Category: Real Estate

The Labour Party has committed to extending Awaab’s Law – where social landlords have to fix hazards quickly – to the private sector if they come to power. The new measures, which…

Landlords can suffer a ‘double jeopardy’ of tenants committing anti-social behaviour and taking action against them due to selective licensing schemes, Landlord Licensing & Defence has warned. Des Taylor, a director of…

Michael Ellis, partner in the property & commercial litigation team at Wilsons Solicitors LLP Over the past 10 years residential landlords of assured shorthold tenancies have had to deal with ever-increasing legislative…

The amount of super prime tenancies has increased by 10% in 2023, signalling a return of the prestigious end of the UK rental market, Knight Frank research has revealed. Super prime tenancies…

By Sarah Thompson, managing director, Mortgage Scout Compared with a decade ago, today’s first-time buyers are older, more likely to buy with a partner and more likely to have dependent children. This…

While property prices are set to fall across much of the UK in early 2024, the North East should be a notable exception. That is according to homemoving quote service reallymoving. North…

The Bristol economy is expected to grow by 8.9% over the next five years, significantly outpacing the rest of the UK, a report from commercial real estate firm Avison Young has revealed….

There’s been a strong seasonal bounce of mortgage activity – driven by pent-up demand and rates dropping below 5%, Zoopla research has found. UK buyer demand is up 12% and sales agreed…

The UK’s next elected government needs to engage in an “urgent and sensible conversation” around the green belt, global property consultancy Knight Frank has urged. Focusing on inner town and city centre…

By Allison Thompson, national lettings managing director, Leaders Romans Group 2024 will be a year to watch for landlords, especially those who are self-managing, as there will likely be many changes and…

Building inspections are the most in-demand property management service in London, SBA Property Management has found. This is likely a consequence of wider reforms to building health and safety, which recommend that…

People living in Vancouver on average have C$360,683 consumer debt – six times the national average in Canada, research from savvynewcanadians.com has found. Vancouver is an expensive place to live, with the…

Glasgow has been the UK city with the biggest rise in the number of buy-to-let properties in the past year, closely followed by Nottingham, Leeds and Bristol, research from Simply Business has…

James Parratt is in the real estate disputes team at Thomson Snell & Passmore Insolvency numbers have risen 10% from a year ago and the number of companies that are going bust…

The average cost of a short-term holiday let sits at £3,325 per month across 30 UK hotspots – 292% more than a long-term rental. The research, from Zero Deposit, found that it…

Complete Fibre, the Full Fibre infrastructure specialist, has been selected by social housing provider Raven Housing Trust to enable the safe and strategic rollout of Full Fibre networks to its residents. Championing…

Multiple London landlords have come forward saying they have been scammed by the same letting agent working in tandem with a tenant. It previously emerged that a landlord was approached by the…

Storm damage to property was the cause of over a quarter of claims for their residential property clients in 2023. The average cost per claim for storm damage to property for Lansdown Insurance…

The government is considering introducing a 1% deposit mortgage scheme as part of Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s upcoming March Budget, The Independent reports. It’s typical for lenders to require a 10% deposit, while…

It takes an average of 16 property viewings for homes to be sold, research from Quick Move Now has revealed. This rises to 27 in Greater London, while in the West Midlands…

Estate agency membership group Propertymark has urged the government to make it so private rented sector property managers need to be qualified. Currently that just applies to those working in the social…

Alan Twine and Celia Berg are partners from law firm BCLP Forward funding structures are typically used when developers have obtained detailed planning permission for a site. The site is sold to…

The owners of long-term empty homes in Haringey will be forced to pay double their council tax bill one year earlier. This week the cabinet voted to charge 200% council tax on…

Yulia Barnes is founder and managing partner of Barnes Law 2024 is set to be another significant year for the property sector, with many legislative changes, consultations and reviews underway. As the…

North of England housebuilder, Homes by Esh, has brought forward a development of 144 energy efficient homes in Darlington. The collection of two-, three- and four-bedroom houses at Hurworth Meadows is located…

By Allison Thompson, national lettings managing director, Leaders Romans Group Damp and mould are two of the most common issues in rented properties, with surface mould caused by condensation one of the…

Landlords are urging MPs to back ‘pragmatic’ changes to the Renters (Reform) Bill. One change being proposed is that tenants would only be able to give notice to leave a property four…

The CPI inflation rate inched up to 4.0% in December – making the prospect of a base rate rise less likely. Inflation rose from 3.9% in November, the first increase in 10…

Relentless sales techniques associated with spray foam insulation have been condemned by manufacturer Huntsman Building Solutions. Salespeople for spray foam insulation have been known to wrongly label themselves as surveyors, who are…

Having an energy efficient home is important to 72% of buyers – indicating that it’s increasingly becoming a priority, research from property portal Share to Buy has revealed. The cost of energy…

Cranleigh in Surrey will see its housing stock boosted this winter by one-bedroom apartments and two-bedroom houses being sold with the shared ownership model. They will start from £102,000 (30% share) and…

Landlords are doubling down on urban flats as prospective buyers revert to city living amidst the return to office working, research from Shawbrook Bank has revealed. Over a quarter of UK landlords…

A landlord has taken action after being bamboozled into letting to a tenant who didn’t pay the rent and sublet her property. Julia Reeves is an American landlord currently living in New…

Property investors are increasingly struggling with tenants who are late or not paying the rent, research from mortgage lender Molo has found. The financial impact of late rent is significant, as landlords…

Over 50,000 buy-to-let companies were set up in 2023, highlighting that the limited company model is becoming more dominant in the UK. Despite the market seeing a downtown, the number of companies…

At the time of writing there are 82 flood warnings in place in England. Meanwhile there could be more adverse conditions coming, as the Met Office has warned of an “increasing chance…

Landlords with holiday lets in Wales will have to join a register saying where and how they are operating, under plans unveiled this week. Legislation is expected to be introduced to the…

Two-fifths (44%) of landlords are worried about tenants being unable to pay rent as we head into the new year, highlighting how fragile affordability has become, research from mortgage lender Molo has…

Rents fell by 0.9% between November to December – providing some respite to tenants after months of increases, the HomeLet Rental Index has revealed. All regions saw the cost of renting fall,…

Lending for commercial construction is expected to fall for the ninth year in a row, underlying how demand for office space and high street retail has declined over the period, analysis from…

New rules expecting social landlords to tackle issues like mould quickly won’t be passed on to the private sector, a debate in the House of Lords indicates. The rules will mean landlords…

Flexible workspace provider infinitSpace has entered into a management agreement with FTSE-listed real estate firm Helical plc to launch a new state-of-the-art flexible workspace location in The Bower complex in Old Street,…

Householders dealing with the aftermath of Storm Henk can take steps to protect their homes from future flood events, which have been underlined by The Property Care Association. The group siad that…

London has the most social landlords with mouldy and unsafe homes in the UK. Some 20 out of 33 associations and councils called out by housing secretary Michael Gove are in the…

The North East of England is the place to be if you want to invest in properties under £100,000 that offer strong yields. Of the top five affordable regions with strong yields…

Landlords operating HMOs in Greenwich need to ensure they’re signed up to an additional licensing scheme this week, or they risk being hit with a devastating fine of up to £30,000. To…

By, Trevor Abrahmsohn, Glentree International With the spring Budget looming on March 6, there are theatrical whispers about the prospect that the Chancellor will either reform or scrap Inheritance Tax altogether. No…

Fall throughs cost UK buyers and sellers an estimated £270m in the third quarter of last year. This represents the second consecutive quarterly increase, suggesting market conditions are becoming more problematic. The…

Alan Davison, personal finance distribution director at Together shares his five top tips to help first-time buyers get their mortgage plans in order ahead of the 2024 With some mortgage rates easing…

The abolition of Section 21 evictions poses the greatest challenge in 2024, according to landlords. Limits to rental price increases and changes to notice periods ranked second, while greater rights for tenants…

The Turkish cities of Ankara and Istanbul saw the highest house price growth in the world in the past year. In Ankara, Turkey’s capital, prices more than doubled by 102.7%, while they…

Londoners spent £28.7bn on homes outside the capital this year, 29% or £11.7bn less than in 2022 and £20.1bn down on 2021 when outmigration peaked, Hamptons research has found. First-time buyers made…

Charles Leigh, sales director at Finchatton How has the London prime residential property performed in 2023 and how do you think things will go in 2024? The market had a challenging 2023,…

An increased number of brokers are searching for HMO mortgage products, reflecting that more landlords are taking on this investment type in search of higher returns. Searches for these products increased by…

A development of 450 homes will be delivered in South Wootton, on the outskirts of King’s Lynn. The development is designed and built by regional housebuilder Allison Homes East, while it will…

Some 30,000 foreign property owners have registered with Companies House, in what marks a world first. The Register of Overseas Entities came into force in the UK on 1 August 2022 and…

Michael Gove has named and shamed seven councils whom he blamed on blocking housing developments. St Albans, Amber Valley, Ashfield, Medway, Uttlesford, Basildon and Castle Point have failed to submit a local…

UK housing costs 10-15% more than it should according to Zoopla – as prices have only fallen by -1.1% year-on-year despite escalating mortgage rates. However Zoopla said next year incomes will rise…

After falling off a cliff in 2023 mortgage lending will fall again next year – before picking up the year after, the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association has predicted. Lending is on track…

The CPI inflation rate has fallen again to 3.9% in November – meaning the prospect of a base rate cut next year is more likely. This represents a reduction from 4.4% in…

Almost two thirds of private landlords expect to see their mortgage payments increase over the next 12 months – suggesting that further rent increases are on the horizon. Over a quarter of…

The cost of mortgage payments have surged by 283% since 2021 for landlords using interest-only, highlighting the dramatic effects of rising interest rates, Octane Capital research shows. Buy-to-let mortgage rates have soared…

The government has committed a further £1.5 billion to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme from the £6 billion pot committed last year. The scheme offers grants of up to £7,500, after the amount…

A lawyer and estate has urged the Scottish government to ‘reset’ its relationship with the landlord sector in today’s Budget, by scrapping rent caps. Andrew Diamond, partner and head of residential property…

Student living start-up Housr has opened the door to investors for a £5 million growth funding round, as it looks to expand across the UK and US. Housr lets users swipe through…

A rogue investor already banned from operating as a landlord has been using Airbnb through a third party, The Bristol Cable reports. The landlord in question, Naomi Knapp, was previously banned for…

PropertyBox, which enhances photos using AI, has targeted becoming the first all-in-one AI property marketing assistant for estate agents. The proptech company has launched two products: Auto-generated AI property descriptions and automated…

Mortgage rates are predicted to fall next year as lenders take advantage of cheaper funding, as average swap rates have fallen for five months in a row. That’s according to specialist property…

The Renters Reform Bill is doomed to fail unless local authorities are given more money to carry it out, MPs have warned. The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for the Private Rented Sector…

Spitfire Homes has completed the acquisition of a 5.6-acre brownfield site in Halesowen. The Midlands-based housebuilder has already started work on site clearance and demolition of the office block that previously occupied…

Callum Board, client success director at REdirect As more property companies in the UK are embracing PropTech and seeing the benefits of the technology, there remains some scepticism around Robotics Process Automation…

Renters earning between £50,000-£74,999 are 82.3% more likely to have been asked to provide a guarantor in 2023 compared to 2020, in signs that landlords have the luxury of being choosy when…

The Bank of England has opted to keep interest rates on hold at 5.25%, where they have stayed since August. The decision was taken by the Monetary Policy Committee by 6-3, with…

The government has targeted making heat pumps the standard way of heating a property from 2025, after it published a consultation on the Future Homes Standard. The document said fossil fuel boilers,…

Some 50,000 buyers are now using Invisible Homes, a platform linking buyers with off-market properties. The platform uses AI to build a picture of buyers’ needs, while it connects them with listing…

By Trevor Abrahmsohn, Glentree International As we near the watershed at the end of the year, let’s look back for a second and see what 2023 was like for the residential property…

Shadow deputy prime minister Angela Rayner has pledged to make commonhold the default tenure for all properties, saying “if the government cannot deliver it, we are ready to do so”. Speaking at…

The size of student loans must increase to compensate for the increasingly high rents charged by landlords, Hybr chief executive Hannah Chappatte has urged. Rents on new tenancies rose by 10.2% year-on-year…

The value of new UK buy-to-let lending is set to fall by -53% in 2023 according to trade body UK Finance, underlying how investors are being increasingly staying away from the housing…

Dominic Stead is property director at My Future Living The recent Autumn Budget brought some positive news for retirees, with the Chancellor reaffirming the government’s support for the full state pension triple…

It’s likely there will be more mergers and acquisitions among estate agencies in 2024, Tom Goodman, managing director of credit reporting agency, Vouch, has predicted. Mergers and acquisitions commonly become more common…

Next year is likely to be tricky for landlords due to factors including the uncertainty of a General Election. That’s according to William Reeve, chief executive of software company Goodlord. On the…

The government’s plans to retrospectively introduce a cap on ground rents could cost the taxpayer over £31bn in compensation, the Residential Freehold Association has warned. This is due to the compensation pension…

A landlord in Tottenham has been ordered to pay 12 months of rent and a £2,500 fine for failing to license their HMO, Haringey Council has communicated. The fine came after an…

By Ritchie Clapson CEng MIStructE, co-founder of property development training company propertyCEO The modern era of Doctor Who kicked off in 2005, and since then we’ve had eight—soon to be nine—versions of…

Scotland’s consultation to introduce green heating systems requires more of a carrot than stick approach, property firm DJ Alexander has urged. David Alexander, chief executive of the firm, is critical of the…

A property platform has launched which pairs investors with brokers using the rent-to-rent model, called Proptific. The rent-to-rent model works by having the investor take out a lease with a landlord or…

Landlords in New Zealand have been fined after evicting a single mother with a brain tumour – only to relist the property four days later. Investors Roshan John Mureekal and Anu Abraham gave…

Three quarters of buy-to-let landlords (76%) have raised rent over the past year with the main reason being to cover higher mortgage costs, a survey by Landbay has revealed. Over half of…

Rental growth sits at 7.3% year-on-year in England, bringing the average to £1,666 in November. The biggest year-on-year change was in the North West, where prices are up by 11% compared to…

Due to the improved economic outlook the November property market was stronger than September, a rare phenomenon. That is according to Knight Frank’s head of residential research Tom Bill. He said: “Inflation…

OnTheMarket founder Trevor Abrahmsohn has accused the company’s shareholders of taking “gain today for pain tomorrow” after they agreed a £100m takeover deal with CoStar Group. The scheme was approved by over 94%…

Newcastle is set to flourish in the years ahead, driven by devolution and the expansion of its knowledge and tech industries, research from Avison Young has found. This could mean it’s a…

Leasehold flats will eventually be banned and replaced by commonhold – though this is not included in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill. As it stands the bill will make it easier…