Ed Miliband, leader of the Labour Party, has proposed a national register of landlords and more powers for councils to tackle rogue landlords. A “national register” of landlords, the likes of which already exists in Scotland, was proposed under the last Labour government.  This was abandoned by the coalition which said it did not want…

The number of tenants in severe arrears fell in the last quarter of 2012, according to receivers Templeton LPA, part of the LSL group. There was a 15.6% drop in the number of tenants in severe arrears, which translates to 16,000 tenants. Although that still left 86,000 in serious arrears of two months or more,…

The buy-to-let market looks buoyant for 2013, with 55% of landlords planning to increase their property portfolios over the next six months. But, according to research by specialist broker Mortgages for Business, landlords are highly critical of lenders. 76% of investors say lenders should be doing more to help them get the finance they need….

Happy new year! 2012 proved to be a good year for the rental market.  Tenant arrears dropped to the lowest levels since 2010 and gross yields on buy to let properties increased from 6.3% to 6.7% in the third quarter of 2012. For further information on how we can help you to secure your next tenant(s)…

Homeless Link, and the charities The Children’s Society and Barnados are among 20 charities and organisations backing the call to the government to scrap its latest welfare cuts ahead of a key commons vote tomorrow.  An open letter, published yesterday in the Observer newspaper, warns that plans to cap increases in benefits will cause hardship…

ARLA have release a Christmas holiday guide for tenants. You can view the guide by clicking here

The direct payment of benefits scheme is being tested by landlords across Great Britain in six pilot projects. 6,200 tenants were paid directly in the first four months of the pilot project, according to figures released by the Department for Work and Pensions.  On average, 92% of rent was collected, meaning that 8% of those tenants…

Boris Johnson unveiled the London Rental Standard (LRS), which he described as a set of ambitious guidelines that would empower those in the private rental sector, as well as tenants in the city. The LRS is a set of uniform standards and regulations for letting agents and landlords in the capital, and contains 12 criteria…

Landlord, Mehmet Parlak, has pleaded guilty at Highgate Magistrates Court to management failures and not licensing his properties. He endangered the lives of children by placing them at fire risk has been fined £23,000 with costs of £2,890. Mehmet Parlak is the owner of Watchacre Properties Ltd which let Markfield Lodge on Markfield Road, London…

In the policy review document entitled Private rented housing: providing stability and affordability for renters and families, launched today, Labour argued that the private sector should give stability and financial certainty to private renters by offering predictable rents over a long period. Around 8.5 million people in England rent privately, including more than one million families…