Private landlord, Salah Ali, 52, of Wembley, has been fined a record £1.4m after converting a house in Willesden Lane, north-west London, into 12 flats without planning permission. If he does not pay within 6 months, Ali has been warned that he could face a jail sentence of up to 10 years. A judge at…

It’s great news for landlords as rents in England and Wales rise for a fifth consecutive month in August.  The average rent rise was by 1.2%, meaning rents have reached a new high of £734 pcm.  In the same month, tenant arrears fell for the first time in three months, according to LSL Property Services…

If you are trying to decide which online letting agent to use, look no further! Our customer reviews not only tell you what our customers think of us, but tell us about our strengths and weaknesses.  We use this information to grow and be the best we can be, offering both our landlords and tenants…

As of 1st September, squatting in residential properties has become a criminal offence. Squatters are people who live in a building without the owner’s permission, whether it is a commercial building or residential property. There have been some instances where squatters have even moved in to houses while the owners are away on holiday, or…

Ex-construction minister Mark Prisk has been named as the new Housing Minister, after it was confirmed that Grant Shapps has been promoted to the cabinet. Mr Shapps will be a cabinet minister without portfolio and Conservative party chair. The post was previously held by Baroness Warsi, who is moving to take on a dual ministerial…

Search traffic generated by people using a mobile device continues to grow at a staggering rate. At peak times up to 30% of searches to Rightmove are being performed via smartphones and tablets. Rightmove have just released their new iPad app.  It is free to download from the Apple app store. This exciting new release…

If housing associations and councils were to sell their high value social housing when it becomes vacant they could raise enough money to fund up to a further 170,000 homes a year, according to a report from think tank, Policy Exchange The National Housing Federation, NHF, has described the findings ‘fundamentally flawed’ and have warned…

Wandsworth council in London has backed a call for wealthier social tenants to pay higher rents. In a response to a government consultation on the ‘pay to stay’ proposals launched in June this year , Conservative-run Wandsworth Council said that tenants with annual incomes of more than £60,000 should not benefit from sub-market rent. The consultation paper,…

Work being carried out by Wirral Partnership Homes has found that 45% of its tenants who will be affected by the penalty for under-occupation will accept the reduction to benefit payments rather than move to smaller properties. From April 2013, working age social tenants who are receiving housing benefit will see payments cut if they…

Rita Lambani, 35, of Laindon, Essex, was convicted of fraud at Basildon Magistrates Court this month after failing to declare she owned a home when she applied for social housing. An investigation found that Ms Limbani had not declared a property was registered in her name, that she paid the mortgage and that she rented…