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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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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52% of estate agents are female, but most are 'non-managerial'

New research shows how women start 'strongly' in the industry but numbers thin out the further up the career ladder significantly.

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INTERVIEW: 'Estate agency has finally woken up to importance of brand'

Hampton's marketing chief Fiona Stewart does some straight talking about the sector including direct mail, portals, social media, branches, staff and hybrid competitors.

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'Tenants complain about their landlords less than you think'

LRG’s National Lettings Managing Director Allison Thompson says the relationship between tenants and landlords is far better than has been portrayed in the media and by campaign groups.

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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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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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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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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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'This is why we're tackling gender bias at Leaders Romans Group'

LRG's group HR director Hannah Cooper lays out her approach to tackling 'archaic' gender and age-based attitudes to women within her company - and why it matters.

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MARKETING EXPERT: How to analyse an estate agency website’s SEO - step by step

If you’re wondering why your estate agency website isn’t getting the hits you were hoping for, start with an analysis of your site’s SEO – Nelly Berova shows you how.

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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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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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Property industry still a boys' club but 'times are changing'

On International Women's Day, two leading women in property – Yasmin Ulhaq and Helena Moyas de Forton tell The Neg there is still much to do, but that barriers are slowly coming down.

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'Letterbox leaflets are dead' claims lettings guru

Sally Lawson, who is a former ARLA President, says leaflet drops are a waste of time and online marketing is the way forward..

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MARKET UPDATE: House prices and the economy – it’s complicated!

Kate Faulkner OBE reviews the latest house price indices in the context of the current economic ups and downs.

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‘More women should be speaking at property conferences’

Angharad Trueman, ARLA Propertymark President and Andrews lettings boss, says more female voices need to be heard at industry gatherings.

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Women In Estate Agency's third conference a resounding success

The third Women In Estate Agency Conference, held on Thursday, brought together leading women from the property world to inspire and demonstrate 'The Power of You."

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