One London letting agent has said it will start charging landlords £240 for credit and other checks on top of its current fees – and has urged landlords to pass on the cost to tenants.

With less than a month until the Tenant Fees Act becomes law, letting agents are being urged to reduce their staffs’ admin burden to allow them to focus on delivering a good service for landlords and tenants at what is an increasingly difficult time for the buy-to-let sector.

The average buy-to-let landlord made £80,000 profit from selling their rental property in 2018, new figures show.

Fewer landlords put rents up in March, according to the latest report from ARLA Propertymark but property experts have warned new buy-to-let legislation will mean bigger rent rises.

Landlord representatives have warned of the “serious dangers” of the government’s decision to abolish snap evictions in England, which will prevent landlords being able to evict tenants at short notice.

A petition calling for Rightmove to end ‘no tenants on benefits’ adverts has reached 40,000 signatures.   The petition is the latest measure to outlaw the advertising practice of ‘no DSS’ tenants and was launched on 38 Degrees, a not-for-profit political activism organisation.

The founders of a new online lettings community that rewards tenants with one week’s rent for finding and liaising with prospective renters, believe it will help landlords avoid void periods.

The High Court has ruled the government’s Right to Rent scheme breaches human rights law.   Right to Rent puts the onus of responsibility on landlords to check the immigration status of a tenant or lodger, with the threat of prosecution if they know, or have “reasonable cause to believe” that they are letting to an illegal immigrant.

Only 3% of landlords currently offer short-term lets despite the boom in the temporary accommodation market, according to new research.

The majority of homes that have encountered pest problems are let as rented accommodation, a new study has shown.