An analysis of over 600,000 tenancy applications has found that fraudulent applications rose by 140% last year. The analysis, carried out by...
Archive
A wealthy landlord, who also ran a fake lettings agency, has been jailed for 11 years for allowing ‘ghost tenants’ to...
07 February 2024
From: Breaking News
The National Residential Landlords Association has teamed up with a provider of so-called ‘smart property protection technology’. This means that landlords can...
30 January 2024
From: Breaking News
The think tank Policy Connect is warning that landlords have reported that sub-standard carbon monoxide alarms are persistently available online, leaving...
17 January 2024
From: Breaking News
Landlord Action supremo Paul Shamplina has endorsed a new PropTech tool aimed at stopping landlords falling victim to fraud. Title Guardian claims...
07 December 2023
From: Breaking News
A prominent accountant is warning that the upcoming Renters Reform Bill, when it becomes law, will be used by HMRC to...
18 July 2023
From: Breaking News
A council chief has spoken out in support of landlords who lost money to a “despicable fraudster” who is now in...
19 June 2023
From: Breaking News
A three bedroom house has been freed up after a remarkably long investigation by a London council. The result follows a legal...
31 May 2023
From: Breaking News
A council has prosecuted a rogue landlord for the second time for illegally evicting a tenant. The prosecution for offences relating to...
16 May 2023
From: Breaking News
A risk management platform claims landlords are amongst those most at risk of fraud. Thirdfort has identified the top eight types of...
05 May 2023
From: Breaking News
The majority of private landlords would consider switching to a letting agency because of the current complexity of buy to let. A...
10 March 2023
From: Breaking News
A London council and Airbnb are working together to try to counter large scale fraud amongst social housing tenants who sub-let...
24 August 2022
From: Breaking News
An analysis from PropTech firm Goodlord claims that landlords would have lost a combined £1m over the last year without anti-fraud...
09 August 2022
From: Breaking News
HM Revenue & Customs has named and shamed a string of landlords who, it claims, have collectively avoided many millions of...
21 June 2022
From: Breaking News
A prominent lettings agency is warning its own and all other landlords that they are particularly vulnerable to the growing threat...
18 March 2022
From: Breaking News
A London council has prosecuted a builder - Valeriu Sandu, of Valmic Properties Limited - for lying about fitting sufficiently fireproof...
25 February 2022
From: Breaking News
One of the major lettings market indices has produced figures showing how much rents rose in 2021. HomeLet says the average rent...
06 January 2022
From: Breaking News
The BBC Radio 4 consumer affairs programme You and Yours says 4,746 rental scams have been reported to the police and...
08 December 2021
From: Breaking News
There’s a new warning to landlords purchasing properties about a spike in scams which have seen victims defrauded out of hundreds...
29 October 2021
From: Breaking News
A new PropTech platform says it allows easy digital contact between tenants, landlords and third party suppliers avoiding the need to...
15 October 2021
From: Breaking News
The Property Investor Show returns to London’s Excel Centre next month – the first major UK property event to go ‘face...
20 September 2021
From: Breaking News
Landlords, letting agents and tenants in South Yorkshire are being warned about an increase in rental fraud. Local police there say they...
20 September 2021
From: Breaking News
The many thousands of landlords who have snapped up properties have been advised to be on alert - a tax consultancy...
13 August 2021
From: Breaking News
Landlords with student tenants, as well as the growing number of institutional landlords of purpose built student accommodation, appear to be...
06 August 2021
From: Breaking News
The Property Investor Show is back and in person, rather than virtual. It’s been announced that it will take place at London’s...
28 July 2021
From: Breaking News
Propertymark wants to hear about examples of fraudulent tenancy applications - a growing problem in the rental sector. A statement from the ARLA wing...
27 July 2021
From: Breaking News
London based landlord and property developer Richard Leahy has agreed to hand over assets worth almost £2m. This settles a civil recovery...
19 July 2021
From: Breaking News
The Citizens Advice consumer charity is warning that fake investment scams are amongst the fraudulent activity that’s on the rise across...
16 June 2021
From: Breaking News
A genuine tenant who advertised on social media for a property has been scammed out of £450 by fraudsters posing as...
14 June 2021
From: Breaking News
There’s a warning that there’s been a huge rise in fraudulent tenant applications since the start of the pandemic. In terms of...
21 May 2021
From: Breaking News
Oliver Andrews, editor at Property Assist Claim, sets out how landlords can find the ideal tenants for their rental homes. If you...
13 April 2021
From: Property Investment & Strategy
Scams involving fake landlords and bogus lettings agents are rife in the private rentals sector, and may have been made worse...
23 February 2021
From: Breaking News
Members of a wealthy Blackburn family of landlords with a portfolio of properties have been sentenced for defrauding the Department for...
07 December 2020
From: Breaking News
It’s been confirmed that during the current one month lockdown in England there will be no enforcement of possession orders except...
06 November 2020
From: Breaking News
The Financial Conduct Authority wants to find people who unwittingly invested in an unauthorised land banking scheme - they may be...
14 October 2020
From: Breaking News
A landlord who unlawfully let cramped and overcrowded bedsits and then harassed tenants who complained has been fined thousands of pounds...
02 October 2020
From: Breaking News
A letting agent in Nottinghamshire stole close to £30,000 from several landlord clients and tenants to help prevent his business from...
28 September 2020
From: Breaking News
With fraudulent mortgage applications up by 5% in 2019, anti-money laundering service, SmartSearch, has compiled some key things to consider to...
26 June 2020
From: Breaking News
Landbay has joined the Lender Exchange in order to have access to better conveyancing solicitors. Lender Exchange, owned by Decision First, is...
22 June 2020
From: Breaking News
Gumtree, the dedicated website for free classifieds adverts in the UK, is urging landlords and tenants to follow its ‘safety advice’ when...
05 March 2020
From: Breaking News
A young couple who recently turned to the web to find a property to rent have fallen prey to a fraudulent...
03 March 2020
From: Breaking News
A now-former council tenant in north London has been handed a suspended sentence and ordered to pay close to £90,000 after...
28 January 2020
From: Breaking News
A man who rented hundreds of properties that he sub-let to criminal gangs running brothels and cannabis farms has been jailed...
27 December 2019
From: Breaking News
An unscrupulous letting agent has been jailed for two years for conning landlords and tenants out of almost a quarter of...
19 December 2019
From: Breaking News
It’s impossible to ignore the recent boom of the short let market, as more and more buy-to-let owners opt to try...
04 December 2019
From: Sponsored Content
Lord Alan Sugar has issued a warning to Airbnb users after a family was cheated out of around £465 because fraudsters told...
22 October 2019
From: Breaking News
Three rogue operators in London have been sentenced after pleading guilty to money laundering fraudulent rental payments received for properties that...
18 October 2019
From: Breaking News
Cheshire Police are appealing for landlords, along with letting agents and local residents to help crack down on organised crime gangs. Officers...
06 August 2019
From: Breaking News
A buy-to-let landlord who claimed that he needed a council home has been ordered to pay back more than £48,000 or...
05 August 2019
From: Breaking News
A managing agent who defrauded buy-to-let landlords out of £16,500 over an 18-month period will face a Proceeds of Crime Act...
30 July 2019
From: Breaking News
An Airbnb host who rented out his council flat in central London has been fined £100,000 and evicted by Westminster City...
30 July 2019
From: Breaking News
Whether you are looking to rent out your property or sell, it is worth noting that August is the most popular...
26 July 2019
From: Breaking News
The level of fraudulent rental applications being received by letting agents is on the up, new research shows. The study by Benham...
08 July 2019
From: Breaking News
There is a growing need to improve fraud detection in the private rented sector, according to Landlord Action. Paul Shamplina, the founder...
08 July 2019
From: Breaking News
A couple from Barry in Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, have been handed suspended prison sentences for benefit fraud after being convicted...
01 July 2019
From: Breaking News
When you rent a property to a tenant, you are required to pay tax on any profit you make from rental...
26 June 2019
From: Breaking News
A man in Dundee has denied that he fraudulently pretended to be a landlord who asked for an up-front deposit from...
16 May 2019
From: Breaking News
A fraudster pretending to be a landlord scammed a couple looking to move into a new property with their children out...
29 April 2019
From: Breaking News
On April 1 2019, the rental sector shifted into a new era of even greater professionalisation with the introduction of mandatory...
09 April 2019
From: Sponsored Content
The National Landlords Association (NLA) is reminding would-be tenants to be vigilant when looking for somewhere new to live and to...
08 April 2019
From: Breaking News
A tenant who was found guilty of deliberately burning down a property he was renting four years ago was sentenced to...
18 March 2019
From: Breaking News
Fraudsters posing as landlords have conned prospective tenants out of £20,000 over the past couple months by persuading them to pay...
22 February 2019
From: Breaking News
Many people invest in property or sign up to investment club arrangements, which are not uncommon in the industry, but sometimes it...
21 February 2019
From: Breaking News
Shelter has recently run a campaign aimed at banning ‘discrimination’ against tenants on benefits in the private rented sector, presenting a...
04 February 2019
From: Breaking News
Three rogue directors of a letting agency in London who conned at least landlords and tenants out of more than £105,000 were...
28 January 2019
From: Breaking News
Dodgy solicitor Ross McKay, who helped a fraudster create a £10.8m property empire with the help of Tameside’s criminal underworld, has...
08 January 2019
From: Breaking News
The government’s long-awaited White Paper on post-Brexit immigration policy, published last week, unveiled plans for a single, skills-based immigration system applying...
24 December 2018
From: Breaking News
The recent conviction of former letting agent Heather Crabb for illegally pocketing £260,000 from renters in Plymouth has contributed significantly to...
20 December 2018
From: Breaking News
At least 19 landlords and tenants have been left £105,000 out of pocket by unscrupulous letting agents who ran London-based letting...
12 December 2018
From: Breaking News
Buy-to-let landlords in Scotland are being reminded that new rules have been introduced which affect the way letting agencies are able...
26 September 2018
From: Breaking News
‘Open banking’ provider TrueLayer has teamed up with Goodlord to enhance the proptech platform’s fintech integration for landlords, tenants and agents. Goodlord’s...
25 July 2018
From: Breaking News
What is a tenant reference? A tenant reference is a tool for landlords to help choose the right tenants. A good tenant...
06 June 2018
From: Sponsored Content
Automated payment systems can help to reduce letting agency fraud, it has been claimed. PropTech firm PayProp says that automating rental payment...
06 June 2018
From: Breaking News
A buy-to-let landlord who owns 30 properties in York and Leeds has been handed a fine of more than £1,000 and...
05 June 2018
From: Breaking News
A rogue landlord who swindled £28,000 from a family friend has been sentenced to four years in prison. Mark Thorogood of Maelgwyn...
04 June 2018
From: Breaking News
The law has finally caught up with a letting agent who stole £22,000 from clients, including landlords. Peter Bell, now the former...
11 April 2018
From: Breaking News
Private landlords in Basildon are being invited to attend a free rental workshop this week. The event, which is being run by...
06 March 2018
From: Breaking News
An unscrupulous individual pretending to be a private landlord in order to scam more than £10,000 from unsuspecting tenants before going...
06 February 2018
From: Breaking News
According to official figures, more than 200,000 homes in England were empty for at least six months during 2016. In London,...
01 February 2018
From: Breaking News
The mayor of London’s decision to launch a new public online database which ‘names and shames’ rogue landlords and letting agents...
21 December 2017
From: Breaking News
Given that thousands of landlords and tenants are not protected by client money protection (CMP), placing money held by letting agents are...
25 October 2017
From: Breaking News
The findings of the BBC investigation into ID fraud linked to Right to Rent checks will come as no surprise to...
20 October 2017
From: Breaking News
A scheme requiring landlords to check the immigration status of new tenants is fuelling a ‘black market in forged Ids’, a...
17 October 2017
From: Breaking News
A former north London letting agent who stole thousands of pounds worth of cash and belongings from rental homes by tricking...
06 October 2017
From: Breaking News
A landlord has been jailed for failing to declare Capital Gains Tax from the sale of his rental properties. Richard Fuller, 53,...
14 August 2017
From: Breaking News
With July being Fraud Awareness Month, the subject of online rental fraud has been brought into the spotlight by Nick Marr,...
20 July 2017
From: Breaking News
A letting agent responsible for managing a large buy-to-let portfolio in Norwich has been handed a 20-month suspended sentence for two...
13 July 2017
From: Breaking News
The National Landlord Association (NLA) has launched a free tenant finding service for its 70,000-plus members and teaming up with the...
16 June 2017
From: Breaking News
As a buy-to-let property owner, the last thing you want is for your investment to be sitting empty. But it’s not...
09 June 2017
From: Sponsored Content
Many buy-to-let landlords are simply not getting the best mortgage deal, or find themselves trapped into mortgages with high standard variable rates, as...
14 April 2017
From: Breaking News
The vast majority of landlords are unable to identify a fake passport when presented with one leaving them vulnerable to fraudsters...
29 March 2017
From: Breaking News
A London based landlord has been given a suspended two-year prison sentence for tax fraud, following a Revenue and Customs investigation...
13 March 2017
From: Breaking News
A private landlord has been jailed for almost four years after being found guilty of stealing money from more than 100...
09 February 2017
From: Breaking News
A private landlord in Scunthorpe has been prosecuted for tenancy fraud and ordered to pay back more than £30,000 after deceptively...
07 February 2017
From: Breaking News
The recent closure of Morgan Hampton letting agents in Wimborne, Dorset, has been ceased upon by the CEO of Keep It...
31 January 2017
From: Breaking News
A man has been sentenced to almost three-and-a-half-years in jail after being found guilty of remortgaging his elderly parents’ £1.5m house...
29 October 2016
From: Breaking News
Four out of five buy-to-let landlords believe that client money protection (CMP) should be made compulsory when they use a letting...
29 October 2016
From: Breaking News
Private tenants can now verify a landlord's credentials for any UK rental opportunity following the launch of a new landlord checking...
20 October 2016
From: Breaking News
The Association of Independent Inventory Clerks is calling on landlords as well as letting agents to respond to the government's outstanding...