Useful Links

Bank Of England - The Website for the Central Bank of the United Kingdon.  Sign up here for email alerts on Interest Rate Decisions.

Companies House - find information on every UK Registered Company, including share ownership, directors, returns and registered business addresses.

They Work For You - find out who your local MP is, and what they're up to, by signing up here for email alerts.  This site will also tell you what their attendance in Parliament is like, has transcripts of any speeches or debates they've made to the House, and any Parliamentary questions they've tabled.

The Office for National Statistics produces "...independent information to improve our understanding of the UK's economy and society."

All residential property rented in the UK needs a Gas Safety Certificate, renewed annually.  On 1 April 2009, the Gas Safe Register took over the statutory gas registration scheme in Great Britain from CORGI.

Tenancy Deposit Protection - Since 6 April 2007, all deposits (for rent up to £25,000 per annum) taken by landlords and agents for assured shorthold tenancies (AST) in England and Wales have had to be protected by an authorised tenancy deposit scheme. ASTs are the usual tenancies made between a private landlord and his tenants.

ARLA - The Association of Residential Letting Agents - has 3,500 member offices throughout the UK including large multi-branch national companies as well as the smaller single office practices. Membership is achieved only by agents who demonstrate that they have a thorough knowledge of their profession and that they conduct their business according to current best management practice.

Do you need to make a Claim for Possession?  New from HMCS, Possession Claim Online (PCOL) is Her Majesty's Courts Service's Internet based service for claimants and defendants. "PCOL is a simple, convenient and secure way of making or responding to certain types of possession claim on the Internet."

The Association of Residential Managing Agents (ARMA) is "...the only body in England & Wales to focus exclusively on matters relating to the management of residential leasehold blocks of flats."

LEASE - The Leasehold Advisory Service is "...an Executive Non Departmental Public Body (ENDPB) funded by Government to provide free legal advice to leaseholders, landlords, professional advisers, managers and others on the law affecting residential leasehold and commonhold."  Use this site for information on how to buy a lease extension, or your freehold.

The Residential Property Tribunal Service is "...the public body that can decide many Rent and Leasehold disputes. We provide a fair, unbiased service used by thousands of Landlords, Tenants and Leaseholders every year."

Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) - Since October 2008 all properties - homes, commercial and public buildings - when bought, sold, built or rented need an EPC.

Land Registry for England and Wales - The Land Registry registers all property sold in the UK.  You can find out who owns what - and often what they paid for it - for £4.  Also includes the Land Registry House Price Index - which includes every residential sale in England and Wales.

Communities - Communities and Local Government sets policy on local government, housing, urban regeneration, planning and fire and rescue.

Home Information Packs - from 6th April 2009 every home put on the market, no matter what size, must have a Home Information Pack available from the first day of marketing.  A new addition is a Property Information Questionnaires - "PIQ".

Planning Portal - the UK Government's online planning and building regulations resource for England and Wales.  Use this site if you're planning building work, or use it to find out more about a Planning Application in your area.

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) is an executive agency of HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) with offices spread throughout England, Wales and Scotland.  On this website you can find out your Council Tax and Business Rates.

The Enviornment Agency are the "...leading public body for protecting and improving the environment in England and Wales."  They also are responsible for warning people about Flooding, and build flood defenses.

The Essential Information Group "...was formed in 1990 to provide the property industry with detailed information as to the results of all London property auctions. It now covers the whole of the UK and is recognised as the industry standard for auction information and currently includes details on over 400,000 properties and over 35,000 lots each year worth in excess of £5.6 billion." Subscribe to this site and receive email alerts when any property in your area is put up for auction.

Sitefinder is a voluntary scheme under which mobile network operators make information available on the location and operating characteristics of individual base stations, so that people who wish to inform themselves about this can do so.  Just type in your postcode and see the location of any cells or base stations near you.

RICS - The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors - Use this site to find a Surveyor in your area.  "Our members offer the very best advice on a surprisingly diverse range of land, property, construction and related environmental issues. As part of our role, we help to set, maintain and regulate standards. We also provide impartial advice to governments and policy-makers."

Do you need to check a Mortgage Company, Financial Adviser or Lender?  "The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is an independent non-governmental body, given statutory powers by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.  The Treasury appoints the FSA Board...".  Use the FSA Register to see if they are registered, where they are based and how to contact them.

The FT House Price Index "...comprises the published Land Registry house price data, smoothed and seasonally and mix adjusted by Acadametrics, combined with an "Index of Indices" model in order to account for transactions not yet reported to the Land Registry."

The Halifax House Price Index is based on the lending of the UK's largest mortgage lender and "...provides the longest unbroken monthly data series of any UK housing index."

The Land Registry's House Price Index is "...the most accurate independent house price index available. Using our data set of completed sales, it is the only index based on repeat sales. It includes figures at national, regional, county and London borough level."

Nethouseprices is "...a free public service and always will be. We provide access to UK house prices in England, Scotland and Wales, as recorded by the Land Registry (since April 2000) and the Registers of Scotland (since May 2000)."