Tenants and first-time buyers could be left worse off if the government continues to squeeze the private rental sector, industry leaders have warned. The warning comes amid reports that the Chancellor is coming under increased pressure to hike taxes on landlords to balance the books. Tax experts have suggested that landlords could be forced to pay National Insurance on rental income at a future fiscal event. However, speaking at a… Continue Reading Hands Off Renting! Industry figures send warning to government

Fewer than half of UK tenants have contents insurance in place, a new YouGov survey claims.  The survey of over 1,000 private tenants was commissioned by PropTech Paymentshield and shows the volume of private tenants surveyed with contents insurance dropping from 51% in 2023 to 46% now. The Renters Rights Bill as originally envisaged gave landlords the right to require tenants with pets to take out suitable insurance. However, a… Continue Reading Low level of contents insurance take-up by tenantsFewer than half of UK tenants have contents insurance in place, a new YouGov survey claims. The survey of over 1,000 private tenants was commissioned by PropTech Paymentshield and shows the volume of private tenants surveyed with contents insurance dropping from 51% in 2023 to 46% now. The Renters Rights Bill as originally envisaged gave landlords the right to require tenants with pets to take out suitable insurance. However, a last-minute amendment now under consideration could reverse the requirement. Paymentshield claims the research shows what it calls “a concerning mismatch between tenants’ perceived and actual insurance needs.” While 28% of uninsured respondents say they don’t have enough belongings to make contents insurance worthwhile, over three in five (62%) value their possessions at over £5,000. One quarter of respondents said their belongings are worth between £5,000 and £15,000, with a further one quarter saying over £25,000. A spokesperson for Paymentshield says: “We’re at a pivotal moment for the rental insurance market, but tenants need to be informed about the potential changes that could impact their livelihood. The industry has a clear role to play in closing this information gap. Property Podcast Today Focus Property The Letting Partnership Tenancy Deposit Scheme “We’ve worked hard to make uptake of contents insurance policies as straightforward as possible, developing slick technology to embed the insurance journey into the existing online journeys of our lettings partners, and introducing a pay monthly policy. “With over three in five respondents having possessions worth more than £5,000, the financial risk of being uninsured is simply too great to ignore.”

Private rented sector reform will be unworkable unless the Government provides clarity. That’s the warning from The Lettings Industry Council ahead of the Lords debating the Renters Rights Bill on July 1. TLIC chair Theresa Wallace, in a letter to the Minister in the Lords, Baroness Taylor of Stevenage, points to outstanding concerns which the government has failed to address during the Bill’s passage through Parliament. Despite pledging last year… Continue Reading Renters Rights Bill “unworkable” at present warns agents’ chief

Figures from the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government, show council tax arrears have increased by over £600m, now standing at a total of £6.6 billion. Now a charity, StepChange, claims these figures point to a broken system. It says its own polling shows that of those earning under £35,000, close to the median UK salary, 41% are worried about meeting council tax payments. Amongst the charity’s own clients,… Continue Reading Council tax arrears warnings make tenants ‘scared’ claims charity

Older people living in the North East or the East Midlands are six times less likely to be living in a fully accessible home* compared to people living in London, new analysis from the Centre for Ageing Better reveals.   Only one in 25 homes (4%) headed by someone aged between 55 and 64 in the North East or the East Midlands have all four accessibility features compared to almost… Continue Reading No real progress on plight of disabled seeking accessible homes

Agents have pleaded with government to make the Boiler Upgrade Scheme practical and affordable for landlords. In its response to proposals from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Propertymark has stressed the concerns of property agents that landlords are struggling to afford energy efficiency improving measures. Propertymark estimates that 48% of homes in England are lower than EPC C, with an even higher percentage in Wales.  A large… Continue Reading Boiler scheme must be affordable and practical, agents tell government

New legislation has just come into effect, marking the biggest update to the UK’s digital data laws since Brexit, according to Propertymark.  The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 amends, but does not replace, the UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018, and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR).  The trade body says that for agents, this presents an opportunity to streamline processes and embrace innovation, while still protecting… Continue Reading New law pushes agents, landlords and tenants to share data

t’s been revealed that the House of Lords’ so-called Report Stage for the Renters Rights Bill will now be on July 1. It is expected to have a non-controversial Third Reading in the Lords on the same day, meaning that the Bill will then follow tradition and return to the House of Commons. In theory the Commons and Lords, if in significant disagreement, could bat the Bill to and fro… Continue Reading Renters Rights Bill – date set for next stage

Private rented sector reform will be unworkable unless the Government provides clarity. That’s the warning from The Lettings Industry Council ahead of the Lords debating the Renters Rights Bill on July 1. TLIC chair Theresa Wallace, in a letter to the Minister in the Lords, Baroness Taylor of Stevenage, points to outstanding concerns which the government has failed to address during the Bill’s passage through Parliament. Despite pledging last year… Continue Reading Renters Rights Bill “unworkable” at present warns agents’ chief

The government has given details of what it considers to be an appropriate Decent Homes Standard for the private rental sector. It closely mirrors proposals for the social rental sector, too, where such a standard has existed for many years. The government is consulting on the new standard which will be introduced in principle as part of the Renters Rights Bill, when that becomes law in the autumn. However, agents… Continue Reading Government reveals details of private rental Decent Homes Standard

Hundreds of thousands of extra homes will be delivered thanks to a government-backed ‘housing bank’. The government claims the National Housing Bank will unlock billions in private sector investment to “turbocharge housebuilding.” The National Housing Bank will be publicly owned and backed with £16 billion of financial capacity, on top of £6 billion of existing finance to be allocated this Parliament, in order to accelerate housebuilding and – the government… Continue Reading Rayner and Reeves promise 500,000 homes through new bank

A lettings industry supplier claims the government has refused to publish the Justice Impact Test for the Renters’ Rights Bill – a document the Bill’s impact on the courts and tribunals system. Reapit has been in correspondence with the government regarding the Renters’ Rights Bill and requested access to the relevant Justice Impact Tests. Departments proposing changes with a potential court impact are required to complete a form to enable… Continue Reading Renters Rights Bill – government gag on how courts are affected

Agents are being advised to update the inventories they use to better reflect the wear and tear incurred by tenants who work from home. Propertymark is suggesting to members that they communicate with tenants at the start of the tenancy to set clear expectations and then apply wear and tear guidance fairly and consistently.  “We encourage members to provide detailed check-in and check-out reports, ideally with photographs, to support clear… Continue Reading Update inventories to reflect ‘working from home’ wear and tear

A £2bn funding boost for new homes in England was announced this week ahead of today’s spring statement but the housing market’s problems run deep. Here’s an overview of where we are and how we got there London is at the epicentre of the UK’s housing affordability crisis. It is a crisis 40 years in the making but one that has crescendoed over the last decade. Even the most peripheral… Continue Reading London’s housing crisis is harming generations — so how could we fix it?

There’s been a three per cent drop in buyer demand as the increased cost of moving bites It was good while it lasted but London’s property market is now facing a spring hangover as the effects of the end of the stamp duty holiday take effect. The end of the discounted rate, introduced by the Conservative government, means that first-time buyers in London could owe several thousands more than planned if they… Continue Reading Stamp duty hangover hits London as 80 per cent of first-time buyers face higher tax from April

NRLA has told Liz Kendall that ongoing Local Housing Allowance rates ‘freeze’ is causing extra poverty among benefits tenants, although it will also be driving higher rent arrears too. The Government has been warned that its ongoing refusal to ‘unfreeze’ its official Local Housing Allowance rate for private renters in receipt of benefits is causing extra poverty and rent hardship for many people. So says the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), which… Continue Reading Landlords warn benefits Minister over rent affordability ‘gap’

Nearly two-thirds of developers surveyed by lender are ‘confident’ the UK can meet the Government’s ambitious housebuilding target. Planning reforms such as mandatory housebuilding targets for councils, grey belt policies, the recruitment of 300 new planning officers, and ‘golden rules’for development have boosted developers’ confidence that the Government will hit its 1.5m new homes target, says Shawbrook MD Terry Woodley (pictured). Increase in housebuilding Analysis of the lender’s survey data reveals that… Continue Reading Developers say hitting Labour’s 1.5m new homes target ‘easy’

Brent Council is introducing a new HMO licensing scheme and a Council Tax premium on second homes at the same time. North west London borough Brent is the latest to crack down on HMOs and landlords, and in a double attack on property owners, is also targeting second homes. The council’s new plans to make landlords get HMO licences are an extension of a previous programme that ran for five… Continue Reading Big council in double attack on landlords and second homes

Mortgage firm claims a third of landlords to expand their portfolios this year and that most are untroubled by Renters’ Rights Bill. Landlords are much more optimistic than expected about the BTL market in 2025 with 36% planning on expanding their portfolios and just 9% expecting to reduce them says Market Financial Solutions‘ CEO Paresh Raj (pictured). The specialist lender’s survey also found that 43% of the landlords surveyed said that… Continue Reading ‘Landlords worried mostly about rent arrears, not reforms’

Amy Reynolds of London agency Anthony Roberts reveals why she thinks persuading vendors to get more prepared for a sale will speed up sales. An estate agency boss has urged the Government to bring in a ‘MOT’ style system for homes coming to market in the UK which, she claims, will help speed up the house sales process. The comments by sales director Amy Reynolds of London agency Anthony Roberts… Continue Reading AGENT: Property MOTs ‘best way to break conveyancing logjam’