Archive

Shortly after the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act was granted Royal Assent in May, we surveyed members of the Association of...

The latest Greener Homes Attitudes Tracker from NatWest and S&P Global, reveals that younger homeowners are more in favour of policies...

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has warned this October’s Budget will be “painful.” Speaking as MPs return to Parliament next Monday, he warned...

The new Labour government has committed to building 370,000 homes per year, but is it realistic? The housing crisis in the UK...

The National Leasehold Campaign’s (NLC) heroic journey to get reform of the controversial tenure type on the statute book has hit...

EVER since Rishi Sunak stood in the rain and effectively announced he’d soon be moving house, Labour have been saying the...

In the current rental market, where legislative changes and tax reforms loom large, many landlords are expressing doubt about the viability...

The new Labour government has pledged to prioritise a ‘brownfield first’ approach to urban planning, as part of its promise to...

Throughout the general election campaign, the Green Belt was central to the debate about the housing crisis. The new Labour government...

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

Survey raises doubts over Government housebuilding targets Close to two thirds of Brits are not confident that the Government can meet its...

The Government will need the financial markets to play ball if its housebuilding plans are to be successful, a property expert...

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

Housebuilding, leasehold and rental reform are set to be key roles of the new Labour Government’s legislative agenda but agency regulation...

We’ve probably all had enough of people campaigning in recent weeks but I have to admit to one disappointment with the...

Just a week after Labour’s landslide election victory and already their top team is coming under scrutiny and being asked to...

Reforms to the UK’s planning system must move from a one size fits all approach to boost development, the Government has...

Just a week after Labour’s landslide election victory and already their top team is coming under scrutiny and being asked to...

While housing is a devolved matter, ESPC hopes that the promises made by Labour in the recent general election might help...

Under the strain of a housing crisis, the UK faces a severe shortage of affordable homes. This is further emphasised by...

With a historic majority for Keir Starmer and the Labour Party, there can be no doubt over which party will be...

Heidi Shackell, chief executive officer at The Lettings Hub said: “The General Election, called in May, halted progress of the Renters'...

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer will have the removal vans booked this morning after the General Election result. Sir Keir is set...

An industry expert has called on agents to actively lobby new MPs to influence housing policy – whoever wins the election. Neil...

It’s all over bar the voting, so let’s cut to the chase. Labour will win on July 4, big time. Even a...

The manifestos of all major parties tell us little about their true tax and public service plans, a respected financial think...

Despite a consultation starting back in 2020, the proposed legislation hadn’t progressed through Parliament and no doubt many landlords who faced...

There’s been a broadly warm response from much of the property industry to Labour’s manifesto, but a call for more detail...

An agency bond says Labour’s plan to slap VAT on private school fees will have a positive effect on pricing of...

Win, lose or draw for the political hopefuls standing as candidates in the upcoming general election, it is likely that the...

In what are some of the biggest changes to the residential leasehold sector in the last 21 years since the Commonhold...

The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill was the final piece of legislation to pass before Parliament closed ahead of the General...

Housing Secretary Michael Gove has become the latest high-profile MP to announce he would step down ahead of July’s General Election. Gove...

The Government’s controversial Renters (Reform) Bill has fallen victim to Rishi Sunak’s election announcement and has been shelved. The legislation – which...

Even the most junior of estate agents will tell you that if you are going to bet the house on pulling...

The Labour Party has committed to building 1.5m new homes across the country over the next parliament. Shadow Housing Secretary Angela Rayner...

Scottish housebuilding needs to return to the completion numbers from 25 years ago according to analysis of the latest official statistics...

The task of obtaining material information is more difficult than it appears for estate agents, Rightmove has warned. The portal revealed in...

You don’t have to be a mind-reader to believe there will be a large majority Labour government by the end of...

Sky News is reporting that up to 30 Conservative MPs are threatening to rebel against the government’s approach to ground rents...

There was a long-awaited return to the House of Commons this week when the Renters (Reform) Bill finally rose to the...

Last weekend a story by The Sunday Times’ Deputy Political Editor indicated that the Government is proposing implementing a £250 cap...

The Law Society is exploring concerns that Propertymark's Property Information Questionnaire (PIQ) puts agents at risk of legal issues, Estate Agent...

Following the disappointment of his Autmn statement, many property professionals were hoping for a kick-start to property sales in Jeremy Hunt’s...

Agents would be happy to pay for regulation but the sector should be wary of costs, a Propertymark executive has told...

Property professionals have called for the Government to allocate its promised £3m towards improving the home buying and selling process to...

It usually takes a scandal or a reshuffle to remove a Government minister so it came as a bit of a...

Parliamentary news may have been dominated by the fallout from the Rwanda Bill yesterday but another important piece of legislation also...

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLHUC) has hit back at media claims about its housebuilding targets. The Times newspaper...

Agents are hoping for further support for the housing market north of the border as the Scottish Government prepares to set...

The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill is falling short of its own objectives, an industry executive has claimed. Linz Darlington, founder of...

The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill passed its second reading in Parliament last night. Housing minister Lee Rowley pledged that the legislation...

The long-awaited Leasehold and Freehold Bill is set to be unveiled in Parliament today. The Bill aims to make it cheaper and...

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

Propertymark has expressed its opposition to Scottish Government plans to increase council tax premiums on second homes. Speaking to the Scottish Parliament’s...

It was US disability rights advocate, Helen Keller, who said: ‘alone, we can do so little, together we can do so...

Campaigners and commentators have reacted cautiously to leasehold reform proposals put forward in the King’s Speech. The King took part in his...

By Neil Cobbold Recent data from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities show that 24,260 households served a valid Section...

The best way to judge the UK housing market is to check on what’s happening in Parliament, not the price indices...

Housing supply rather than the private rented sector (PRS) made the headlines during the Conservative and Labour Party conferences this year...

More families need a home they can call their own, the Housing Secretary Michael Gove has claimed. Speaking at the Tory Party...

Introduced to Parliament in May, the Renters (Reform) Bill seeks to improve the private rental sector for both tenants and landlords....

I recently wrote that the long-gestating Renters Reform Bill, finally introduced in Parliament back in May, could be poorly timed, both...

Propertymark has written to the Government to ask why attempts to protect leaseholders are being ignored. It comes as the Earl of...

The process from a Local Plan allocation to a digger on site typically stretches beyond the length of a five-year political...

Over recent years, as successive governments have tightened lettings legislation and increased the tax burden on landlords, some with investment properties...

Housing Minister Rachel Maclean MP is probably looking forward to her summer break this year. But wherever she's going and whatever she's...

The Government has set out yet another attempt to meet it manifesto commitment to build 1m homes over this Parliament. Prime Minister...

‘Schools out for Summer’ as the Alice Cooper song goes and the kids are not the only ones looking forward to...

It’s not a sentence that I thought I would be writing, but Housing Secretary Michael Gove has indeed finally done something...

According to the latest English Housing Survey, there were 495,000 second homes in the UK in 2018/19 – a figure said...

MPs have cast doubt on the Government’s ability to achieve its target of 300,000 new homes per year by the mid-2020s...

Two all-party groups of MPs and Peers have called on the government to act to turn empty buildings into good quality,...

The long-awaited Renters Reform Bill was finally introduced in Parliament in May, but is it really good news for tenants? Several...

Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been criticised for figures she used when highlighting how much mortgage borrowers are set to see...

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has ruled out providing financial support for struggling mortgage borrowers as rates hit new highs. Average mortgage rates hit...

At present, the space heating of homes accounts for roughly 14% of the UK’s annual emissions. If we are to meet...

The Government is not taking any responsibility for the thousands of people that have had spray foam installed by Green Homes...

Sleight of hand, optical illusion, card up the sleeve – we all love a good conjuring trick, don’t we? And they say...

Housing Secretary Michael Gove has been slammed for “unhelpful” comments about abolishing leasehold after it emerged that there may not be...

The UK is on its rear - fact. Whilst many were breathing a sigh of relief after surviving a global pandemic,...

A Propertymark-supported amendment that aimed to bolster support for leaseholders in unsafe buildings failed to gain approval in the House of...

The issue of conditional selling in estate agency has hit Westminster. There have been several reports in recent months about agents requiring...

Agency trade body Propertymark has welcomed reforms to the business rates system, meaning high street agents, and other businesses, could finally...

The property industry may be going to great effort to digitise and improve the process of buying and selling a home...

Agency trade body Propertymark has backed calls for greater leaseholder protections as the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill proceeds through Parliament. The...

The important issue of hard-to-sell inherited properties has been raised in Parliament. Labour MP Zarah Sultana issued a written question asking what...

Housing Secretary Michael Gove has signalled that legislation to allow for further leasehold reform will be included in the next parliamentary...

We’re only in February and it’s already clear that this year will set the future direction of the private rented sector...

Lucy Frazer became the 13th Housing Minister to leave the role in the past decade yesterday after she was promoted to...

The Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) is the direct result of European Legislation. They were introduced because of the Energy Performance of...

Half of Estate Agent Today readers agree that industry regulations and minimum qualifications will improve standards in the sector but a...

Should commercial properties be converted into homes? I think so. I don’t mean the upscale barns becoming large houses, or the fashionable...

Conservative MPs are continuing to question when new estate agency regulations will come in as the Government sticks to its stock...

Happy New Year, to you all. Now that we’re all back in harness and Christmas feels like a long-distant memory, I...

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson and ex-Home Secretary Priti Patel had around three years in Government to sort out housing but...

Is it really just a year ago that we were nervously wondering whether yet another Christmas would be Covid-affected? Little did we...

The Government has officially watered-down proposals for mandatory local housebuilding targets as it brings its flagship Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill...

The Government’s latest Housing Minister Lucy Frazer brings plenty of property experience as a landlord and has also indirectly received donations...

Recent political changes – and there have been quite a few in recent weeks – have brought about something of a...