The government has issued revised guidance on giving notice to private tenants before May 1. This is the date when much of the Renters Rights Act (RRA) comes into effect. The three latest revisions to the guidance all concern deposits. The government says that landlords, or their agents, must ensure they issue possession notices correctly before May 1. If notice is served on or after that date, the new possession… Continue Reading Government tweaks eviction guidance before Renters Rights Act

Rental stock levels are building in England as tenants elect to move more slowly, ahead of the Renters’ Rights Act. The available rental stock in England has increased by 25% in Q4 2025, despite fears of a landlord exodus as the RRA is phased in, according to new research carried out by Inventory Base. According to Operations Director Siân Hemming-Metcalfe (pictured), although seasonality will have played a role, a 15.4%… Continue Reading Rental stock rises 25% despite Renters’ Rights Act fears

A Propertymark analysis of the latest English Private Landlord Survey has offered a snapshot of what the private rental sector looks like. Some 45% of landlords own just one rental property, while a further 38% own two, three or four.  Only 17% own five or more properties – although these account for approaching half of all tenancies. The existing BTL investor is ageing, too. The median age of individual landlords… Continue Reading Private rental sector still dominated by small-scale investors

Goodlord says these changes, which are not uncommon at this time of year, are more dramatic than normal, although year-on-year rent increases remain ‘hot’. Agreed rents have taken a seasonal but unexpectedly strong downward swing month-on-month, new data has revealed. Goodlord, which handles thousands of new tenancies each month, says agreed rents dropped by 12% between September and October on average across the UK, from £1,447 to £1,276. The largest… Continue Reading Rents drop significantly as void periods lengthen, reports leading lettings platform

The government is giving local housing authorities new powers to investigate whether landlords or letting agents have broken the Renters Rights Act. The act  became law last evening at 7.40pm and overnight the government has published new powers for councils. The new powers come into effect on December 27, apply only in England, and are in some cases dramatic. The overnight statement says: “Some of these investigatory powers can be used… Continue Reading Councils can seize agency documents to enforce Renters Rights Act

This is how the government describes the new Act: Abolish Section 21 evictions and move to a simpler tenancy structure where all assured tenancies are periodic;   Ensure possession grounds are fair to both parties, giving tenants more security, while ensuring landlords can recover their property when reasonable;   Provide stronger protections against backdoor eviction by ensuring tenants are able to appeal excessive above-market rents which are purely designed to force… Continue Reading All you need to know about the Renters Rights Act

The government has published its formal response to the Commons Justice Committee’s report on the work of the County Court. The Committee’s report delivered a stark assessment of the current system, describing the County Court as “a dysfunctional operation that has failed to adequately deliver civil justice across England and Wales.” It called for a comprehensive, root-and-branch review of what it termed a “Cinderella service” to begin in spring 2026. In its response,… Continue Reading Call to overhaul “dysfunctional” court eviction system

Over 40 organisations have written to the UK Government calling for housing benefit for private renters to be unfrozen to prevent homelessness and to ease growing pressure on councils. The letter, signed by groups representing tenants and landlords, urges the UK Government to restore local housing allowance (LHA) rates to cover at least the cheapest 30% of rents.  This would lift 75,000 children and 125,000 adults across the UK out… Continue Reading Lettings industry groups demand un-freezing of Local Housing Allowance

New-build transactions across the capital have all but dried up this year says a prominent lettings agency. New builds accounted for just 0.9% of all London property transactions in H1 2025 says Benham and Reeves, which has analysed price paid data from the Land Registry. In total, 24,847 transactions completed across the London market over the last six months, marking a 37% drop versus the previous half year. A remarkably… Continue Reading Lettings chief reveals shocking low new-build figures

The government says it’s pumping £84m into councils to deal with homelessness ahead of winter. Children and families in temporary accommodation will be prioritised – with the funding to go towards helping families to cover the essentials like food, school travel and laundry. It comes as record levels of households are in temporary accommodation, including nearly 170,000 children. Levels of rough sleeping have more than doubled since 2010. Areas with… Continue Reading Huge injection of public money into combatting homelessness

The government has announced it is to reform Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs). And it has at last confirmed the new EPC deadline for the private rental sector. How EPCs will change In what the government calls “a partial response” to a 2024 consultation exercise on reforms, the government says it will, in the long term, base EPCs on four elements. These are: energy cost, fabric performance, heating system and smart… Continue Reading Energy Performance Certificate rental deadline confirmed

New-build transactions across the capital have all but dried up this year says a prominent lettings agency. New builds accounted for just 0.9% of all London property transactions in H1 2025 says Benham and Reeves, which has analysed price paid data from the Land Registry. In total, 24,847 transactions completed across the London market over the last six months, marking a 37% drop versus the previous half year. A remarkably… Continue Reading Lettings chief reveals shocking low new-build figures

Renters’ Rights Bill changes will result in tenants bringing one million more pets into their rental homes, says big insurance broker. An extra million pets are to flood England’s rental market as two in five tenants report a desire to have either a cat (56%) or a dog (52%) when the Renters’ Rights Bill goes live. So says insurance giant Go.Compare after it conducted a major survey. It claims the… Continue Reading ‘Million more pets in rented homes after reform Bill goes live’

North London agent argues that seemingly endless extra burdens on landlords and letting agents is slowly asphyxiating a once healthy market. As the Autumn budget looms, HM Treasury has been ‘leaking’ various tax increase proposals, which it hopes will plug the Chancellor’s self-engineered £40-50 billion fiscal hole. The latest, to charge self-employed landlords National Insurance on their rental income, will generate £2 billion for its coffers, it is claimed. But… Continue Reading NI on rental income will be 13th major change in 10 years

It has emerged that Chancellor Rachel Reeves pounded the streets in her own constituency calling for selective licensing – the same kind of licence that she failed to secure for her own home, through a mix-up with the lettings agency.  Reeves was shadow chancellor in 2023 when she joined the Leeds city council leader and other members of the Labour-run authority on a walkabout in the Armley area calling for… Continue Reading Reeves campaigned for selective licensing in her own constituency

An agent says the controversy over licensing and Chancellor Rachel Reeves illustrates how complicated the whole licensing system is. That’s the view of Richard Bryce, co-founder of estate agency House Collective.  On Wednesday it was revealed by the press that Reeves had committed a strict liability crime under section 95 of the Housing Act 2004 when she failed to licence her family home when she let it for £3,200 a… Continue Reading Reeves controversy shows how confusing licensing is, says agent

Prime Minister Sir Kier Starmer says there’s no need for an inquiry into how Chancellor Rachel Reeves unlawfully let her family home without the necessary licence. Last evening the story broke in the Daily Mail that the Reeves family home in south London was let after Labour won the General Election in July 2024 for £3,200 a month. It is in an area where Southwark council requires private landlords to… Continue Reading Chancellor broke rental licensing law – Starmer says ‘matter closed’

A prominent wealth management firm says Labour’s plan to impose new property taxes is ‘the final nail in the coffin’ for property investment. Rathbones is giving the warning in response to recent reports that the Treasury is examining various options for property taxes ahead of the Budget – including a levy on homes sold for more than £500,000, the application of national insurance to rental income and a possible overhaul… Continue Reading Labour tax grab is ‘final nail in property investment coffin’

A high profile market commentator is warning that tenants will ultimately pay the price for new rental taxes proposed by the government. Jonathan Rolande says actual and proposed changes to the private rental sector – the Renters Reform Bill, the 5% stamp duty surcharge, higher mortgage costs and bow possible National Insurance contributions – constitute “the death of an entire sector, by a thousand cuts.” Rolande – writing on our… Continue Reading Tenants to pay for Labour tax rises, says market commentator

Agents are bracing themselves for the already-complicated private rental sector to become still more complex – and some fear the red tape could stifle the industry. The Property Outlook Report 2025 has been written by industry supplier Reapit and reveals that over-regulation tops the list of agents’ concerns.  Nearly 60% of respondents cited new regulations as their primary worry for 2025. These figures reflect growing unease about the implications of reforms set… Continue Reading Red Tape fears as Renters Rights Bill adds to agent overload