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Leading upfront information specialists Gazeal have secured an exclusive webinar with the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team (NTSELAT), which will include a live Q&A with agents.  The webinar, taking place on Wednesday March 2 at 10am, comes on the back of the announcement earlier this week that Trading Standards and the government have jointly announced compulsory new data which must appear on all property listings.  It will feature guests from NTSELAT, Boomin (to represent the por

New regulations could make the lettings industry fairer, more transparent and ultimately more rewarding for all concerned, but this must not come at the cost of alienating landlords and letting agents.  That’s according to specialist rental payment platform PayProp, which argues that politicians drafting new rules should give all sides of the lettings sector a fair hearing.  “It makes sense on many levels,” Neil Cobbold, PayProp’s Managing Director, said. “Landlords and agents are far more likely to be on

Legal expenses cover in household insurance policies is driving a sharp rise in domestic property disputes, says building surveyor Tony Mancini. He said householders are ‘no longer frightened of falling out’ with neighbours or contractors because their legal bills are increasingly being met by insurers. Mr Mancini is a partner at national surveying and property management firm Scanlans and most of his work nowadays involves acting as an expert witness in property-related wrangles. The firm has seen a 30 p

Fortem Property was founded in 2021 by merging two already successful real estate businesses – DCBM and Fortem Property Management. Both companies provided different things to the market so today they unite as one strong, multi-disciplinary service.  Here’s why they are leading the way for women to break boundaries in the real estate world… Fortem Property was established early last year when a gap was spotted in the market for bespoke property management services. Fortem Property not only looks after pro

Law firm Bishop & Sewell LLP has reported a large rise in the volume of contentious probate work, with the firm attributing the increase to the exponential growth in London property prices over recent decades, which it says may have made it more attractive for claimants to contest probate.  As a result of the increase, Bishop & Sewell has established a team under Partner Rachel Waller and appointed solicitor Tiggy Hawkesworth. Both specialise in contentious probate and Court of Protection disputes, and

Earl Kendrick has announced the launch of a new surveying and safety service, EK Rope Access Surveys. This is the latest innovative addition to the EK Building Surveying Group, offering a complete building surveying service to residential and commercial property owners and managers. EK Group MD Julian Davies explains: “We are always looking at ways to develop our surveying offering, because we know that by giving our clients more solutions, we will drive our business forward; this new service is an excell

A PropTech platform which has been a leader in the fight against property fraud has launched a new service to help agents get fully compliant.  The Portfolio Review, from fast-growing tech platform Checkboard, is all about helping agents who are not compliant, get compliant.   “We are offering this as a way to improve the industry against fraud and lend a helping hand to the hardworking agents who, through no fault of their own, may be at risk of costly fines,” Yazad Bajina, sales and partnership director

Property management firm Common Ground is continuing its rapid expansion after opening a London office. The business now manages more than 2,700 properties - a rise of more than 50 per cent over the last year - and that figure is set to continue to grow as it taps into the capital’s burgeoning market. Managing director Alan Draper said: “London is a huge market – the ten mile range around our new Ealing office is a bigger market alone than the work we have across the Thames Valley. “We noticed we were sta

National Trading Standards has announced that by the end of May 2022 all property listings will need to contain the property’s council tax band or rate and the property price and tenure information (for sales),  in a new effort to improve the availability of upfront information in the conveyancing process. Data fields for the information will start to appear on portals over the coming weeks. In a move generally welcomed by the industry, the announcement is in line with the government’s Levelling Up White

A new initiative by a Solihull-based estate agent is helping grow the supply of rental properties across the West Midlands and Warwickshire – attracting attention from investors as far as Hong Kong, Dubai and Switzerland. DM & Co. Homes launched The Landlords’ Club in December and already over 170 individuals have signed up, with more joining every day. Gabrielle Argue, lettings manager at DM & Co. Homes, who heads up the project, said they were attracting interest from all over the world as well as local

Nearly seven in 10 social housing residents surveyed (69%) aren’t hopeful for the future of their local community after lockdown, according to the latest output from the Resident Voice Index™ initiative. The Community Support & Life After Lockdown report is based on a survey of more than 4,100 respondents from across the UK, who expressed their views on how the pandemic impacted their levels of loneliness, resilience and optimism. Adults under 35 were the age group most affected, the survey revealed. Memb

Experts are warning businesses and employees to brace themselves for a major rise in National Insurance payments in April. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak have confirmed that the plans will see employees, employers and the self-employed pay 1.25p more in the pound for National Insurance for a year as they look to boost NHS coffers following the pandemic. Currently most workers pay 12 per cent of their income between £9,568 and £50,270 each year in National Insurance and two per cen