Commonhold was first introduced in England and Wales in 2002 but failed to take off due to a lack of industry support. Even now, not all lenders will lend on commonhold, and many estate agents, conveyancers and managing agents do not offer commonhold services. Notwithstanding the unpopularity of the tenure to date, the government’s 2024 […]

The government has admitted it does not collect data on how enforcement action against landlords has changed over the past five years. In a written parliamentary answer, Housing Minister Baroness Taylor of Stevenage confirmed the government will require councils to submit enforcement data from April next year. Under the Renters’ Rights Act, councils in England […]

Landlords operating in one London council’s area are set to face closer scrutiny after tenants report poor conditions, ignored repair requests or steep rent increases via a new forum. The council says its first private renters’ forum will give tenants a direct route to share experiences and help shape enforcement work. The forum will bring […]

Liverpool’s landlords could face licence fees ranging from £240 to £995 under proposals for a future selective licensing scheme. The price list runs to an astonishing 12 application categories, with separate reductions for renewals, energy efficiency, blocks of flats and landlord association membership. Residents, tenants and landlords are now being asked to comment on three […]

Rural landlords are at the centre of a political row over claims that the Renters’ Rights Act is driving them to sell up and reducing the number of homes to rent. Northumberland County Council’s Conservative cabinet member for public safety, Cllr Gordon Stewart, claimed the new obligations were prompting owners to leave the sector. The […]

The government’s planned PRS database could become an expensive administrative burden unless it is designed around the day-to-day work of landlords and agents, a new report warns. The Lettings Industry Council (TLIC) says the platform must be more than a static register and should support compliance monitoring, reporting and targeted enforcement. It wants councils to […]

There haven’t been any government announcements. No Budget has proposed an increase. Yet conversations about higher CGT seem to be everywhere. So what’s changed? Part of the answer may lie in the wider political conversation. Since Andy Burnham became Prime Minister, he has repeatedly argued that wealth and assets should play a bigger role in […]

UK house prices increased by 0.1% during July, with annual growth slowing from 2.2% in June to 1.8%, Nationwide has revealed. The average price of a home is now £277,542, compared with £277,484 a month earlier. Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist, said: “Prices remained broadly flat in month-on-month terms, after taking account of seasonal factors. […]

For most landlords, the new Renters’ Rights Act pet request rules have produced little interest as 93% say they have not received a single formal approach. However, 58% of tenants say whether a property permits pets is important when deciding where to live, according to LRG’s Summer 2026 Lettings Report. The findings are based on […]

Buy to let refinancing has returned to a record high, with 57% of leveraged landlords arranging a new loan, remortgage or product transfer in the 12 months to June. That was 10 percentage points higher than the previous quarter and matched the peak recorded at the end of 2025, compared with 39% two years ago. […]

Landlords could face new planning restrictions when converting family homes into small HMOs in Reigate and Banstead. Reigate and Banstead Borough Council is consulting on an Article 4 direction that would remove permitted development rights for conversions housing between three and six residents. A full planning application would then be required before a home could […]

The government has claimed that most possession cases do not require bailiff enforcement, saying it is working to improve the efficiency of the system. In a written parliamentary answer, Labour’s Lord Lemos said HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is exploring measures to improve bailiff recruitment and retention The news comes as the court backlog […]

LLCR, the Landlord Compliance Register, has been named a finalist in four categories at the Property Week Tech Innovation Forum & Awards 2026. We launched on 1 May. Twelve weeks later, LLCR is a four-category finalist. The three company categories are Best Governance & Risk Solution, the Legal Technology Excellence Award, and Residential Innovation in […]

Hello, I have two tenants who have been with me for over two years with the rent paid by the council or Universal Credit. They were both were vetted by the council, and the rent paid. Two months ago, the rent payment stopped. Since then there has been no rent on both and no suggestion […]

HMRC has replaced long-standing guidance that accountants and tax advisers may have relied upon when advising landlords about refinancing and withdrawing capital. If HMRC now applies its revised interpretation to historic transactions, landlords could face unexpected tax demands, advisers could face negligence allegations and the professional indemnity market may be left funding the resulting disputes. […]

The First-tier Tribunal has confirmed that refinancing at the point of incorporation can jeopardise full Incorporation Relief, while the Property118 Substantial Incorporation Structure avoids that risk. The warning was already contained in leading professional tax commentary, yet it was never absorbed into mainstream tax, legal and mortgage practice. Property118 did not simply win its DOTAS […]

Landlords facing the final Section 21 ‘no-fault’ eviction court deadline fuelled a sharp rise in possessions last month. Tenant eviction specialists, Landlord Action, recorded its busiest month for enquiries in almost a year. That excludes the spikes seen in March and April before the Renters’ Rights Act took effect. It says that new instructions were […]

Calls for the Labour government to regulate private rents have intensified after polling found strong public backing for government intervention. The Fabian Society, a left wing think tank, says ministers should build on the Renters’ Rights Act by introducing controls designed around local housing conditions. Polling found 57% of private renters and 49% of the […]

Landlords could face penalties of up to 30% of unpaid tax after making ‘careless’ mistakes in their self-assessment returns, the Daily Telegraph reports. HMRC is seeking powers to decide whether an error should be treated as deliberate when a taxpayer fails to correct it. Current rules generally regard an inaccuracy as deliberate only where someone […]

Hello, I rent a house commercially to a private care company under the government-run SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) contract which began in Oct 2025. The monthly rent has always been weeks late after written prompts – June/July 2026 rent is unpaid to date. I’ve had no replies to messages from the tenant. He […]

Landlords face civil penalties of up to £7,000 where councils identify an initial Category 1 hazard, putting inspection records and repairs under closer scrutiny. Inventory Base estimates the private rented sector’s theoretical exposure could reach £3.53bn across England. Its calculation applies the maximum initial penalty to 504,808 privately rented dwellings estimated to contain at least […]