Two more lettings agencies have been expelled from The Property Ombudsman as a result of unpaid awards following disputes involving landlords or tenants. This is in addition to the expulsion yesterday of Liverpool agency Harper Brooks, about which TPO had received over 100 complaints and which had failed to pay over...

An overcrowded property let by an unlicensed company with inadequate fire precautions and unheated rooms has led to a £46,620 fine and costs of £7,000. Thames Magistrates awarded the fine - claimed by Tower Hamlets council to be one of the largest ever sums awarded against an estate agent - related...

Liquidators Grant Thornton says funds found in the accounts of a Guernsey lettings agent are likely to be sufficient to pay back missing money to landlords and tenants. Last month Letting Agent Today reported that Sarnia Estate Agency on the island appeared to have closed its office despite protests from those...

The Leaders Romans Group has revealed its sixth business acquisition of 2018 - the Worthing and Bognor Regis lettings portfolios of south coast agency Glyn-Jones and Company. Both lettings portfolios will now be managed by the Leaders offices in Worthing and Bognor Regis with all Glyn-Jones lettings staff transferring to the...

While the cost difference between furnished and unfurnished rentals varies across the country, generally speaking you can typically expect to receive more in rent for a furnished place, according to research from OnTheMarket.com (OTM). The property website has found that landlords renting out a two-bedroom furnished property can achieve up to...

Changes to mandatory Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) licensing coming into force in England on 1 October 2018 will collectively cost buy-to-let landlords in the region of £79m, according to new research. The study, carried out by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) on behalf of This is Money,...

The government remains committed to building more new homes, but their target of 300,000 a year is unlikely to be met. Sky-high house prices, fundamentally caused by a chronic housing shortage, have created a broken housing market which makes the cost of living in many parts of the UK harder than...

A letting agency in Isleworth, West London, which was recently penalised for a number of offences, has been expelled from The Property Ombudsman Scheme (TPO). The Drake Lawson Limited, trading as Alexander Reed, a sales and lettings agent in Isleworth, West London, was ordered to pay compensation to two buy-to-let landlords...

Houses in London’s commuter belt will be the hardest hit in the event of a no-deal Brexit, according to property investment platform British Pearl. Areas like Stevenage, Watford and Hastings will experience the full brunt of the no-deal ‘sledgehammer’, largely because the price gap between flats and houses is widening the...

SDV HQ Limited, trading as Sterling de Vere, has been ordered to pay more than £50,000 after letting an overcrowded flat with no heating, a leaking boiler and a lack of fire precautions. The firm, based in Poplar, east London, were fined £46,620 and ordered to pay £7,000 in costs after...