Your weekend roundup of news, views and features

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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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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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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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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'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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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Agents beg conveyancers to stop 'time-wasting' with EPC requests

An online post has generated a huge volume of complaints from estate agents about unnecessary EPC requests from solicitors.

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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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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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Estate agents slam Rightmove campaign as 'slap in the face'

Shaun Adams, who started a petition against Rightmove's fee increases, says the portal's 'game changers' initiative ignores the plight of independent agents who pay 'full whack'.

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FEATURE: Pets in lets – a reasonable request or damaging decision?

With the Renters’ Rights Bill progressing, Lisa Isaacs debates whether allowing pets in lets will lead to a rise in deposit disputes or if we're worrying over nothing.

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HOUSE PRICES ANALYSIS by Kate Faulkner

The Neg's property market expert reviews the latest indices to report on house price data across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

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Landlords have had enough and tenants will pay the price says Shamplina

TV and industry personality says the tsunami of new taxes, rules and Labour's 'hostile environment' for landlords are taking their toll on sector confidence.

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Renting reforms to 'chase out landlords and harm tenants' - claim

Lettings tech firm Goodlord says three key elements of the Renters' Rights Bill will impact tenants negatively and persuade more landlords to quit.

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@Druce property management integrates TDS API

This new integration with TDS API is ‘crucial’ for @Druce, says its Chief Sales Officer, Robert Swann.

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MOVERS & SHAKERS: New central London Lettings Director for John D Wood & Co.

Jared Kilgarriff has been appointed Lettings Regional Director for Central London at John D Wood & Co – plus more of the month's high profile movers.

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Big blue-chip estate agency overhauls UK business

Knight Frank reveals initiative to drive strategic growth and strengthen operations with dedicated board.

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