Landlords are already facing long waits for possession even before May’s rule changes as possession timelines rise. Landlords in England and Wales are waiting significantly longer to regain possession of their properties, with the average process now taking more than 26 weeks as repossession volumes continue to rise, says Sim Sekhon (pictured), Group CEO at LegalforLandlords. The latest research from LegalforLandlords shows the end-to-end timeline from submitting a possession claim… Continue Reading Wait times for repossessions growing, warns eviction expert

Agents’ body Propertymark has renewed its call on government to unfreeze Local Housing Allowance (LHA). LHA is calculated by the government and, in theory, reflects local market rents.  However, since introduction in 2008,they have been frozen at different times.  In November’s Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves again froze LHA for 2026/27. Now Timothy Douglas – jead of policy and  ampaigns at Propertymark – has reiterated the demand for government action. He… Continue Reading Call for Labour to help tenants by unfreezing allowance

A new petition demands a government U-turn on new eviction policies and the creation of a rogue tenant database. The petition is on the official Parliament website and runs until late July. It calls for the introduction of a six-week fast track court process for possessions on mandatory grounds S8/7A (arrears and anti-social behaviour), wants a database of court-evicted tenants, and advocates a higher deposit cap to protect landlords against… Continue Reading Petition wants government U-turn on eviction and arrears

The average UK private tenant spent £10,580 on rent in 2025 – equivalent to 41% of their net income.   This marks a significant rise from 2024 when renters spent an average of 36% of their take-home pay on rent.  The personal share of rent paid by each tenant increased by £684 (6.9%), while average net income rose only modestly from £27,710 to £28,810.   The analysis by Canopy looked at some 119,000 individual renters, measuring average… Continue Reading Average tenant spends over 40% of net income on rent

Planning reforms alone won’t guarantee the government will meet its house building targets. That’s the message from Propertymark, which has issued a new position paper about the UK’s housing shortage.  The agents’ trade body says that while planning reform is frequently cited as the primary solution to the shortage, it hasn’t historically worked. Instead, Propertymark points out that even before current planning reforms, hundreds of thousands of homes were approved… Continue Reading Message to Starmer – house building targets in danger

Rumble with the Agents is set to return to London in June, for another unforgettable night of white-collar boxing, networking and fundraising. Now in its 11th year in London, the event has raised over £200,000 for charities. The 2026 London event will feature at least four live boxing bouts, with male and female volunteers from across the property sector stepping into the ring after four months of training.  Participants commit to an intensive… Continue Reading TV star Paul Shamplina packs another punch for charity

Steep increases in room rents are diminishing savings and keeping older renters in shared homes for longer, it’s claimed. But this is creating a barrier to entry for younger renters, according to new data from flatshare site SpareRoom. As a result, under 35s in the flatshare market are in decline while those aged 35+ are rising. In the past five years, UK rents have risen 29% to £749 per month,… Continue Reading Rising rents mean flat-sharers are getting older

HM Revenue and Customs data shows that Capital Gains Tax receipts for 2025 were £13.646 billion. This is down from £14.900 billion in 2024 – a fall of 8.4 per cent. Jason Hollands, managing director at wealth management firm Evelyn Partners, comments: “Taxpayers are swerving this and the previous government’s crackdown on capital gains by sitting tight and deferring disposals, suggesting the futility of over-taxing investors and business owners. ‘The… Continue Reading Capital Gains Tax blow for Reeves as property investors sit tight

A committee of MPs has branded schemes that left 30,000 homes with insulation defects as “catastrophic.” The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) says the energy efficiency schemes had “serious failings at every level.” The schemes were instigated by the then-Conservative government in 2022. Now the PAC even goes so far as to recommend the issue be referred to the Serious Fraud Office (SFO). This all comes within days of the current… Continue Reading Energy efficiency schemes “should be referred to Serious Fraud Office” say MPs

Letting agents’ body Propertymark is taking credit for a softening of government policy on EPC targets for the private rental sector (PRS). PRS homes must meet EPC Band C by October 2030 unless an exemption applies.  This extended deadline is described by Propertymark as “a welcome change” from a possible 2028 target date and, there body says, follows its meeting with the energy minister.  Properties meeting EPC C before October… Continue Reading Propertymark still unhappy at private rental sector EPC target

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