Archive

MPs have begun the process of electing the next chairperson of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee in the new Parliament. The chairman...

All councils in England will be given new, mandatory housebuilding targets under planning reforms unveiled by the Government yesterday. Deputy Prime Minister...

The Government has dropped the previous Tory Party’s levelling up slogan. Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary Angela Rayner confirmed the move...

It may be all change - again - at the Department of Levelling Up, Communities and Local Government if media speculation...

A former minister has questioned whether the Government has a long-term commitment to reform Stamp Duty to boost transactions and has...

There has been an understandable focus on things other than Government since the death of Queen Elizabeth was announced, but Prime...

First off, my own quick tribute to the Queen, who died on Thursday afternoon aged 96. Despite her age and declining...

Estate agency trade body Propertymark is hoping to “maintain momentum” with newly appointed Housing Secretary Greg Clark. He replaces Michael Gove, who...

Greg Clark has been named as the new Housing Secretary. Clark will replace Michael Gove who was sacked by Prime Minister Boris...

Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently announced that he is considering extending Margaret Thatcher’s Right-to-Buy scheme, that gives council tenants the chance to...

I’ve never written the three letters ‘EPC’ more often than I have in the past week. Law changes for the private rental...

Former Housing Secretary James Brokenshire has died at the age of 53. The Conservative ex-Cabinet minister, who was diagnosed with lung cancer...

There’s good news and bad news from the shake-up in government ministers and ministries that was presented to the nation last...

The government has been warned that its much-talked about levelling up agenda is ‘doomed to fail’ without major reform of the...

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has changed its name to reflect the government’s levelling up agenda. The department’s...

New Housing Secretary Michael Gove is reported to be set to press ahead with plans to pause controversial planning reforms.  It came...

Boris Johnson's sudden and unexpectedly ruthless Cabinet reshuffle, which drew comparisons with Margaret Thatcher's 'purge of the wets' in 1981, ended...

The Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners (ALEP) has become the latest body to welcome the decision by Countryside Properties to scrap the requirement to pay...

In a day of unexpected drama, Boris Johnson carried out a surprisingly brutal and widespread Cabinet reshuffle which saw a number...

Robert Jenrick has been sacked from his post as Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary. He was the third major name to...

The chairman of the Commons housing, communities and local government committee has criticised the institutional bulk-buying of existing homes for denying...

I’m sorry to break this to you but in 10 days’ time it will be autumn - and we will have...

The number of Energy Performance Certificates issued for new build homes in England rose 16 per cent in the year to...

A young Conservative says “the rich are getting a free pass” thanks to the current council tax system, and there should...

A group of MPs has suggested the government consider a “proportional property tax” to replace the current council tax, in a...

One of the most senior politicians involved in the property industry is embroiled in a row over her anti-Marcus Rashford social...

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has revealed that what it calls its “second HQ” will be in Wolverhampton,...

Propertymark has produced a new guide for estate agents in the wake of the latest step on the roadmap out of Covid...

It’s been quite a week for the rental sector. Lettings agents and landlords have had such a torrid time in recent years...

Labour’s new housing spokesperson is the experienced MP Lucy Powell, who until the weekend was shadow business and consumer affairs minister.  She replaces...

The government has launched a formal consultation process on a new residential property developer tax which is to contribute towards cladding...

Some 30 tax documents have been released by HM Treasury this afternoon - a mix of responses to past consultations, proposals...

An industry group charged with trying to make house buying simpler and quicker says it’s made a breakthrough on ‘upfront’ information...

It’s now more than a year since the government offered an additional £4 million to councils to combat rogue landlords. At the...

The government has given details of two new taxes to provide funds to address the cladding problem on high rise tower blocks...

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has announced “an exceptional intervention” promising that leaseholders in high-rise buildings above 18 metres will bear no...

An estate agent has shut both branches of his business for safety reasons and wants tighter Coronavirus restrictions on the industry.  ITV...

Government guidance on how agents can continue working during the lockdown has given a new importance to virtual viewings, says an...

Propertymark, the overarching body aiming to bring five different associations (ARLA, NAEA, NAVA, ICBA and APIP) into a single brand, was...

A trade body has called on House Secretary Robert Jenrick to intervene over the growing problem of delays in councils providing...

The government is considering stricter tier structures for the coming weeks as the number of Coronavirus infections continues to rise. There is...

Here’s hoping you managed to have as good a Christmas and New Year as Covid rules allowed. Journalism in early January is...

An agency operating in the new Tier 4 area has abandoned viewings and visits to homes until New Year, even though the...

The housing market is to stay open across the UK, including in the new Tier 4 areas of England. An announcement from Housing Secretary...

A study of 2,000 home owners shows that over a third have felt pressured by an agent into use its in-house mortgage...

A scathing document produced by MPs slams the government for its “deplorable” housing policies which are "invented, abandoned and reinvented" -...

The Property Ombudsman has joined calls for greater disclosure of referral fees by agents.  The issue has become a hot topic in...

Propertymark is in touch with the government to see how the new Tier structure being introduced on December 3 will affect...

Agents should know in the next 36 hours how new Coronavirus restrictions will affect how they work. The Prime Minister is announcing...

The Boomin portal, which incentivises agents to cross-sell and benefit from referral fees, is to receive advice on fee disclosure from...

An unidentified estate agency has been threatened with prosecution by a local council after opening its office to the public during...

The housing market is to remain open in the four week lockdown in England. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government...

The mandatory qualifications expected of agents have not been forgotten and will come into effect in two or three years. That’s the...

A progress report on the Regulation of Property Agents recommendations will be made today by a key RoPA committee member, Mark...

Another attempt is being made to introduce property logbooks to the selling and buying process, and agents are invited to play a...

The National Association of Estate Agents has thrown its weight behind the recommendation of Trading Standards that agents must by law be...

Customers must be told about third party referral fees when buying or selling a home says the National Trading Standards Estate...

The Times has revealed new allegations concerning the behaviour of Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick. The Cabinet member has been under the spotlight...

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced that all retail staff will be obliged to wear masks when working - and it's now...

Since June 1, under The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, landlords in England have been...

Controversial Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick, tipped by some for sacking when the Cabinet is reshuffled next month, appears to be confident...

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has confirmed that the First Homes scheme will provide newly built homes at a 30 per cent...

If a week is a long time in politics (an old phrase, for younger readers), then a year is a very long...

Earlier this month, it was revealed that property industry bodies have joined a new Code of Practice Steering Group to enact...

New guidance on face coverings for agents working in branches, and for those dealing directly with visitors, was issued last evening. A statement...

Home owners in England will be entitled to add up to two storeys to the height of their home via a...

It’s a big day for leasehold reform today with the Law Commission due to publish three residential leasehold and commonhold reports. They...

A London Labour council has won draconian powers to effectively ban For Sale and To Let boards in several parts of...

The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 - which require increased electrical testing in rental properties...

More than 24 hours after the government's announcement about the compulsory wearing of facemasks by shoppers in England, and there is...

A PropTech supplier claims that an agency has secured the first ever transaction where the complete chain used Reservation Agreements.  Harrison Residential,...

The return of non-essential businesses to lockdown in Leicester as a result of a localised spike in Coronavirus cases is a...

The recommendations to regulate and train the estate agency industry put forward a year ago remain on the Housing Secretary’s desk...

It may be that by the time you read this it’s all over for Robert Jenrick, the Secretary of State for...

Estate agents facing crippling running costs as the wider impacts of the Coronavirus crisis hit home may benefit, at least in...

Controversial Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick is the subject of a harshly critical cartoon in The Times which depicts “pigs in the...

A working party of property professionals is being set up to look at whether and how property logbooks could help speed...

Over the last few years, there have been a number of high-profile court cases in which renters took action against letting...

The chief executive of NAEA Propertymark says he expects specific government guidance later this week for estate agents to return to...

NAEA Propertymark has made a series of demands on the government in the light of the Coronavirus crisis.  In a formal written...

Housing minister Chris Pincher is drawing up guidelines which could allow agents to return to something like normal working in the near...

If it’s really the case that estate agents’ offices could be in the category of High Street premises first allowed to...

A trade body has reported some council search departments to the government for refusing to provide email details and forcing search...

The controversial Help To Buy scheme looks likely to be expanded in breadth and extended in duration to help kick-start the...

It’s been reported that the government is talking with banks and building societies about putting the housing market ‘on ice’ during the...

We'd hoped it was good news but in fact it's just good-news-yet-to-come. The Savills office in Wuhan, the epicentre of the Coronavirus crisis in...

*** Please see this story for the latest news on house moving, updated 12 noon on Tuesday March 24 *** The property...

Hello - here we are with Friday’s help and advice.  A reminder, if you need it, that we want to share your...

The author of dramatic reform proposals for estate agents has given a clear message to ministers - Get On With It!  Lord...

The government has launched a competition to attract what it calls “the best and brightest talents of the housing industry” to...

Trials of reservation agreements for buyers and sellers have been delayed until the late spring. Statements last year from the Ministry of Housing, Communities...

There’s something of a conspiracy of silence over the problem of short lets. That is a stark claim but many siren voices...

Earlier this month, Boris Johnson carried out a reshuffle of his cabinet, telling ministers they must 'repay the trust of those...

Despite still being in the transition period after leaving the EU on January 31, we are seeing an upturn in the...

The HomeOwners Alliance, a leading property consumer group, has now suggested it has some concerns about the government’s First Homes scheme. This...

Now we’re well into the second month of the year, we have reached a crucial point in the ongoing plans to...

Property auctions – online or otherwise – can be hugely helpful to sellers, buyers and estate agents. Online auctions, in particular, are...

The chair of the working group introducing mandatory examinations and qualifications for estate and letting agents says senior politicians will meet...

The Law Society has announced that there will be a new TA6 Property Information Form launching next week, on Friday February...

Rightmove and Zoopla have been working with key figures from government and the agency and conveyancing industries on how to reform...