Your weekend roundup of top 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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Clear evidence emerging that landlords exiting says big agency

Pressure groups have labelled talk of a landlord exodus as ‘self-interested scaremongering’ but the latest data from Hamptons is not so easy to dismiss.

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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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Revenue up 7% as Rightmove squeezes more out of estate agents

Agent numbers may have remained broadly flat but the portal has still managed to extract more money from them as it boasts of ‘its proven ability to grow profits and cashflows in all market conditions’.

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'We've become unpaid civil servants' says frustrated estate agent

Des Simmons of south coast firm Bournecoast says the level of work being done by property industry for the Government is 'unsustainable'.

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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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Section 21 ban delay among new amendments to Renters' Rights Bill

The House of Lords is to debate amendments to the Bill, including putting back the abolition of Section 21 'no fault' evictions.

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Sales agreed and stock growth both in 'double digits' says Zoopla

Estate agents looking for good news should look at the portal's latest snapshot which reveals a market that continues to motor.

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Economy must have more rental homes, urge property chiefs

Propertymark, NRLA and BPF all say Chancellor's desire to attract world's best talent will fall flat unless enough rental homes are available.

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Letting agents told to brace for more AML checks and fines!

Changes to anti-money laundering rules mean there will be an increase in the number of checks letting agents will have to carry out, says leading consultancy.

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Councils that fine landlords over mould slammed by ombudsman

The Housing Ombudsman reveals that several local authorities which are quick to issue fines to landlords and agents over poor practice including damp and mould, are at it themselves.

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Don't worry about looming EPC rules, agents and landlords told

Landlords are upgrading their homes to the minimum C standard well before the 2030 deadline, one expert has claimed.

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Chartwell Noble ventures overseas

Super-prime property agent, Chartwell Noble, is expanding its footprint beyond the UK with its first international collaboration.

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