Property owners have been urged not to risk carrying out difficult or dangerous DIY work in order to save money.

The National Home Improvement Council has prompted landlords and other homeowners to get professional assistance when completing challenging tasks.

Proposals for a new national register are not being met with praise from landlords in England, new research has indicated.

A Paragon Mortgages study found that landlords are worried the country-wide register could result in less investment in the private rented sector.

House prices in the UK decreased on average last month, according to new statistics.

Data from the Land Registry indicated that there was only a slight change in home values during August, with a fall of 0.1 per cent being recorded.

This has taken the annual drop in property prices to 9.4 per cent, which has increased from a low of 16.3 per cent in February.

Landlords who have cash available have been urged to enter the buy-to-let market by property experts.

LettingZone.com has called for property investors to take advantage of the positive state of the marketplace by purchasing new homes.

However, website owner Mark Garner insisted that only landlords who understand let property insurance and other technical issues within the sector should consider buying.

Homebuyers have been buoyed by changes to stamp duty made by the government a year ago, new research has found.

According to Halifax figures, since the lowest stamp duty threshold was raised from £125,000 to £175,000, 31 per cent of buyers have not had to pay the tax.

Landlords need to use their discretion when deciding whether or not to evict tenants from their homes.

That is the view of Moneywise, which has suggested that every rental pay dispute should be dealt with on its own merits.

The professional property resource indicated that landlords should think about how much time and money the eviction process may cost and whether it is worthwhile.

Landlords are not paying attention to legislation regarding tenancy deposits, a new survey has found.

According to the Deposit Protection Service (DPS) study, one in three landlords is disobeying the law.

Just under one-third of landlords admitted to not registering a deposit with a government-accredited scheme, which has been a necessity since April 2007.

Landlords are among those who have been helped the most by the recent stabilisation of the property market, experts have indicated.

Love Money suggested that now is the time to pick up a good buy-to-let deal, as market conditions are in favour of landlords.

A national conference is set to be held for landlords to find out and discuss all of the latest developments in the sector.

The National Landlords Association (NLA) National Conference will be held in Birmingham in November.

The government minister responsible for the private rented sector, Ian Austin MP, will be on hand to present his views on the landlord industry.

Rural areas are witnessing smaller drops in house prices than other regions in the UK, new data has suggested.

Research from Halifax has indicated that property values have fallen more steeply in urban areas of Britain.

The firm's Rural Housing Review found that there was a 13 per cent fall in property prices in rural areas in the past 12 months.

General confidence levels across the property market could be on the rise, according to a financial website.

Moneysupermarket.com has noted that its search figures are showing a trend of positive movement within the housing sector.

This includes a higher proportion of people searching for new mortgages and comparing deals.

Increasing cost levels of operating within the buy-to-let sector may be driving many potential investors away from the sector, experts have claimed.

The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) has indicated that growing amounts of rules and regulations are also damaging the prospects of landlords.

A new campaign has been launched to show that landlords are not happy with the new system for paying housing benefit.

The National Landlords Association (NLA) has indicated that the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) scheme is not up to scratch.

There has been a reduction in the number of 'reluctant landlords' operating within the rental sector, according to new research.

A study from the Association of Residential Letting Agents (Arla) has found that there has been a drop in the amount of homes coming onto the marketplace due to buyers not being found.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has denied that private landlords are being targeted with new tax measures.

The group has issued a statement insisting that a crackdown on landlords is not happening and is not being planned.

This follows the issue of approximately 500 letters to landlords and agents in recent weeks, which have requested information concerning income declared on returns.

Being a landlord is not a simple job and people need to be dedicated and professional in order to do it well.

That is the view of the Residential Landlords Association (RLA), which has called for landlords to make sure they know all of the possibilities when getting into the rented property sector.

A manifesto for the private rented sector has been issued by the Residential Landlords Association (RLA).

The organisation has produced a document outlining its views on how to improve the sector for all parties.

Included in the manifesto are claims that a larger private rented sector would benefit the national economy in the long run.

Fewer landlords had possession claims issued against their properties in the second quarter of 2009, compared to the first three months of the year, new data has shown.

Research from the Ministry of Justice found that there were 34,421 landlord possession claims from the start of April to the end of June in the UK.

Landlords in the centre of London face a summer of "tough negotiations" to secure deals with new tenants, according to a report.

The latest Knight Frank Prime London Investment Index found that residential rents in the capital have dropped by 1.9 per cent in the three months to June.

Female landlords in the private rented sector have been celebrated at an awards ceremony held by the National Landlords Association (NLA).

The NLA Property Awards 2009 gave prizes to 11 regional winners and crowned Shona Davison, a landlord from Sheffield, the NLA Property Woman of the Year 2009 award.

The National Landlords' Association (NLA) has told the Treasury that landlords are still finding it difficult to access finance.

An inquiry into the issue is currently underway in Westminster, as the government seeks to understand the impact of the credit crunch on the availability of loans.

Landlords have been urged to consider taking out protection against tenants who refuse to pay rent by industry experts.

Landlord Action, a firm that helps to evict rogue tenants, has called for people in the buy-to-let market to take out landlord insurance cover in case problems arise with tenants.

The vast majority of buy-to-let landlords are planning to add to their portfolios, a new study has indicated.

According to research from mortgage services provider Exact Mortgage Experts, 83 per cent of brokers believe that their buy-to-let clients are looking to buy more properties.

Landlords are seeing rent yields rise consistently after a large period of static returns, a new study has indicated.

A survey of landlords by Paragon Mortgages found that the average yield - the rental income of a property as a percentage of its current value - reached 6.4 per cent during the second quarter of the year, up from 6.2 per cent in the first quarter.

Landlords in Cambridge could be visited by UK Border Agency officers in an effort to crack down on illegal immigration.

The body is hoping to find immigrants who are living in private rented accommodation and could punish landlords who have housed them.

A High Court ruling against a letting agency has been hailed as a "victory" for landlords across the country.

The Office of Fair Trading had brought proceedings against Foxtons, claiming that some of the letting agency's charges were unfair.

The English countryside is proving to be a hotbed of recovery in the property market.

Landlords who have purchased property in rural areas near London could see good returns on their investments, the Residential Landlord's Association (RLA) has indicated.

New measures laid out by the government in the Consumer White Paper to protect tenants when their landlord is in arrears are not correct, according to the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA).

The new rules will see tenants receive up to seven weeks notice of the date of their landlord's repossession hearing.