Recovering rent arrears for private landlords by docking Universal Credit from housing benefit tenants will not work. The warning comes from eviction specialist Landlord Action, which says it has concerns over the plans for both landlords and tenants...

Precise Mortgages, an intermediary only lender, has launched a bridge-to-let product which is claimed to be a first in the UK lending market. It offers landlord borrowers an exit from bridging after only four weeks into a buy-to-let loan, and so could appeal to purchasers who may be buying a property which needs refurbishment...

Shadow housing minister Jack Dromey has applauded Newham Council for its crackdown on landlords. Dromey went with the mayor of Newham, Sir Robin Wales, on a joint operation between the council, police and UK Border Agency...

We are sorry to hear of the death of the president of the National Landlords Association, Geoffrey Cutting MBE, at the age of 88. He is survived by his wife Barbro, two of his four children and three grandchildren...

There has been a sharp rise in the number of repossession claims for rental properties. The number of claims for possession by landlords went up 12% in England and Wales during the first quarter of this year, according to the latest official court statistics...

Shelter has launched its widely-expected campaign to get all letting agent fees charged to tenants banned throughout England. The lobbying organisation wants the practice outlawed by MPs, and in future only landlords charged – something which has angered the Residential Landlords Association (see next story)...

Shelter’s campaign has come under fierce attack from the Residential Landlords Association. Although the campaign is aimed at letting agents, RLA chairman Alan Ward said it was anti-landlord because of the proposal that landlords should bear all the costs of setting up a tenancy...

Landlords have expressed their deep concern over the impact of Universal Credit on the private rented sector. Most (70%) of those who let to tenants currently in receipt of Local Housing Allowance said they are worried about the welfare changes...

The gap between the cost of renting and owning a property has narrowed because of rises in house prices. However, renting still works out at 13% more expensive than paying off a mortgage...

A new range of specialist buy-to-let mortgages has been released by Shawbrook Bank. They are available via mortgage brokers TBMC. The products include three-, five- and ten-year tracker rates up to 75% LTV which are available for Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs), student lets, limited companies and portfolios...

House prices have shot up to their highest on record thanks to ‘steroid’ injections in the mortgage market, it was reported this morning...