Wiltshire letting agent jailed for theft
A letting agent convicted of theft from tenants and landlords could be working in the rental market in only 15 months.
Alison Bush was jailed for 15 months at Swindon Crown Court after pleading guilty to two counts of theft and fraud.
What to ask your Parliamentary Candidates
As the election campaign really kicks off, you will no doubt hear a knock on your door soon from one of your many Parliamentary candidates hoping to win your vote.
East Village tenants face Olympic rent rises
Over the last 18 months renters and shared owners have been enticed to live in the East Village with the promise of being part of a new, exciting community. But for almost 400 households in “80% of market rate” intermediate rent, that dream is turning sour.
2015 – The General Election where English renters lose out?
Just a few days into the 2015 General Election campaign, and we are already in the midst of a confusing barrage of promises, photo-ops, accusations and counter-claims. Even to a hardened political observer, it is genuinely difficult to evaluate the statistics, date the political commitments or even work out who is saying what.
Private renters to get Right to Buy
The Conservatives’ controversial Right to Buy policy will be extended to private renters, according to leaked plans from the Tory manifesto. That means private renters will have the right to buy their own home after living there for five years.
This is a big move from the Conservatives, who have been scrambling around for a vote-winning policy that will help the thwarted first-time buyer, with Help to Buy loans, Rent to Buy, and the latest Help to Buy ISA. But this policy – a reboot of the popular sell-off of council homes in the 80s – actually takes on the landlords.
Renters left behind by attempts to fix the housing crisis
Serial renter and Splittable contributor Tom Bowers explains what motivated him to make renting better.
I am, among many things, a member of generation rent. With my A levels burning a hole in my back pocket I took the logical step out of my family home on the outskirts of Liverpool and took up residence at university. I moved into a three-storey halls of residence, which was heated by a gas oil burner that made all of my belongings smell of paraffin. “All your clothes stink”, my mum would say whenever I came home, “even your laptop smells”. I took no notice; all I could smell was freedom.
The Government’s record on private renting
As Parliament dissolves today and purdah begins, we’ve taken a look at everything the Government has, and hasn’t, done for renters.
George Osborne pledges right to sub-let
Amid the fanfare of the Help to Buy ISA in last week’s Budget, the Chancellor made another, quieter move to help renters. George Osborne pledged to legislate to stop tenants automatically being banned in their contracts from sub-letting space in their home on a short-term basis.
This move follows changes in the Deregulation Bill to allow Londoners to rent out their homes for short periods without needing planning permission – previously anyone in the capital advertising holiday lets on sites such as Airbnb was breaking the law.
English Housing Survey shows things are bad for renters – is anyone surprised anymore?
As government decides whether it should make cuts to the English Housing Survey, the latest report out today shows a growing private rented sector that continues to fail those who live in it.
A lifeline for first time renters
Yesterday’s Homes for Britain rally in Westminster attracted speakers across the spectrum, from Cathy Come Home director Ken Loach to UKIP’s Nigel Farage. Amid the rhetorical fireworks was a small but important policy announcement which might have passed some people by.
The Liberal Democrat speaker, Ed Davey MP, said his party would offer government-backed loans to first-time renters under the age of 30 to cover the up-front costs of a tenancy. Generation Rent has been urging the government to adopt this policy since last year – it is already being offered to civil servants.