David Byers
@davidbyers26.bsky.social
I'm Deputy Property Editor at The Times and Sunday Times. Politics nut. Runs after 3 small children, thinks far too much about #cpfc. All views are my own.
Terrific investigation by @manumidolo.bsky.social.
How gangs are renting out properties before stealing landlords' identities, using the homes as brothels and then using weak tenancy laws (and lax policing) to prove impossible to evict - often for years.
www.thetimes.com/article/513a...
How gangs are renting out properties before stealing landlords' identities, using the homes as brothels and then using weak tenancy laws (and lax policing) to prove impossible to evict - often for years.
www.thetimes.com/article/513a...
‘Criminals stole my flat and identity to run a brothel’
Organised gangs are scamming the owners of rental properties in London so they can more easily engage in activities such as fraud and prostitution
www.thetimes.com
October 19, 2025 at 7:50 AM
Terrific investigation by @manumidolo.bsky.social.
How gangs are renting out properties before stealing landlords' identities, using the homes as brothels and then using weak tenancy laws (and lax policing) to prove impossible to evict - often for years.
www.thetimes.com/article/513a...
How gangs are renting out properties before stealing landlords' identities, using the homes as brothels and then using weak tenancy laws (and lax policing) to prove impossible to evict - often for years.
www.thetimes.com/article/513a...
Stamp duty rises for second-home buyers, a doubling of council tax for existing second-home owners, a hike in mortgage rates and a dramatic reversal of the Covid-era work-from-home ethos have created an unprecedented slowdown in rural areas.
www.thetimes.com/life-style/p...
www.thetimes.com/life-style/p...
Country house prices plummet as property market slows down
Rural areas are a happy hunting ground for bargain-hunting buyers. Plus, search to see how far prices have fallen where you live
www.thetimes.com
October 16, 2025 at 12:25 PM
Stamp duty rises for second-home buyers, a doubling of council tax for existing second-home owners, a hike in mortgage rates and a dramatic reversal of the Covid-era work-from-home ethos have created an unprecedented slowdown in rural areas.
www.thetimes.com/life-style/p...
www.thetimes.com/life-style/p...
Exclusive: Portakabin is to strike deals with several British urban councils to build emergency prefab housing - its first ever homes - amid a sharp rise in homelessness. It has also offered its services to the Home Office for asylum-seeker housing.
www.thetimes.com/life-style/p...
www.thetimes.com/life-style/p...
‘Portakabin villages’ plan to solve emergency housing crisis
The prefab manufacturer will build homes for the first time in a deal with 11 councils — and is open to providing accommodation for asylum seekers too
www.thetimes.com
October 14, 2025 at 11:26 AM
Exclusive: Portakabin is to strike deals with several British urban councils to build emergency prefab housing - its first ever homes - amid a sharp rise in homelessness. It has also offered its services to the Home Office for asylum-seeker housing.
www.thetimes.com/life-style/p...
www.thetimes.com/life-style/p...
Millennial investors will account for half of the new buy-to-let limited companies to be set up this year — the first time this generation has ever reached this threshold — as older landlords cool on property investment.
www.thetimes.com/article/c005...
www.thetimes.com/article/c005...
Millennial investors lead surge in buy-to-let property market
Younger generations now dominate property investment: those born between 1981 and 1996 will account for half of new buy-to-let companies this year
www.thetimes.com
October 13, 2025 at 6:57 AM
Millennial investors will account for half of the new buy-to-let limited companies to be set up this year — the first time this generation has ever reached this threshold — as older landlords cool on property investment.
www.thetimes.com/article/c005...
www.thetimes.com/article/c005...
He made his fortune from a toilet roll empire, but multimillionaire Majid Hussain’s attempts to build his own castle unravelled when plans for a mock-Georgian mansion in the middle of the green belt were defeated in court.
www.thetimes.com/article/c88a...
www.thetimes.com/article/c88a...
Toilet roll tycoon’s green-belt mansion plan thrown out
The Hussain family, who made their fortune from Accrol Papers, wanted to create a neo-classical family pile in Lancashire
www.thetimes.com
October 13, 2025 at 6:45 AM
He made his fortune from a toilet roll empire, but multimillionaire Majid Hussain’s attempts to build his own castle unravelled when plans for a mock-Georgian mansion in the middle of the green belt were defeated in court.
www.thetimes.com/article/c88a...
www.thetimes.com/article/c88a...
This week the government announced significant changes to the way people in England and Wales will buy and sell homes, shifting the system towards Scotland.
Will this be a silver bullet for our housing market or bring about its own problems?
www.thetimes.com/life-style/p...
Will this be a silver bullet for our housing market or bring about its own problems?
www.thetimes.com/life-style/p...
Should England and Wales adopt Scottish system to speed up homebuying?
Scotland’s structure leads to much quicker completions on average, so it’s no wonder Keir Starmer’s government is looking north of the border
www.thetimes.com
October 9, 2025 at 2:18 PM
This week the government announced significant changes to the way people in England and Wales will buy and sell homes, shifting the system towards Scotland.
Will this be a silver bullet for our housing market or bring about its own problems?
www.thetimes.com/life-style/p...
Will this be a silver bullet for our housing market or bring about its own problems?
www.thetimes.com/life-style/p...
Residents of one of the government's proposed new-towns are somewhat incredulous at the plans... because they have been inundated for years by appalling floods...
www.thetimes.com/article/166b...
www.thetimes.com/article/166b...
New town plan ignores flooding, as villagers voice alarm
In Tempsford, there is anger as residents say government’s plans ignore years of flooding, while villagers in Adlington are stunned and unprepared for sudden announcement
www.thetimes.com
October 4, 2025 at 2:36 PM
Residents of one of the government's proposed new-towns are somewhat incredulous at the plans... because they have been inundated for years by appalling floods...
www.thetimes.com/article/166b...
www.thetimes.com/article/166b...
The government’s pledge to build 1.5 million homes in five years is doomed to failure because construction costs are too expensive for builders in half of the country, a damning report revealed.
www.thetimes.com/life-style/p...
www.thetimes.com/life-style/p...
Housing policy in crisis as building costs doom 1.5m homes pledge
A damning report reveals building costs soared 17 per cent between 2022 and 2024. This makes new homes a loss-maker for builders in nearly half the country
www.thetimes.com
September 26, 2025 at 5:33 PM
The government’s pledge to build 1.5 million homes in five years is doomed to failure because construction costs are too expensive for builders in half of the country, a damning report revealed.
www.thetimes.com/life-style/p...
www.thetimes.com/life-style/p...
Former Tory minister David Mellor and Lady Cobham are selling their extraordinary London mansion for £16 million - 30 years after the Westminster affair that brought them together.
www.thetimes.com/article/2c8d...
www.thetimes.com/article/2c8d...
The MP and the viscountess: 30 years on, scandal-hit pair sell up
David Mellor and Lady Cobham (the ‘quango queen’) are selling their hidden London love nest. Bought for £1.5m, it is now listed for £16m
www.thetimes.com
September 24, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Former Tory minister David Mellor and Lady Cobham are selling their extraordinary London mansion for £16 million - 30 years after the Westminster affair that brought them together.
www.thetimes.com/article/2c8d...
www.thetimes.com/article/2c8d...
In praise of the humble bungalow. Naff, perhaps, but a key solution to our housing crisis
www.thetimes.com/article/8a93...
www.thetimes.com/article/8a93...
If the over-60s are to downsize, Britain needs bungalows
They’re stair-free, almost always more energy-efficient and they provide garden space for the older people who still crave it
www.thetimes.com
September 23, 2025 at 7:00 AM
In praise of the humble bungalow. Naff, perhaps, but a key solution to our housing crisis
www.thetimes.com/article/8a93...
www.thetimes.com/article/8a93...
First-time buyers are knocking a rung off the housing ladder and going straight for their “forever home”, according to Barclays data.
The buyers now can't buy until they are older (average age 34), so they frequently have families and need bigger homes.
www.thetimes.com/business-mon...
The buyers now can't buy until they are older (average age 34), so they frequently have families and need bigger homes.
www.thetimes.com/business-mon...
First-time buyers going straight to ‘forever home’ says Barclays
Semi-detached properties made up a third of first-time buyer purchases in August while flats declined in popularity
www.thetimes.com
September 16, 2025 at 5:28 PM
First-time buyers are knocking a rung off the housing ladder and going straight for their “forever home”, according to Barclays data.
The buyers now can't buy until they are older (average age 34), so they frequently have families and need bigger homes.
www.thetimes.com/business-mon...
The buyers now can't buy until they are older (average age 34), so they frequently have families and need bigger homes.
www.thetimes.com/business-mon...
Landlords are selling off more properties while an ever-diminishing number invest in the sector amid suggestions of tax rises in the autumn budget. Data shows property investors’ appetite has waned after years of costs imposed by consecutive governments.
www.thetimes.com/business-mon...
www.thetimes.com/business-mon...
Landlords selling up before renters’ rights bill reforms bite
Labour’s plans will cause rents to rise, property experts have warned
www.thetimes.com
September 16, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Landlords are selling off more properties while an ever-diminishing number invest in the sector amid suggestions of tax rises in the autumn budget. Data shows property investors’ appetite has waned after years of costs imposed by consecutive governments.
www.thetimes.com/business-mon...
www.thetimes.com/business-mon...
A coalition of powerful firms - including our biggest banks, legal firms and brokerages - have signed a striking pledge to reduce the process of buying or selling a property to 28 days.
Is this property revolution for the masses - or pie-in-the-sky?
www.thetimes.com/life-style/p...
Is this property revolution for the masses - or pie-in-the-sky?
www.thetimes.com/life-style/p...
The property revolution is here: could slow conveyancing finally be over?
A charter is promising to slash house transactions to 28 days. We look at whether its bold claims could overhaul an industry in crisis
www.thetimes.com
September 11, 2025 at 1:27 PM
A coalition of powerful firms - including our biggest banks, legal firms and brokerages - have signed a striking pledge to reduce the process of buying or selling a property to 28 days.
Is this property revolution for the masses - or pie-in-the-sky?
www.thetimes.com/life-style/p...
Is this property revolution for the masses - or pie-in-the-sky?
www.thetimes.com/life-style/p...
Fewer than 1 in 10 properties up for sale are under offer in the most affluent areas, as tax changes bite. Analysts worry that pre-Budget kite-flying will worsen the situation.
www.thetimes.com/article/ea05...
www.thetimes.com/article/ea05...
Property market freezes as tax rises spook buyers
Only one in ten homes are under offer in some affluent areas. Experts blame stamp duty, expensive mortgages and fear of more to come in Rachel Reeves’s budget
www.thetimes.com
August 29, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Fewer than 1 in 10 properties up for sale are under offer in the most affluent areas, as tax changes bite. Analysts worry that pre-Budget kite-flying will worsen the situation.
www.thetimes.com/article/ea05...
www.thetimes.com/article/ea05...
Research carried out for The Times shows that, while few high-end homes are selling, the market in ultra-high-end rentals has more than doubled in size in the space of a year as multimillionaires make London a temporary base instead of a permanent home.
www.thetimes.com/article/d83b...
www.thetimes.com/article/d83b...
Why London’s rich are renting, not buying — at £325,000 a month
Stamp duty and non-dom tax changes mean the wealthy are ditching buying for high-end rentals — and reshaping the luxury property market
www.thetimes.com
August 22, 2025 at 12:10 PM
Research carried out for The Times shows that, while few high-end homes are selling, the market in ultra-high-end rentals has more than doubled in size in the space of a year as multimillionaires make London a temporary base instead of a permanent home.
www.thetimes.com/article/d83b...
www.thetimes.com/article/d83b...
The Cotswolds has made headlines as a magnet for A-list celebrities, royalty and tourists. But thieves are staging a wave of break-ins, hunting high performance cars. Residents say police seem powerless to stop them.
www.thetimes.com/article/7af2...
www.thetimes.com/article/7af2...
Cotswolds crimewave: the dark side of a chocolate-box village
Kingham has seen a surge in burglaries this summer, as intruders seek high-performance cars and a gang stalks the streets. Residents fear for their safety
www.thetimes.com
August 10, 2025 at 10:00 AM
The Cotswolds has made headlines as a magnet for A-list celebrities, royalty and tourists. But thieves are staging a wave of break-ins, hunting high performance cars. Residents say police seem powerless to stop them.
www.thetimes.com/article/7af2...
www.thetimes.com/article/7af2...
Terrific illustration of the failings of the Help to Buy scheme by @georgenixon97.bsky.social
It was meant to be a leg up onto the property ladder, but more than a third of those who used it to buy a flat could now be worse off than when they started.
www.thetimes.com/article/f3c3...
It was meant to be a leg up onto the property ladder, but more than a third of those who used it to buy a flat could now be worse off than when they started.
www.thetimes.com/article/f3c3...
‘I wish I had never bought my Help to Buy flat — it’s lost £40k’
The scheme was meant to be a leg up onto the property ladder, but more than a third of those who used it to buy a flat could be worse off than when they started
www.thetimes.com
August 3, 2025 at 7:30 AM
Terrific illustration of the failings of the Help to Buy scheme by @georgenixon97.bsky.social
It was meant to be a leg up onto the property ladder, but more than a third of those who used it to buy a flat could now be worse off than when they started.
www.thetimes.com/article/f3c3...
It was meant to be a leg up onto the property ladder, but more than a third of those who used it to buy a flat could now be worse off than when they started.
www.thetimes.com/article/f3c3...
What's that you say? You want to read about how Britain's Grand Designs self-build dream died in a section illustrated by sad-looking Lego men? Of course you do @thetimes.com
August 1, 2025 at 9:30 AM
What's that you say? You want to read about how Britain's Grand Designs self-build dream died in a section illustrated by sad-looking Lego men? Of course you do @thetimes.com
Tax is driving swathes of London's property market towards the cliff-edge. Our exclusive analysis
www.thetimes.com/life-style/p...
www.thetimes.com/life-style/p...
Is London’s housing market on the edge of freefall?
The super-rich and middle-class homeowners alike are fleeing the capital’s prime postcodes, partly due to Rachel Reeves’s punishing tax changes
www.thetimes.com
July 24, 2025 at 11:10 AM
Tax is driving swathes of London's property market towards the cliff-edge. Our exclusive analysis
www.thetimes.com/life-style/p...
www.thetimes.com/life-style/p...
Almost 150,000 homeowners would have to pay billions of pounds more tax if the government bows to pressure from backbenchers and introduces a wealth tax on homes worth £2 million or more, an analysis for @thetimes.com has shown.
www.thetimes.com/life-style/p...
www.thetimes.com/life-style/p...
How a wealth tax on £2m-plus houses could hit 150,000 homeowners
As Rachel Reeves tries to resist backbench pressure for new taxes on the rich, we crunch the numbers on a potential levy that would sting owners of pricey houses
www.thetimes.com
July 21, 2025 at 11:17 AM
Almost 150,000 homeowners would have to pay billions of pounds more tax if the government bows to pressure from backbenchers and introduces a wealth tax on homes worth £2 million or more, an analysis for @thetimes.com has shown.
www.thetimes.com/life-style/p...
www.thetimes.com/life-style/p...
Reposted by David Byers
What a great splash in today’s @thetimes.com by @davidbyers26.bsky.social celebrating the importance of SAVE’s work safeguarding historic buildings - from castles to cotton mills, dept stores to stations - for future generations ♻️
#SAVEcampaigns #SAVE50 #reuse 🏫
www.thetimes.com/life-style/p...
#SAVEcampaigns #SAVE50 #reuse 🏫
www.thetimes.com/life-style/p...
July 13, 2025 at 11:13 AM
What a great splash in today’s @thetimes.com by @davidbyers26.bsky.social celebrating the importance of SAVE’s work safeguarding historic buildings - from castles to cotton mills, dept stores to stations - for future generations ♻️
#SAVEcampaigns #SAVE50 #reuse 🏫
www.thetimes.com/life-style/p...
#SAVEcampaigns #SAVE50 #reuse 🏫
www.thetimes.com/life-style/p...
An analysis for The Sunday Times by the charity Save Britain’s Heritage has revealed that 1,257 historic buildings of all types — a record — are now on its carefully curated “at risk” register, with 50 new ones added this week alone.
www.thetimes.com/article/c945...
www.thetimes.com/article/c945...
The fight to save Britain’s estates — and Europe’s coldest house
As soaring costs and inheritance tax threaten 1,257 historic buildings, the owners of Cluny Castle and Kemerton Court share the difficulties they face
www.thetimes.com
July 13, 2025 at 9:02 AM
An analysis for The Sunday Times by the charity Save Britain’s Heritage has revealed that 1,257 historic buildings of all types — a record — are now on its carefully curated “at risk” register, with 50 new ones added this week alone.
www.thetimes.com/article/c945...
www.thetimes.com/article/c945...
This excellent piece by Jane Mulkerrins about systemic poor practice among rip-off lettings agencies needed to be written. Such behaviour ultimately drives up rents for tenants.
www.thetimes.com/life-style/p...
www.thetimes.com/life-style/p...
‘Letting agents charged me £6,156 for next to nothing’
Landlords in London alone pay £1 billion a year in unfair renewal fees, it is estimated. Our writer was charged seven years’ worth of agency fees for one simple tenancy contract — how can this be fair...
www.thetimes.com
July 9, 2025 at 12:02 PM
This excellent piece by Jane Mulkerrins about systemic poor practice among rip-off lettings agencies needed to be written. Such behaviour ultimately drives up rents for tenants.
www.thetimes.com/life-style/p...
www.thetimes.com/life-style/p...
A shortage of thatchers and terrible harvests have left desperate owners of Britain's 60,000 thatched cottages waiting for five years for repairs to be done.
Enter your intrepid reporter.
www.thetimes.com/life-style/p...
Enter your intrepid reporter.
www.thetimes.com/life-style/p...
I spent a day thatching a 350-year-old roof — it nearly broke me
The ancient craft, essential to Britain’s chocolate-box homes, faces a crisis. Can this unique skill survive shortages of materials and makers?
www.thetimes.com
July 3, 2025 at 5:42 PM
A shortage of thatchers and terrible harvests have left desperate owners of Britain's 60,000 thatched cottages waiting for five years for repairs to be done.
Enter your intrepid reporter.
www.thetimes.com/life-style/p...
Enter your intrepid reporter.
www.thetimes.com/life-style/p...