While the coronavirus pandemic has affected many areas of people's lives, often not in a positive way, one development that has been embraced by many of us in the UK is the increased use of online shopping and services options. This has escalated the rate at which mainly online retailers are growing and also, the rate at which some bricks and mortar retailers are losing business. Amid this development and the continued lack of residential homes in the right areas across the UK, the government has launched an unexpected consultation on the conversion of retail units into residential homes in England.

As UK house prices have surged during the past few months, spurred on by the stamp duty holiday and pent-up demand following lockdown, some potential landlords might find it a struggle to find the right area or city for investment.

Things change all the time and no country or industry is immune to that fact. One sector which has seen its fair share of change already in just a few years, is the UK's Private Rental Sector (PRS) and now, it's facing yet another challenge - providing lettings accommodation for a broader demographic including older and disabled tenants.

New research suggests that the combined value of the UK's 5.5 million private rental sector (PRS) homes stands at £1.4 trillion.

While the coronavirus pandemic has proved challenging in a variety of areas, the development and use of technology has been among the beneficiaries of this difficult time. After rising in the past couple of years, the rate at which new property technology, or proptech, with new services and apps to support letting agents, property investors and landlords has come online has accelerated.

When searching for a property many factors and extra amenities may be attractive to different tenants depending on their budget and circumstances. In this instance we will be discussing renting a furnished property vs an unfurnished property.

As the end of a difficult year comes into sight, recent research delivers an unusual result in the UK's rental market; average rents in countryside locations rose in October, while city properties proved less popular with tenants and rents fell. This dynamic, which is a reversal from the same time a year earlier, means the difference in average rents between the two locations has narrowed.

As the UK's private rental sector (PRS) landlords work hard to support their tenants during the coronavirus pandemic, the industry has come under fire for the quality of housing on offer and a lack of future planning. Two separate reports from Shelter and the Institute of Housing (IOH) each criticise the provision of rental homes now and in the future, with accusations levelled mainly at the government.