I have been reflecting recently on how tenancy agreements are evolving, and I keep coming back to the same question: What does “balance” actually look like today? On paper, a tenancy agreement is still a contract between two parties; one provides a property, the other pays to live in it, with both sides agreeing to certain […]

Housebuilding in Scotland has reached record lows, with the Scottish government off target on its promise to build 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, according to new figures. Data published by the Scottish government reveals that the private sector completed fewer homes in 2025 than in any year since 2017 and started fewer homes than in […]

A holiday home insurer issues “Duty of Care” warning to short-term let owners ahead of the April booking surge. Holiday home owners are being urged to ant-proof their properties immediately following a significant 31% year-on-year increase in pest-related searches. As the Great British Staycation season kicks off this Easter, experts warn that a failure to […]

A dispute over Gas Safety rules and selective licensing nearly left a parent and child without a home but more tenants are facing Section 21 notices. The landlord, Mick Roberts, says he is fed up with struggling to get Nottingham City Council employees to understand housing law. He says the situation escalated after council officers […]

The government is being urged to intervene and help landlords as buy to let borrowing costs rise, adding fresh pressure to rents and landlord finances. The National Residential Landlords Association points to an analysis from Moneyfactscompare.co.uk which found that landlords are paying an average £1,100 more a year than in January. That’s down to market […]

Something is shifting in the property market and, luckily for us, it isn’t another drove of bad news. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. While most of the noise is about rising costs, tightening regulation and an uncertain economic backdrop, cue the landlords quietly getting on with things in the background to squeeze the most […]

Annual UK house price growth reached 2.2% in March, up from 1% in February with values also rising 0.9% month on month, Nationwide reveals. The average price climbed to £277,186 in March from £273,176 the previous month. Robert Gardner, the lender’s chief economist, said: “The pickup in house price growth suggests that the market had […]

Nearly 9.5 million energy-efficient homes are projected to face flooding or subsidence risk by 2055, an analysis reveals. Property data firm TwentyCi found that homes with stronger EPC ratings appear more exposed to long-term environmental risks than less efficient stock. It says that 37% of homes sit at EPC D, with a further 35% at […]

Landlords and letting agents have one month to prepare for the first phase of the Renters’ Rights Act, with Propertymark warning that compliance failures could carry financial penalties. The Act, the biggest overhaul to the PRS in decades, takes effect on 1 May 2026 and will be introduced in three phases. To start with are […]

From 1st May 2026, enforcement of the new Renters’ Rights Act measures will be split into two categories of breaches and offences. A local authority will be able to impose fines on you, letting agents or anyone acting on your behalf (other than a qualified legal representative) and could be given a financial penalty of […]

Pet-friendly rented home listings across England have fallen sharply in early 2026, as landlords apparently increasingly reject advertising these homes. Research from Inventory Base shows a 39% drop since January, ahead of May’s implementation of the Renters’ Rights Act. Now, just 5,839 homes are advertised as allowing pets, out of a total 98,964 properties currently […]

Three-quarters of landlords are now aware of the Renters’ Rights Act as the first phase of the legislation approaches its implementation from 1 May, researchers have found. The figures from Pegasus Insight’s Landlord Trends survey show that 75% of landlords say they are aware of the reforms, a rise of 8% on the previous quarter. […]

Most landlords do not think of insurance as a savings strategy; they see it as a cost. A necessary one perhaps, but still a cost. That instinct is understandable, because most forms of insurance are designed to protect against events that may never happen – e.g. buildings insurance, liability cover, rent guarantee, etc. – you […]

At midday on 31st March 2026, Property118 launched what is expected to become the UK’s largest recurring landlord sentiment survey, reaching 47,886 members across its network (by invitation only). The objective is simple, but long overdue: to give landlords a clear, consistent voice, backed by real data, rather than anecdote. For years, policy debates have […]

Landlords are waiting more than a year to regain possession of their properties as court delays continue to disrupt the private rented sector. Propertymark points to recent data which shows possession cases are taking many months to conclude, with delays recorded at several stages of the legal process. The findings reflect a pattern that agents […]

The best and worst London boroughs for energy performance certificate (EPC) C ratings have been revealed. The data shows that Havering has the lowest share of energy efficient homes in London, with 43.15% of properties rated EPC C or above. London’s average for an EPC C rating is 56%, the research from Cut Plastic Sheeting […]

The government has been warned that a shortage of retrofit professionals could slow planned changes to how energy performance certificates (EPC) are assessed in rented homes. The call is being made by the National Residential Landlords Association which said proposals to overhaul EPC methodology would require significant additional training for assessors. However, that would add […]

The Welsh government has outlined plans to overhaul how Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) are treated for council tax, confirming that property owners, not tenants, will be liable. Also, HMO properties will be valued as a single dwelling. The proposals will bring the system into line with the approach used in England, where most HMOs […]

Volatility in the wholesale markets, caused by the conflict in the Middle East, has triggered Buy to Let mortgage lenders to respond rapidly to the movements in Swap rates. Swap rates are rates based on what markets think interest rates will be in the future. If Swap rates go up, mortgage lenders look to increase […]

Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings (ATED) is an annual tax payable by companies (or partnerships where any of the partners is a company) that own UK residential property valued at more than £500,000. Filing penalties start at £100 for initially missing the 30th of April deadline, increasing to £1,600 if the return is 12 months […]

What exactly is Shelter? Most donors believe they know the answer. The name itself suggests a simple mission: providing shelter to people who need it, but organisations evolve, campaigns expand, roles change. Over time, the question becomes less straightforward. Several years ago, David Knox FCA asked whether Shelter had become something more than a traditional housing […]