The Regulator of Social Housing has taken enforcement action against Concept Housing Association after identifying serious governance, risk management and financial viability failings, including overdue financial statements and concerns about external arrangements. It has also launched an investigation into Hexagon Housing Association over possible failures against the Governance and Financial Viability Standard.
The government has opened a consultation on relaxing company reporting rules, including extending audit exemptions to medium-sized companies and simplifying annual accounts requirements. The proposals are intended to reduce compliance costs for businesses, but industry commentators warn they could weaken confidence in financial information used by contractors, lenders and suppliers.
A Cardiff landlord has been fined after pleading guilty to allowing flats to be occupied despite Prohibition Orders, failing to register the rented property, and managing it without the required licence. The case also involved multiple property hazards, including fire safety defects, damp, trip hazards and concerns about the flat layout.
Lendlord has launched a compliance tool to help landlords in England prepare information for an upcoming mandatory property database. The tool compiles existing portfolio data into a registration pack, highlights missing details, and tracks deadlines, renewals and update requirements once properties or tenancies change.
A letting agent has been sentenced after admitting 19 fraud offences involving landlords and tenants, with losses totalling more than £48,000. The case involved withheld tenant deposits, unpaid rent not passed to landlords, and a police proceeds of crime process now underway to seek compensation for victims.
The Environment Agency has updated guidance on licences and permissions for introducing, keeping or farming non-native fish, lobsters and crayfish. The page clarifies when Fish Health Inspectorate, Natural England and Natural Resources Wales permissions are needed, and notes that new digital application forms now replace older PDF versions.
The government has opened consultation on proposals to simplify company reporting rules, including a new framework for annual accounts and a possible extension of audit exemptions to medium-sized companies. The changes are intended to reduce compliance costs for construction businesses, but industry voices warn they could weaken confidence in financial information used by contractors, lenders and insurers.
Landlord Trends research cited in the article shows a rise in the use of letting agents, with 66% of rental properties now using an agent for some or all of the letting process and 25% using full management services. The increase is attributed to growing regulatory complexity in the private rented sector, including the implementation of the Renters Rights Act and wider compliance pressures.
The Environment Agency has reviewed and extended Regulatory Position Statement RPS 91, which covers the use of waste clay in constructing slurry lagoons or water storage reservoirs, until 14 October 2027. The statement has also been updated to the latest template, while confirming that it does not remove the need for an environmental permit where one is otherwise required.
Barking and Dagenham Council says it has resolved an adjudication dispute with McLaren Construction concerning the power supply arrangements at the 12 Thames Road mixed-use development in Barking. The issue centred on whether the scheme’s electrical resilience met British Standards, particularly in relation to firefighting lifts and sprinkler systems during a fire and simultaneous power outage.
The Environment Agency says a further arrest has been made as part of an ongoing investigation into illegal waste dumping at multiple sites in the North East, including Callerton, Peterlee and Hartlepool. The agency says the sites involved thousands of tonnes of waste and have now been shut down or cleared, with enforcement action continuing under its waste crime crackdown.
The Housing Ombudsman has reported a third-party IT security incident affecting its case management system. The incident has been contained, and the organisation is working with its supplier to determine the extent of any data impact and whether personal information has been affected.
