Abandoned belongings left at a property
The Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977 outlines what a landlord should do with left-behind belongings. We've provided a step-by-step guide of what you need to do.
Building Safety Act guidance on managing high-rise safety
To help sales and letting agents navigate the complexities of new regulations released under the Building Safety Act 2022, Propertymark has created a series of fact sheets to understand the rules and how they impact home buyers and sellers, and landlords and tenants.
Wales to align building safety measures with England
The Welsh Government has adopted many of the proposals from the Building Safety Act 2022 into their own building reforms and will introduce new fire safety duties for Responsible Persons that will commence on 1 October 2023, which is the same time it is enacted in England.
FAQs: Private Tenancies Act (Northern Ireland) 2022
Sections 1-6 of the Private Tenancies Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 were enacted on 1 April 2023. This FAQ document provides answers to the most common questions that we have received from Propertymark members.
Propertymark Members can expand services with the sale of charity land
New powers in the Charities Act legislation simplify legal requirements for charities who want to sell, transfer or lease land in England and Wales, plus the UK Government has recognised the high professional standards achieved by Propertymark Fellow Members which means they can provide valuation reports and help sell land for charities.
FAQs: Charities Act 2022
The Charities (Dispositions of Land: Designated Advisers and Reports) Regulations 2023 remove restrictions on who can sell land for charitable organisations. The change required secondary legislation to expand who qualified as a designated adviser.
Permitted Development Rights relaxed to help improve energy efficiency
Ground or water source heat pumps and the installation, alteration or replacement of an air source heat pump are now included under the General Permitted Development Order in Northern Ireland.
Renters (Reform) Bill published
Introduced to the House of Commons on Wednesday 17 May 2023, the Bill sets out the UK Government’s plan to deliver on the Conservative Party’s policies to reform the private rented sector in England.
Fact sheet: Private Tenancies (Northern Ireland) Act 2022
The Housing Strategy Action Plan 2012–2017 committed the Department for Communities to review the private rented sector in Northern Ireland. This led to the Private Tenancies Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 which received Royal Assent on 27 April 2022.
Fact sheet: Notice to quit periods
Under the Private Tenancies Act (Northern Ireland) 2022, the changes made to notice to quit periods by the emergency legislation was established as a long-term measure. This permanent extension to the notice to quit period was one of many changes introduced by the Private Tenancies Act (Northern Ireland) 2022.
Cost of Living Act causing rents to rise
On Tuesday 21 February 2023, Propertymark’s Head of Policy and Campaigns, Timothy Douglas, gave evidence to the Scottish Parliament’s Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee on the Cost of Living Act highlighting that the majority of letting agents are continuing to see landlords exit the market and the legislation is causing landlords to increase rents between tenancies to cover future costs.
Fact sheet: Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016
The Renting Homes (Wales) Act replaces existing legislation from the Housing Act 2004 with a new tenancy structure for Wales. The primary purpose is to make the legal framework easier to understand and will also mark a key separation in legislation between Wales and England.
Fact sheet: Fitness of Homes for Human Habitation in Wales (Inventory clerks)
Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 received Royal Assent on 18 January 2016 which provides additional obligations for landlords and letting agents around the condition of their properties. The Act comes into force from 1 December 2022.
Propertymark provides evidence on impact of Scottish letting legislation
Timothy Douglas, Propertymark's Head of Policy and Campaigns, has given evidence to the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee of the Scottish Parliament warning of the impact of proposed legislation to limit rent increases and evictions on the supply of private rented property in Scotland.
Anti-Money laundering high on UK Government’s agenda
Following HM Treasury approval, on 27 July 2022 the UK Government updated guidance for estate and letting agent businesses supervised for anti-money laundering. Designed to help agents comply with the Money Laundering Regulations 2017, it covers customer due diligence, record keeping and reporting suspicious activity.
Issue 47: Summer 2022
Our re-launch issue packs a punch with an easy guide to Making Tax Digital, an update on the three phase programme on Material Information direct from NTSELAT and a deep-dive into the factors affecting the Commercial property market.