Archive

SINCE the new Labour government was elected in early July, one phrase has been circulating more than any – grey belt....

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

The Chancellor’s plans to ‘get Britain building again’ are very significant for the property sector and property investment, specifically.  The plans...

Enforcement of material information rules is being done through redress schemes rather than putting a strict deadline on compliance, James Munro,...

New research reveals nearly half a million homes could be built across London on land that currently lies derelict amid a...

There are those in the technology sector that claim “data is the new oil”. I think they might be right, but...

Estate agents were fined a total of more than £3m in the nine months to September 2023 for failing to register...

For most of us, estate agents are key when it comes to the biggest sales and purchases of our lives. With the...

Stamp duty rebates and cash to improve energy efficiency are being demanded by one of the country’s biggest mortgage lenders in...

An anti-money laundering (AML) expert has queried why there is a reluctance among estate agents to accept and follow AML responsibilities. It...

The world of PR can feel like a crowded marketplace, where shouting your message the loudest doesn't guarantee anyone hears it....

In the first of a short series of articles, David Beaumont, managing director of Compliance Matters, casts a professional eye over...

Digital compliance specialist SmartSearch can help estate agents comply quickly and efficiently Around one in five estate agents are not registered for...

From medieval castles to Elizabethan manor houses, Georgian townhouses and Victorian terraces, the UK’s historic buildings are central to our country’s...

The United Kingdom stands on the precipice of a historic overhaul in property ownership. With the King's speech unveiling the anticipated...

A client account is essential to your lettings business, but the rules and regulations you need to follow to keep this...

Build to Rent (BTR) is the UK’s fastest-growing sector and this trend looks set to continue throughout 2023 and beyond. The...

Lead generation tool provider Spectre claims it is set to redefine prospecting with a new tool to be launched this week. The...

As money laundering compliance marks its twentieth year, more and more estate agents are being fined for breaches of HMRC’s ID...

Agency software and CRM provider Street.co.uk has launched a new artificial intelligence (AI) to help users write property descriptions. Street AI uses...

An improvement is defined by the Cambridge dictionary as ‘an occasion when something gets better or when you make it better’. ...

Agency brand Hat and Home has launched a new branch in Ascot that will be led by Paul Price. He joins the...

The average anti-money laundering (AML) fine issued to estate agents for non-compliance so far during 2022/23 has already crept beyond the...

Tackling economic crime is part of the day job for estate agents. But how can the latest digital ID tools help...

Whether at home or abroad, here are some top tips to prevent homeowners from breaking common garden laws and rules this...

Recent research estimated that up to £100 billion is being stolen in the UK each year, with much of it due...

Sales progression service ASAP has launched a new anti-money laundering (AML) product to help agents comply with due diligence requirements and...

2023 has been coined as ‘the year of AI adoption’, and with this technology trickling down to almost every sector, its...

A promise to sell homes for £1 by Scottish Labour has been labelled as a “politically led housing gimmick” by estate...

Two of the biggest challenges facing the property industry right now are fraud and money laundering. The scale of these activities is...

A new estate agency called WS Residential has been launched in Yorkshire, following a merger between a consultancy and an existing...

A well known critic of stamp duty has returned to his long-standing theme of querying whether buyers have paid too much...

Record energy bills and the cost-of-living crisis has prompted a surge in downsizing activity over the past 12 months, new research...

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools are making their way into the estate agency sector. Many people will be aware of the ChatGPT AI...

The average anti-money laundering (AML) fine issued to the estate agency sector for non-compliance has started to climb, reversing the previous...

HMRC fined 24 estate agency and property businesses for anti-money laundering (AML) breaches between April and June 2022, new figures show. The...

Propertymark has launched a new compliance service for its member agents. The offering, called Calm about Compliance, will see experienced auditors advise,...

HMRC has fined estate agents over £500,000 for anti-money laundering (AML) breaches in the past two months. Yet despite property managers...

The sales progression function is what binds the whole property transaction together and the importance of effective sales progression in the...

Dozens of estate agents have been fined a combined total of £519,645 for failing to meet their obligations under anti-money laundering...

Conveyancing is an integral part of the house buying and selling process. But it is a slow process, with the length...

Over the last few months, The Letting Partnership has seen an increase in calls from agents who are struggling to open...

Over the last five years, the Government has introduced a range of measures to regulate the property market, particularly in the...

Trade body Propertymark has revealed that it has opened compliance cases against a small number of members following the latest HMRC...

Regional estate agency Bradley Hall has undergone a rebrand as it looks to expand its presence beyond the North East and...

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

Choosing the right technology platform for your agency is hard. Getting it wrong is easy. The last thing you need is to...

Conveyancing caseloads remain 34% up on pre-pandemic levels and could become more complex as the market tightens, Search Acumen warns. The conveyancing...

A property expert has claimed that it remains to be seen where housing will feature in the upcoming political agenda. Nicky Stevenson,...

Have you ever noticed that it is much easier to fix other people's problems than your own? Whether it is resolving a friend's...

A few weeks ago, we saw widespread disruption due to record breaking 40°C heat in the UK. The extreme temperatures caused...

As Britain’s housing boom continues,  SDL Property Auctions has warned of ten ways new homeowners could be fined up to £5,000...

A wide range of upcoming legislative changes will affect the private rented sector. From new carbon monoxide alarm regulations to renters...

Purplebricks has pushed back the publication of its annual accounts. The online agent’s full year results were due to be published on...

Upmarket agent Beauchamp Estates has hailed the return of wealthy buyers to London after selling the home of two former Lebanon...

As another round of property firms is fined, named and shamed for breaching anti-money laundering rules, it feels like the road...

The digital transformation of the property industry is not a new chapter, but an ongoing journey in which the winners are...

The government’s Fairer Private Rented Sector White Paper has initially caused some consternation and a strong adverse reaction from some within...

In this latest ‘Women in Property’ edition of the Natter, I check in with Collette Allen, who was recently appointed as...

Many of the property firms recently fined for anti-money laundering (AML) breaches have previously turned down help, Credas claims. It was revealed...

Purplebricks has revealed a drop in instructions so far this year. The online agency brand issued a trading update this morning for...

More than 30 agents and property firms such as auction houses and valuers were reprimanded by HMRC for anti-money laundering breaches...

EweMove managing director Nick Neill has set out plans to double the size of the franchise network by 2025 as the brand’s...

One of the most valuable assets to any company is the data it stores. According to a recent study completed by...

A 20 year old estate agent who admitted being four times over the drink driving limit has been fined and banned...

Reapit Elements is an open-source, cross-platform design system that gives designers and developers a framework to quickly create responsive, device-agnostic, and...

From first-time buyers to serial investors, no two days are ever the same for a Sales and Investment Consultant at Walton...

Zoopla’s chief operating officer says the portal has made progress for agents in 2021 but recognises there’s more to do next...

Purplebricks is delaying release of its half-year figures which were scheduled to be given to shareholders tomorrow. This follows revelations in the Daily...

2021 redefined what it meant to offer exceptional customer experiences for consumers across multiple industries, but particularly for the residential property...

An online operator called Nested is to spend £5m to promote the self-employed estate agency concept in 100 parts of the...

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has hinted for the second time that he is looking towards property to help fund his...

The work of the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team is “vital” it claims - and the case of the...

A banned West Midlands estate agent has today been sentenced to a custodial sentence of six weeks, suspended for two years, and fined £4,000 at Wolverhampton Crown Court after pleading guilty...

Three property agents feature on the latest list of businesses in trouble for failing to comply with money laundering regulations. The list...

An estate agency is celebrating its 21st anniversary by launching a new ‘realtor’ franchise model based on enhanced technology and personalised...

Trust the process: subscribe your landlords and tenants to Task Plans and receive automated prompts when it’s the right time to...

Around 2.66 million landlords were operational in Great Britain in 2019, according to data estimations previously released by Hamptons International. Of those...

New guidance has been issued by the Competitions and Markets Authority for whistleblowers who want to report anti-competitive practices by their...

Anyone working in residential property knows it is taking longer and longer to get from SSTC (sold subject to contract) to...

A former England international is an early graduate of a new estate agency academy in Yorkshire. Rebecca Rayner, a former England under-18...

OnTheMarket’s new chief executive has posted his first full year’s trading figures - and they suggest the portal is making progress...

Brexit means that the UK’s anti-money laundering laws are no longer governed by the European Union (EU), but any estate agents...

Agents are being advised on what course of action they should take to safeguard their right to fees should they be dis-instructed...

For many, the funeral of HRH Prince Philip will be a solemn affair, while for some it will also be a...

Today is the day that non-essential retail reopens as part of the government's roadmap out of lockdown. For the majority of the...

One of the most outspoken campaigners against stamp duty has been fined for avoiding tens of thousands of pounds in … stamp...

This week’s interviewee in the ‘In Conversation Today’ hotseat is a man better placed than most to shed some light on...

Members of Propertymark are left wondering today what if any future there is for the industry’s trade body. The shock resignation yesterday...

Estate agencies have been named by HM Revenue & Customs for breaching anti-money laundering regulations. The list of those breaching the rules...

Over a fifth of key businesses say they do not trust any element at all of automated anti-money laundering checks and...

New guidance spells out how leniency can be exercised on agencies or individuals who inform on anti-competition cartels of the kind that...

Putting fingers to keyboard to create blogs and articles isn’t always the easiest job for agents, particularly when meetings, viewings and...

The estate agency industry is still under the spotlight for possible illegal price fixing cartels according to the Competition and Markets...

From December, the new RICS Home Survey Standard will become mandatory for all RICS professionals undertaking home surveys. The below article explains...

There’s good news from the think-tank the Resolution Foundation, which says the threat of negative equity because of the Coronavirus crisis...

If anyone thought the days of Purplebricks bosses making millions were in the past,  think again. The chief executive and chief finance...

Difference should be celebrated. But in our industry it rarely is. I was on the board of a large corporate where...

The hunt is on for a new boss of Countrywide according to news reports. Sky News says the company has recruited professional...

Collaboration creates a bigger market Iain White, of the Innovation Collaboration Group “the Estate Agency industry must recognise that collaboration will...