
An online petition has been started by an independent estate agent seeking a radical overhaul of how homes are sold in...
01 February 2021
From: Breaking News
![Do you know what tenants want in 2021?](/img/default/eat.png)
As we now find ourselves in the UK’s third national lockdown in 10 months, what tenants want, and need from their...
30 January 2021
From: Features
![Countrywide and Foxtons back new scheme to speed conveyancing](/img/default/eat.png)
Countrywide and Foxtons have thrown their weight behind an idea to identify every single UK residential property with a unique number. The...
13 January 2021
From: Breaking News
![‘No-search indemnity insurance’ now accepted by mortgage lender](/img/default/eat.png)
A mortgage lender says it will now accept ‘no-search indemnity insurance’ for residential purchases in a bid to speed up the...
07 January 2021
From: Breaking News
![Sort Out Searches! Government asked to intervene over council delays](/img/default/eat.png)
A trade body has called on House Secretary Robert Jenrick to intervene over the growing problem of delays in councils providing...
05 January 2021
From: Breaking News
![Housing market stays open in new Tier 4 areas](/img/default/eat.png)
The housing market is to stay open across the UK, including in the new Tier 4 areas of England. An announcement from Housing Secretary...
20 December 2020
From: Breaking News
![Will relaxed EWS1 safety checks allow thousands of flats to be sold?](/img/default/eat.png)
Safety checks which are apparently now preventing thousands of owners selling flats are to be eased - but there is confusion...
23 November 2020
From: Breaking News
![A rare shining light: property must be protected and allowed to flourish](/img/default/eat.png)
Watching the government’s surprise press conference a couple of weekends ago the message was clear; we were heading into a gruelling...
14 November 2020
From: Features
![Agency stung by lockdown criticism reveals policy for next four weeks](/img/default/eat.png)
An agency in London which was stung by fierce criticism in the spring lockdown has announced its policy for branch activity...
03 November 2020
From: Breaking News
![Mortgage holiday set to be extended as housing market stays open](/img/default/eat.png)
There’s one key takeaway for agents from the weekend’s announcements on the next England-wide lockdown - the housing market is staying...
02 November 2020
From: Breaking News
![Confirmed: Housing market stays open during national lockdown](/img/default/eat.png)
The housing market is to remain open in the four week lockdown in England. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government...
31 October 2020
From: Breaking News
![New sleaze allegation against Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick](/img/default/eat.png)
The Times has revealed new allegations concerning the behaviour of Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick. The Cabinet member has been under the spotlight...
25 September 2020
From: Breaking News
![Agents back investigation into “unfair sales tactics” over leasehold](/img/default/eat.png)
NAEA Propertymark has thrown its weight behind a Competitions and Markets Authority investigation into whether consumer protection law has been broken...
07 September 2020
From: Breaking News
![Agents will be crucial during extended eviction ban](/img/default/eat.png)
The ban on evictions was due to end earlier this month, but following a last-minute U-turn from the government, it has...
29 August 2020
From: Features
![Housing Secretary Jenrick confident of keeping job in reshuffle](/img/default/eat.png)
Controversial Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick, tipped by some for sacking when the Cabinet is reshuffled next month, appears to be confident...
21 August 2020
From: Breaking News
![Confirmed: 30% discount for first time buyers under new scheme](/img/default/eat.png)
Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has confirmed that the First Homes scheme will provide newly built homes at a 30 per cent...
07 August 2020
From: Breaking News
![Going Up: two-storey extensions allowed without full consent](/img/default/eat.png)
Home owners in England will be entitled to add up to two storeys to the height of their home via a...
22 July 2020
From: Breaking News
![Big day for Leasehold reform as Law Commission issues reports](/img/default/eat.png)
It’s a big day for leasehold reform today with the Law Commission due to publish three residential leasehold and commonhold reports. They...
21 July 2020
From: Breaking News
![Agency regulation: still no government action, one year on](/img/default/eat.png)
The recommendations to regulate and train the estate agency industry put forward a year ago remain on the Housing Secretary’s desk...
30 June 2020
From: Breaking News
![Jenrick - Why his scandals matter to agents](/img/default/eat.png)
It may be that by the time you read this it’s all over for Robert Jenrick, the Secretary of State for...
27 June 2020
From: Features
![Distressed agents may benefit from latest commercial eviction ban](/img/default/eat.png)
Estate agents facing crippling running costs as the wider impacts of the Coronavirus crisis hit home may benefit, at least in...
25 June 2020
From: Breaking News
![Jenrick scandal to be debated as “pigs in trough” allegations mount](/img/default/eat.png)
Controversial Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick is the subject of a harshly critical cartoon in The Times which depicts “pigs in the...
24 June 2020
From: Breaking News
![Housing Secretary Jenrick may be sacked shortly, says newspaper](/img/default/eat.png)
Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick - currently at the centre of a planning controversy - could be sacked in a September Cabinet reshuffle. The...
22 June 2020
From: Breaking News
![Second politician named in Jenrick ‘cash for favours’ controversy](/img/default/eat.png)
Housing minister Chris Pincher has now been named in media investigations into allegations concerning his political boss, Robert Jenrick, and the...
15 June 2020
From: Breaking News
![Jenrick fails to show for key question as ‘cash for favours’ row grows](/img/default/eat.png)
Beleaguered Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick is under growing pressure to explain his part in a planning decision - now deemed illegal...
12 June 2020
From: Breaking News
![Eviction ban extended for another two months](/img/default/eat.png)
The government is extending the eviction ban for a further two months. A tweet early this evening from Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick...
05 June 2020
From: Breaking News
![Police ‘assess’ Housing Secretary’s planning row as PM steers clear](/img/default/eat.png)
The Metropolitan Police says it’s “assessing” the controversial surrounding the Housing Secretary, Robert Jenrick, and a planning decision over which he...
04 June 2020
From: Breaking News
![Housing Secretary Jenrick in hot water again as he admits bias](/img/default/eat.png)
Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick - accused by some of breaking the lockdown some weeks ago - is now in more hot...
28 May 2020
From: Breaking News
![Housing ministers steer clear of Cummings row - until last evening](/img/default/eat.png)
Housing Minister Chris Pincher and Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick stayed well clear of the Dominic Cummings row over the weekend -...
26 May 2020
From: Breaking News
![Conveyancers and removers join agents on ‘Back To Work Day’](/img/default/eat.png)
It’s back to work today for England’s estate agents and the housing market - but it’s the start of a new...
13 May 2020
From: Breaking News
![Agents in England can return to work tomorrow!](/img/default/eat.png)
Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick is expected to announce tomorrow that the housing market in England can resume with estate and letting...
12 May 2020
From: Breaking News
![Agents accused of breaking lockdown before new rules announced](/img/default/eat.png)
Details being presented to Parliament today may include information on how agents can return to work in some sort of ‘new normal.’ A 50...
11 May 2020
From: Breaking News
![Business rates boost for agencies as revaluation is deferred a year](/img/default/eat.png)
Agencies, many of which campaigned vigorously to be included in the business rates holiday announced in March by the government, have...
07 May 2020
From: Breaking News
![Let Sales Resume! Pressure piles on government from agents and suppliers](/img/default/eat.png)
Three of the highest profile industry suppliers and house moving services have given government a four-step plan to restart the housing...
05 May 2020
From: Breaking News
![Countrywide pleads to government to allow agents to return to work](/img/default/eat.png)
Countrywide has added its weight to the campaign asking the government to allow agents to get back to work - and...
04 May 2020
From: Breaking News
![Housing market could be ‘frozen’ to avoid Coronavirus crash](/img/default/eat.png)
It’s been reported that the government is talking with banks and building societies about putting the housing market ‘on ice’ during the...
27 March 2020
From: Breaking News
![Housing Minister launches 'home of the future' competition](/img/default/eat.png)
The government has launched a competition to attract what it calls “the best and brightest talents of the housing industry” to...
03 March 2020
From: Breaking News
![New Homes Ombudsman announced (again) with banning powers](/img/default/eat.png)
The government has - once again - announced the introduction of a New Homes Ombudsman. The news came yesterday when Housing Secretary...
25 February 2020
From: Breaking News
![A new Housing Minister - what does it mean for the PRS?](/img/default/eat.png)
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
17 February 2020
From: Breaking News
![Mansion Tax scrapped after PM vetoes the idea](/img/default/eat.png)
The government will not announce a Mansion Tax at next month’s Budget. It was first reported by the Sunday Telegraph a week ago,...
16 February 2020
From: Breaking News
![Controversial housing minister named as predecessor picks up thousands](/img/default/eat.png)
The new housing minister is Christopher Pincher, who for the past decade has been Conservative MP for Tamworth having had a...
14 February 2020
From: Breaking News
![Agents vent anger at ‘Boris Corbyn’ shock Mansion Tax proposals](/img/default/eat.png)
Agents have reacted angrily to the government contemplating introducing a Mansion Tax, and to the Housing Secretary not ruling out the...
10 February 2020
From: Breaking News
![Housing Minister McVey to be sacked this week, briefings suggest](/img/default/eat.png)
Unsourced stories in a number of newspapers over the weekend - all likely to have come from government off-the-record briefings -...
10 February 2020
From: Breaking News
![Discounted homes for first time buyers scheme unveiled by government](/img/default/eat.png)
The government has announced its First Homes scheme - a policy under which it says some new homes will see their...
07 February 2020
From: Breaking News
![Agents’ Compulsory Qualifications: politicians to meet group this week](/img/default/eat.png)
The chair of the working group introducing mandatory examinations and qualifications for estate and letting agents says senior politicians will meet...
04 February 2020
From: Breaking News
![Home ownership amongst young people up after a decade of decline](/img/default/eat.png)
The proportion of 25 to 34 year olds who own their own home in England has risen for the first time...
24 January 2020
From: Breaking News
![Future of referral fees may be revealed at upcoming conference](/img/default/eat.png)
The annual conference of the National Association of Estate Agents takes place on February 27 - the date when the future...
21 January 2020
From: Breaking News
![Tory tiff prompts gossip about yet another new Housing Minister](/img/default/eat.png)
He’s a young and very wealthy up-and-coming MP in his 30s, a Cambridge graduate who also studied in the US and...
16 January 2020
From: Breaking News
![Details of 30% discounts for 'First Home' local buyers revealed](/img/default/eat.png)
The government has given details of a scheme allowing 30 per cent reductions for what it calls ‘local first time buyers’...
19 December 2019
From: Breaking News
![Agent sells £53m of property within hours of General Election result](/img/default/eat.png)
An estate agent in London claims he did £53m of property deals within hours of the Conservative victory in the General...
16 December 2019
From: Breaking News
![Will stamp duty reform be announced on November 6?](/img/default/eat.png)
November 6 has been declared Budget Day - at least if there is a Brexit deal agreed in principle in the...
15 October 2019
From: Breaking News
![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
![Tories give housing a major role at party conference next week](/img/default/eat.png)
The Conservative Party conference agenda, now published, gives the housing issue several bites of the cherry in Manchester next week. Housing minister...
24 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
![Help To Buy housebuilders get another government bung](/img/default/eat.png)
It’s been quite a week for news so you might have missed this story - there is yet another boost for...
31 August 2019
From: Features
![Top agent tells PM that stamp duty chatter is causing market “paralysis”](/img/default/eat.png)
A well-respected agent who was president of the NAEA just five years ago has written to Prime Minister Boris Johnson asking...
28 August 2019
From: Breaking News
![First time buyers may get discounts if they buy locally, government says](/img/default/eat.png)
The Housing Secretary says he wants to make home ownership more affordable for first time buyers - which could mean discounts...
28 August 2019
From: Breaking News
![MHCLG gets a makeover – three key tasks for the new ministers to consider](/img/default/eat.png)
With Boris Johnson winning the Conservative leadership election and becoming Prime Minister, he has spent his first few days in office...
03 August 2019
From: Features
![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
![Property Jobs Today - we reveal who’s in and who’s out](/img/default/eat.png)
Hello and welcome to the start of a new week and a new Property Jobs Today column, bringing you the industry’s...
29 July 2019
From: Breaking News
![High profile housing minister named - but how long will she last?](/img/default/eat.png)
Esther McVey is to be the new housing minister - one of the most seasoned politicians to take the job in...