Your weekend roundup of news, views and features

LSL Estate Agency Franchising expands service offering

MD Paul Hardy announces strategic partnership with B-hive Block Management to boost franchisees' growth potential.

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RICS bolsters rules following estate agent expulsion

The case of Emma Walker and EW Estates, which were found to have committed fraud, has prompted the RICS to strengthen its regulations.

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Decade of dedication for The Propertymark Trust

Veteran estate agency manager and property consultant, John Oakley, is celebrating 10 years as trustee of The Propertymark Trust.

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Redundancies 'on the rise in the property industry'

Government policy has ramped up the economic pressure on the sector and has led to job losses says leading recruiter.

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COURTS: Landlord wins 'important' appeal in rent to rent case

Amlendu Kumar wins appeal in what a leading property lawyer says is an "important new decision" affecting rent-to-rent agreements and rent repayment orders.

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Half a million council tenants to lose Right to Buy their homes

The Government is to effectively end the Right to Buy scheme by substantially tightening the eligibility criteria.

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Number of former rental properties for sale rises as CGT changes loom

Research by Rightmove among its listings shows the proportion of former rented properties within the market rising to 18%.

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It's in the post! Landlord wins key eviction case over docs delivery

Landlords and letting agents will be able to continue serving papers to tenants by post after a test case victory in the Court of Appeal.

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Walsall is consulting on plans that will force both the owners of smaller Houses in Multiple Occupation to apply for planning permission.

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Foxtons makes surprise move into London commuter towns with acquisitions

The London-based agent has spent some £12m buying two estate agencies, one in Reading and the other in Watford, both bought from private shareholders.

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Stamp Duty hike to ‘damage’ rental market warn auctioneers

2% rise in budget for SDLT will lead to investors exiting the market, reduce supply and push up rents says NAVA.

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Guild reports 'thousands of referrals' via network

Guild of Property Professionals chief Iain McKenzie says its referral system has generated 2,086 referrals for its network since the start of the year.

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'Criminal’ landlord trio hit with huge £450k HMO fine

A group of three West Northants landlords have together been fined a total of £452,796 for a series of unlicensed and unsafe HMOs.

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New workers' rights shake-up to impact estate agencies

Employees working for property businesses will be able to claim unfair dismissal from day one of a new job, under a new government bill.

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AGENT BLOG: After Scotland's rent cap lifted, guess what happened next?

Nicky Lloyd of ESPC Lettings in Edinburgh reflects on the rental market in Scotland six months after a rent cap and ban on evictions were scrapped.

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OP-ED: Banning 'rent in advance' sounds noble, but risks chaos for agents

Labour's recent amendments are designed to protect financially vulnerable people from 'exploitation' but how, asks The Neg's Nigel Lewis, will agents and landlords manage tenancy risk in the future?

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AUCTION UPDATE: Residential sales driving resilience in auction market

The latest property auction market insights from Essential information Group's David Leary reveals the dominance of residential sales.

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Airbnb 'won't take down illegally-sublet listings' claims landlord

The short-lets giant has not taken down a listing despite being informed that the Central London property is being illegally sublet, it is claimed.

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Huge rise in number of sales fall-throughs reported

Homebuyers are still struggling with higher mortgage rates and so more and more sales are falling through says Moverly’s Gemma Young.

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Housing minister signs off first steps towards leasehold overhaul

But the property industry says that, while enabling leaseholders to extend from day one of their ownership, the rest of the reforms are still too far away.

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Are agents being forced to help parents cheat school entry system?

Parents are increasingly gaming the school catchment area rules in order to get their kids into the best schools.

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Estate agent duo recognised for sales success at global event

Mark Buchanan and Amie Brooks, both of whom work within the eXp UK network, flew to the gala estate agent event in Miami.

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CLAIM: High St agents face double threat of rising costs and stiffer competition

Bricks-and-mortar estate agencies facing higher staff costs and increased competition from the growing number of ‘personal’ agents according to Property Experts founder.

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Bill to ban Section 21 evictions published – industry reaction

The Government takes its first step towards scrapping Section 21 'no fault' evictions with the first reading in Parliament of the Renters' Rights Bill.

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Connells reveals huge shakeup of its top leadership roles

Following the departure of David Plumtree last year, the senior quartet who worked with him has now been replaced en masse, the company says.

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Airbnb set to compete with lettings agents for longer rentals

Co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky says the company is eyeing longer-term rentals as a lucrative new area of business, putting his firm soon in direct competition with some agents.

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REGIONAL HOUSE PRICES: Long-term trends have resumed: Seasonal price falls but surge in activity

Property market expert, Kate Faulkner, reveals that regional and country changes in house prices are mostly on par with inflation.

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