Housing minister Jacob Young recently scotched rumours that the property portal proposed in the Renters (Reform) Bill would remove the need...
Archive
Estate agency regulation is needed to help improve the homebuying and selling process, MPs have been told. The first hearing of the...
14 May 2024
From: Breaking News
There’s been a significant rise in the number of so-called Suspicious Activity Reports concerning money laundering and the agency industry. Suspicious Activity...
01 May 2024
From: Breaking News
Propertymark, the leading membership body for property agents has written to London Mayor candidates highlighting proposals to tackle the unique housing...
30 April 2024
From: Breaking News
It’s tempting to think that Michael Gove’s proposed clampdown on Airbnb-style short lets is a uniquely British form of small-mindedness, part...
20 April 2024
From: Features
In the first of a short series of articles, David Beaumont, managing director of Compliance Matters, casts a professional eye over...
23 March 2024
From: Features
Estate agency regulations and minimum standards may finally see the light of day after Labour put forward amendments to the Government’s...
19 January 2024
From: Breaking News
The Register of Overseas Entities has hit the 30,000 registration milestone. The register, which is administered by Companies House, came into force...
03 January 2024
From: Breaking News
As the world marches relentlessly forward to 2024, the government’s flagship legislation for the private rented sector (PRS) remains in limbo. This...
30 December 2023
From: Features
Propertymark is working with an Anti-Money Laundering service to stage a webinar for agents wanting to know more about compliance. At the...
10 July 2023
From: Breaking News
Licensing of estate agents may raise the barrier to entry but it won’t stop those with poor morals, Fine & Country’s...
03 July 2023
From: Breaking News
The issue of conditional selling in estate agency has hit Westminster. There have been several reports in recent months about agents requiring...
11 April 2023
From: Breaking News
Last week was the first ever National Conveyancing Week, which I hope registered with agents and perhaps you even took up...
08 April 2023
From: Features
Half of Estate Agent Today readers agree that industry regulations and minimum qualifications will improve standards in the sector but a...
30 January 2023
From: Breaking News
Conservative MPs are continuing to question when new estate agency regulations will come in as the Government sticks to its stock...
17 January 2023
From: Breaking News
Trade and representative bodies covering the legal, surveying, estate agency and property management sectors, including the Conveyancing Association (CA), have launched...
09 January 2023
From: Breaking News
Propertymark has launched a new compliance service for its member agents. The offering, called Calm about Compliance, will see experienced auditors advise,...
14 December 2022
From: Breaking News
Collapsed challenger portal Boomin has officially named its liquidator as company documents this morning outlined a deficiency of almost £10m in...
02 December 2022
From: Breaking News
HMRC has fined estate agents over £500,000 for anti-money laundering (AML) breaches in the past two months. Yet despite property managers...
26 November 2022
From: Features
Given their leading role in the recent upfront information revolution, interest in the work of the National Trading Standards Estate &...
05 November 2022
From: Features
The results are finally in, and to no-one’s surprise Liz Truss has been named the new leader of the Conservative Party...
07 September 2022
From: Breaking News
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has closed its investigation into alleged mis-selling of leasehold houses by Barratt Homes. It is the...
17 August 2022
From: Breaking News
People in prominent positions in the housing industry aren’t always perfect role models. After all, Chris Pincher was housing minister for...
09 July 2022
From: Features
It’s the fifth anniversary of the Grenfell fire tragedy, but are high rises any safer today than they were then? On 14th...
18 June 2022
From: Features
In this latest ‘Women in Property’ edition of the Natter, I check in with Collette Allen, who was recently appointed as...
28 May 2022
From: Features
From the beginning of April, long-awaited rules from the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team (NTSELAT) came into effect....
23 April 2022
From: Features
The government has insisted it is still committed to introducing agency qualifications and minimum standards in the sector. It is almost three...
19 April 2022
From: Breaking News
The Property Franchise Group (TPFG) chief executive Gareth Samples has called for a steer on when the long-awaited Regulation of Property...
11 April 2022
From: Breaking News
Trading Standards has advised agents to update listings once they reach the "sold subject to contract" (SSTC) stage. It comes after legal...
05 April 2022
From: Breaking News
They say that in fashion, if you wait for long enough, clothes that are hanging at the back of your wardrobe...
02 April 2022
From: Features
Fifteen businesses which had bought freeholds from housing developer Countryside have now given formal undertakings to remove terms that cause ground...
21 March 2022
From: Breaking News
If you want to sex-up the Chancellor’s financial statement scheduled for lunchtime on Wednesday, you’d call it a Budget or a...
19 March 2022
From: Features
Almost exactly a decade ago I wrote a blog on the back of a spate on mainstream news stories about prime...
05 March 2022
From: Features
The government is considering seizing British property owned by Russian oligarchs on the sanctions list without paying compensation. The Financial Times says Housing...
03 March 2022
From: Breaking News
It is claimed by Propertymark that the government’s Economic Crime Bill - to be debated in the House of Commons today -...
01 March 2022
From: Breaking News
A leading property lawyer says some agents will struggle to meet the demand for more ‘material information’ put forward by Trading...
23 February 2022
From: Breaking News
A long running dispute between reviews website allAgents and Purplebricks has come back to life - with a new twist. In 2017...
08 February 2022
From: Breaking News
In this guest feature, James Dilgul, Head of Marketing at Fixflo, the market-leading repairs and maintenance management software provider, looks at how...
22 January 2022
From: Features
A leading accountant is warning of a possible stamp duty change affecting residential property this year. HMRC is currently consulting on a...
10 January 2022
From: Breaking News
A probe by the Competition and Markets Authority has led housebuilder Taylor Wimpey to make changes for the benefit of leaseholders. Taylor...
23 December 2021
From: Breaking News
Fears are growing that large estate agency groups may have to pay a mandatory levy towards the cost of anti-money laundering...
11 November 2021
From: Breaking News
Pressure appears to be building for the recommendations of the Regulation of Property Agents working party finally to be implemented. It’s now...
26 October 2021
From: Breaking News
Within weeks the focus of the industry will be on the White Paper to be issued on rental reform before Christmas. Let’s...
16 October 2021
From: Features
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...
17 September 2021
From: Breaking News
In what will be seen as the latest win for leaseholders across the UK, it’s been revealed that – following action...
15 September 2021
From: Breaking News
The growing number of lettings sector rules is a hotly debated issue, while the sales sector has been seeing its own...
01 September 2021
From: Breaking News
The controversial proposal by a PropTech start up to charge potential viewers of properties to let or for sale has been...
10 August 2021
From: Breaking News
The Competition and Markets Authority has struck a deal with house builders over leasehold abuses. Aviva has committed to remove certain terms...
23 June 2021
From: Breaking News
A council cracking down on the increase of illegally positioned estate agent boards. Agents are required, under Planning and Highways legislation to...
04 June 2021
From: Breaking News
After a recent incident involving an Estate Agent based in Devon in which a property virtual tour they published revealed a...
25 May 2021
From: Sponsored Content
With property fraud on the rise and an ever-increasing number of transactions taking place in the lettings sector, having strict anti-money laundering...
22 May 2021
From: Features
The new Mayor of London, to be decided in an election tomorrow, has just received a six point set of demands...
05 May 2021
From: Breaking News
The anti-money laundering compliance service that is now part of data company LonRes is holding a training session for Rightmove member...
04 May 2021
From: Breaking News
Local elections rarely set the pulse racing and this year’s poll on Thursday faces a similar problem. But this time, it’s a...
01 May 2021
From: Features
We have more regulations controlling the sector than ever before and we have more ‘regulators’ involved in controlling the sector than...
01 May 2021
From: Features
If someone broke into your house and took a video of lots of personal information, like photos of family and pets,...
17 April 2021
From: Features
Licensing of the short-term lets sector in Scotland was due to be introduced next month. However, it was recently announced that...
03 April 2021
From: Features
From 4 May 2021, your agency could be blocked from charging late fees, compounding interest on missing rent and taking any...
20 March 2021
From: Features
The Competition and Markets Authority has written to two top house builders ordering them to change their leasehold terms. In September the...
19 March 2021
From: Breaking News
In this week’s In Conversation Today, I speak with Anthony Payne, Managing Director and co-founder of LonRes, a data and network...
04 March 2021
From: Breaking News
An agent working for a Countrywide brand in Lancashire has been given a suspended jail sentence after being found guilty of...
23 February 2021
From: Breaking News
It’s now more than a year since the government offered an additional £4 million to councils to combat rogue landlords. At the...
13 February 2021
From: Features
First off, hello and welcome to this new series – appearing in Estate Agent Today’s Breaking News section each month –...
10 December 2020
From: Breaking News
It’s that time of year again. Black Friday has been and gone and the run-up to Christmas is well and truly...
02 December 2020
From: Features
HM Revenue and Customs and the Advertising Standards Authority are working together to cut out misleading marketing by promoters of stamp...
30 November 2020
From: Breaking News
Back in September, Westminster Council launched a new strategy to help 'protect tenants' and 'ensure they live in good-quality and well-managed...
28 November 2020
From: Features
An unidentified estate agency has been threatened with prosecution by a local council after opening its office to the public during...
12 November 2020
From: Breaking News
Housing Minister Christopher Pincher announced that the introduction of the Renters' Reform Bill will be delayed for an indefinite period due...
31 October 2020
From: Features
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has encouraged people to complain if they are unhappy about working conditions and thousands of complaints...
26 September 2020
From: Features
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced that all retail staff will be obliged to wear masks when working - and it's now...
22 September 2020
From: Breaking News
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has been criticised for its lack of enforcement of anti-money laundering (AML) legislation so far in...
18 September 2020
From: Breaking News
NAEA Propertymark has thrown its weight behind a Competitions and Markets Authority investigation into whether consumer protection law has been broken...
07 September 2020
From: Breaking News
The Competition and Markets Authority is today opening enforcement cases focusing on the sale of leasehold homes by four leading housebuilders. They...
04 September 2020
From: Breaking News
There’s a record number of property industry companies, including agencies, in financial distress according to the latest Red Flag alert monitor. The...
27 July 2020
From: Breaking News
Arguments over the alleged gaming of reviews by and for some estate agencies have waged ferociously in recent years, and now...
02 June 2020
From: Breaking News
The government has at last issued extensive advice on home moving and the activities of estate agents during the continuing Coronavirus crisis. This...
27 March 2020
From: Breaking News
There is no doubt that the BBC News article in early February caused something of a stir within the Deposit Free...
12 March 2020
From: Sponsored Content
There’s been a broad welcome from agents and other industry organisations for the latest report from the Competition and Markets Authority...
02 March 2020
From: Breaking News
Future complaints about property raffles by individual home owners seeking to avoid estate agency fees will in future be handled by...
28 February 2020
From: Breaking News
There’s something of a conspiracy of silence over the problem of short lets. That is a stark claim but many siren voices...
22 February 2020
From: Features
It’s been clear for a while that the additional regulation landlords and agents are facing has helped professionalise the private rental...
30 November 2019
From: Features
The National Association of Estate Agents and the Association of Residential Letting Agents have issued their manifesto for next month’s General...
05 November 2019
From: Breaking News
Since I started working with Zero Deposit for me the market leader in deposit replacement alternatives, the most common question I am...
19 October 2019
From: Features
London-focussed business-to-business deal data service LonRes has acquired an anti-money laundering compliance consultancy specialising in residential and commercial property. Financial Crime Services,...
01 October 2019
From: Breaking News
A leading figure in the PropTech sector says clarity and speed are vital to ensure agencies can adequately prepare for a...
22 July 2019
From: Breaking News
The industry press has given substantial space to recommendations from the Regulation of Property Agents, the government’s working party which has...
20 July 2019
From: Features
You may be right in thinking that Brexit has dominated the thinking of the government in the last three years. However,...
22 June 2019
From: Features
The Competition and Markets Authority has formally launched an investigation into the sale of leasehold properties - including possible mis-selling. This follows...
11 June 2019
From: Breaking News
It may well seem that the government is pre-occupied with one issue, and one issue alone. While preparations for Brexit take up a...
01 June 2019
From: Features
It’s clear that some agents are not fans of Trading Standards officers, described in the comments sections of the trade press...
27 April 2019
From: Features
Estate Agent Today has been given details of the new National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agents Team - the body...
23 April 2019
From: Breaking News
The jury appears to be out on whether the new enforcement body for estate and lettings agents will be resourced sufficiently...
18 April 2019
From: Breaking News
A new team has been set up to police all estate and letting agency legislation including the upcoming tenants' fees ban. The...
17 April 2019
From: Breaking News
I don’t believe it’s unfair to state that our government, indeed, the entire political establishment is in some turmoil at the...
16 March 2019
From: Features
It’s time, surely, for government to crackdown not just on rogue agents and landlords but on rogue councils that confuse the...
09 March 2019
From: Features
A slew of allegations have been made against agents and sometimes even by agents, over alleged misdemeanours over property listings as...
08 March 2019
From: Breaking News
A London council is considering a borough-wide ban on agents’ boards of all kinds. Labour-controlled Camden already has a ban for a...
15 February 2019
From: Breaking News
When it comes to letting a property, it is important that landlords and renters have faith in their agent. The more...
26 January 2019
From: Features
Alongside hundreds of agents and suppliers, I recently attended the Guild of Property Professionals’ annual conference. As ever, it was a great...