Archived Letting Agent Industry News - February 2012
Crossrail and HS2 'will improve London districts'
Rental prices in the capital could rise as a result of infrastructure upgrades, providing good investment opportunities for landlords.London Central P...
29-Feb-2012
Research shows 1 in 3 live in rented property
New research has revealed one in three families and individuals live in property rented from a private landlord.According to the Daily Mail's This...
27-Feb-2012
TDS lowers costs and launches bonus scheme
The Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS) is lowering costs and introducing a loyalty bonus scheme, a move it says will result in more landlords and agents opt...
27-Feb-2012
Belvoir successfully floats on stock exchange
Belvoir Lettings has become a plc and is set for further expansion.
One of the UK’s largest letting franchises, it listed on AIM on the Lon...
23-Feb-2012
Build to rent is'next big thing', says Grainger boss
Developers are to be encouraged to build new housing estates where all the properties will be for rent, not sale.
The idea, currently being explo...
23-Feb-2012
Landlords with LHA tenants not cutting rents, despite PM's claims
Only a handful of landlords with tenants on Local Housing Allowance are accepting lower rents in exchange for getting rent paid to them directly.
...
23-Feb-2012
Advertising watchdog slaps'below market value' firm over discount claims
An email to property investors offering a hands-free investment, no deposit required and 100% financing, at a ‘fantastic’ £25,000 be...
23-Feb-2012
Oxford university insists it supports attempts to set up code
Further to our story about Oxford students protesting about agents and landlords who sign them up to rental properties ten months before move-in date,...
23-Feb-2012
Major social housing provider sets up private landlord business
A housing association is going into the business of becoming a private landlord.
Thames Valley Housing has set up a profit-making subsidiary, Fiz...
23-Feb-2012
Buy-to-let investments 'need to be carefully considered'
Landlords have been advised to take a cautious approach when looking to invest in new property.With buy-to-let purchases on the rise, the Landlord Syn...
23-Feb-2012
Landlord behaviour 'remaining stable'
The behaviour of long-term investment landlords has remained stable in recent months, despite claims to the contrary, according to one expert.In an in...
22-Feb-2012
Top executives suspended at HomeLet as investigation gets under way
Two executives have been suspended from HomeLet, the largest supplier of referencing to the UK lettings industry, while an investigation into the sell...
21-Feb-2012
Half of landlords now taking out rental guarantee insurance
Insurance firm Let Alliance has reported a big increase in the sales of rent guarantee policies during the last six months.
The increase in deman...
21-Feb-2012
Asking price rents rise again, but over one in ten tenants struggle
Rents rose in January, in an unusual start to a new year.
According to LSL, it was the first time on record that there has been a January ...
21-Feb-2012
University students in protest at'early' rental fees
A battle has broken out in a university city after students complained that they are having to sign rental agreements and hand over large sums of mone...
21-Feb-2012
Lettings acquisition firm goes on shopping spree
Lomond Capital, the lettings agency acquisition vehicle, has bought James Gibb Property Management, one of Edinburgh’s oldest letting agencies, ...
21-Feb-2012
Investors 'should seek modern student properties'
Investors looking to purchase a buy-to-let student property have been advised to consider new-build developments over traditional offerings.Researcher...
21-Feb-2012
Labour criticises govt's 'rental pricing lies'
Labour has criticised the government for claiming private rental prices have been falling in some areas of the UK.The opposition's shadow housing ...
20-Feb-2012
Buy-to-let 'remains a profitable investment'
Landlords should find it easy to secure a buy-to-let mortgage, as lenders see this type of investment as a profitable option.This is according to dire...
17-Feb-2012
TDS boss welcomes tough sentencing on crooked agent
Heavy fines or a long jail term for the boss of fraudulent Oxford letting agent Charles Lawson have been welcomed by the head of the Tenancy Deposit S...
16-Feb-2012
North-East lettings boss announces ambitious expansion plans
A lettings business in the North-East has announced plans to open another nine branches in the region over the next three years and then take its bran...
16-Feb-2012
Met Police warn about rise in lettings fraudsters
The Metropolitan Police have issued a warning that fraudsters are stealing the personal details of landlords whose properties are managed by letting a...
16-Feb-2012
Martin&Co launches new drive to attract franchisees
Martin & Co has launched a new franchise recruitment website as it seeks to build on its 180-strong network.
Scott Burgess, franchise directo...
16-Feb-2012
Swell in householders taking in lodgers
More and more home owners are renting out rooms in their houses – and an increasing number of people are prepared to lodge, according to the web...
16-Feb-2012
Grant Shapps welcomes social landlord transparency
The latest social landlord to open its books and reveal details of expenditures over £500 has been praised for its transparency.Housing minister...
16-Feb-2012
Longer tenancies 'make inventories increasingly important'
Landlords have been advised to ensure they conduct a thorough inventory at the start of a contract, as research shows tenancies have increased substan...
15-Feb-2012
Buy-to-let investments rise in fourth quarter of 2011
Letting agents reported a rise in buy-to-let business in the final quarter of 2011, according to a new report.Research by Paragon Mortgages revealed i...
15-Feb-2012
Guilty letting agent ordered to pay over£300,000 or go to jail
A letting agent in one of the most notorious cases of recent times will have to pay over £300,000 after swindling tenants and landlords.
Zu...
14-Feb-2012
E-petition launches demanding compulsory licensing of all letting agents
A businessman who is both a landlord and a buy-to-let mortgage expert has launched an e-petition calling on the Government to introduce compulsory lic...
14-Feb-2012
Leaders joins SAFEagent scheme
In a major coup for the scheme, Leaders has joined SAFEagent, giving membership an instant boost of 60 offices.
Leaders is a notable member of AR...
14-Feb-2012
Guilty letting agent ordered to pay over£300,000 or go to jail
A letting agent in one of the most notorious cases of recent times will have to pay over £300,000 after swindling tenants and landlords.
Zu...
14-Feb-2012
Connells to triple its lettings operations
Connells has launched a recruitment drive after announcing plans to open 44 new lettings operations across the UK.
Connells chief executive Stuar...
14-Feb-2012
Countrywide reports new renting records
Over 275,000 new tenants registered for private rental accommodation last year with Countrywide branches, a 24% increase on 2010.
The findings fo...
14-Feb-2012
London rents dip as City draws in its horns
The most expensive rents in London have taken a wobble because of fewer City fat cats.
According to Knight Frank, rents in prime central London d...
14-Feb-2012
City job losses 'contributing to fall in rental demand'
Letting agents may have noted a fall in demand for residential rents in London, as rising unemployment is said to be affecting the market.New research...
14-Feb-2012
UK homes rise in value by 84% in 10 years
Investors may be inspired to purchase buy-to-let properties and become landlords after hearing how the value of homes in the UK has risen by 84 per ce...
13-Feb-2012
Landlords 'should consider what students want from a property'
Investors planning to become buy-to-let landlords in the student sector have been advised to consider a number of factors before purchasing a property...
10-Feb-2012
TDS says it did not notify OFT about new landlord service
The Tenancy Deposit Scheme has not notified the launch of its new service for private landlords to the authorities – because it says it did not ...
09-Feb-2012
Upad launches£250 Olympics letting service
Upad, the self-service lettings agent, has launched a dedicated Olympics lettings service.
For £250 plus VAT, home owners wanting to let th...
09-Feb-2012
London agent in West meets East talks with investors
London letting agent Marc von Grundherr, of Benham & Reeves, is setting off to visit the Middle East and Far East to talk to would-be investors in...
09-Feb-2012
Belvoir staff raise£16,000 for Macmillan
Belvoir, the lettings chain, has raised over £16,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support in the last year.
Its goal was to raise £10,000, bu...
09-Feb-2012
Most inventories'would not stand up in court'
The majority of the inventories presented to deposit scheme adjudicators are not worth the paper they are written on, leading to landlords losing depo...
09-Feb-2012
Rental registration sees 24% rise in 2011
New figures show interest in renting a home rose by nearly a quarter in 2011, with more than 275,000 tenants registering for private accommodation.Dat...
09-Feb-2012
Tiny demand from tenants as landlords still chase Olympic gold
Landlords hopeful of hitting gold in the Olympics by charging four times normal rents are continuing to inundate letting agents.
Many are making ...
07-Feb-2012
Rent rises in most areas'not living up to the hype'
Despite much hype, rental levels in many regions are still not back up to those of 2008.
The claim has come from Belvoir managing director Dorian...
07-Feb-2012
Countrywide recruiting graduates for lettings management
Countrywide Residential Lettings has started a graduate recruitment drive with the launch of a graduate management programme.
With places for 12 ...
07-Feb-2012
New landlords pile into buy-to-let
Buy-to-let returns are on the up – and new landlords are piling into the sector.
According to Knight Frank agents, the average annual yield...
07-Feb-2012
Fire safety in flats conference for agents
A half-day conference on fire risks in blocks of flats is being held for agents and property managers.
Organised by News on the Block, tickets ar...
07-Feb-2012
Radical changes announced for Scottish social housing
Landlords may be interested to hear radical changes have been proposed to the way properties in the social rented sector are allocated and managed.The...
06-Feb-2012
Olympics 'forcing tenants out of their homes'
An increasing number of landlords in London are planning to cash in on the Olympics by evicting tenants so they can rent homes to visitors prepared to...
03-Feb-2012
'Jack Russell' Shapps barks up wrong tree on SAFE
Here’s the good news: the SAFEagent scheme has been mentioned by housing minister Grant Shapps in Parliament.
And the bad news? Shapps does...
02-Feb-2012
London council launches lettings management for private landlords
A local authority has launched a full-management lettings service for the private rented sector. It was already offering a tenant-find service.
H...
02-Feb-2012
Deposit scheme publishes new guide for landlords and agents
Tenancy deposit scheme mydeposits has released an online checklist for landlords and letting agents to help them in any dispute with their tenant over...
02-Feb-2012
'Leap of faith' as Chainbow founder sells chunk of his business
Arguably the best known figure in block management, Roger Southam has sold a major chunk of his Chainbow business after more than 20 years, and will n...
02-Feb-2012
Yorkshire independent adds two more agency purchases
Yorkshire lettings business Linley & Simpson has continued its expansion drive with two new acquisitions.
It has bought Lets-Move.net as...
02-Feb-2012
Check properties ahead of freezing conditions, landlords advised
As cold weather takes a grip on the UK, landlords have been advised to ensure they check and prepare their properties for freezing conditions.The Land...
02-Feb-2012
Landlords 'struggling to gain finance'
An increasing number of people are interested in entering the buy-to-let market, it has been claimed.Private rented sector expert at LettingFocus.com ...
01-Feb-2012
