The government has claimed it engaged with the student sector while developing the Renters’ Rights Act, despite industry experts warning the reforms could leave students worse off. In a written parliamentary answer, Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook said the legislation was developed following “extensive” engagement with the sector. Under the Renters’ Rights Act, all fixed-term tenancies […]

The controversy surrounding HMRC’s recent rewrite of BIM45690 and BIM45700 initially appeared to concern a relatively narrow question: whether a landlord can refinance a property business, withdraw capital and continue to obtain tax relief for the interest where the money withdrawn is then used for personal purposes. The implications may be considerably wider than that. […]

Angela Rayner has returned as housing secretary less than a year after resigning from the post over the stamp duty paid on her £800,000 flat in Hove. The appointment brings her back to the department under Prime Minister Andy Burnham, with Ms Rayner saying she is ‘delighted’ to resume the role. Ms Rayner resigned as […]

Landlords have warned that police are not doing enough to tackle rental sector fraud, with criminals using fake IDs to secure tenancy agreements and causing thousands of pounds in damage. BBC Panorama investigation There’s a Gangster in My Flat found that fake passports are being used to deceive landlords and letting agents. All landlords in […]

Landlords face renewed questions over rent controls, licensing and property standards after Andy Burnham entered Downing Street. The government’s new prime minister replaced Sir Keir Starmer after becoming Labour leader last week, making him the seventh person to hold the office since 2016. In his first Downing Street speech, Mr Burnham announced that he would […]

Efficiency You Can Measure: What Greening a Website Taught Us About Energy Standards By Dave Fuller, Managing and Technical Director, Accent Design Group Ltd For more than fifteen years, we at Accent Design have built and maintained the Property118 website. We created the brand, developed the site and the internal software that runs behind it, […]

An international real estate firm is warning that landlords in the prime rental market are selling up due to higher mortgage costs and an increasing tax burden. A report by Savills reveals landlords are also concerned about the Renters’ Rights Act, with almost half (48%) of Savills agents in London saying it is the primary […]

A think tank has called on the government to fund a national homelessness programme as figures continue to rise. A report by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) reveals homelessness across England is on course to increase by 25% by the end of the decade without government action. The think tank is also urging […]

The government has announced funding to help protect leaseholders living in buildings affected by unsafe cladding. Under the plans, funding for buildings under 11 metres will be provided through the existing cladding safety scheme, with support prioritised for those facing the greatest risk. The measures also include making it easier for the Building Safety Regulator […]

This is a genuine question that I believe deserves wider discussion across the housing sector. Where a housing association is managing homes on behalf of an independent private landlord within the private rented sector (PRS), and is: Advertising and letting properties, carrying out affordability assessments, granting and administering tenancies, collecting rent on behalf of the […]

While landlords in England now face a very different possession system after the abolition of Section 21, the reform has been hailed as a defining victory by one of its leading campaigners. Generation Rent’s departing chief executive, Ben Twomey, said ending so-called no-fault evictions in England was the achievement of which he was most proud […]

Landlords assessing property values are seeing stronger house price growth in lower-cost parts of Britain, while London continues to fall behind. The latest e.surv House Price Index puts the average Great Britain house price at £328,800, an increase of 1.8% over the year. Prices rose by 0.1% during the latest month and 0.4% over the […]

Suppose you invest £500,000 of your own money into a property business. The money is used to acquire and improve rental properties which remain in the business, continue to generate taxable rental income and, after several years, are worth considerably more than the amount you originally invested. You may eventually decide that you no longer […]

The government has claimed tenants on Universal Credit remain responsible for rent payments. In a written parliamentary answer, the government confirmed that if tenants get into arrears, rent payments may be sent directly to their landlord. Universal Credit is typically paid once a month directly to the claimant, who is then responsible for paying the […]

Landlords can face months of legal action and heavy costs when criminals secure their properties using false identities and references, a BBC investigation will reveal tonight. The Panorama investigation examines how gangs have obtained homes through reputable letting agencies before using them for a drugs factory, a brothel or unlawful subletting. Panorama: There’s a Gangster […]

Sellers cut their asking house prices by an average of £3,832 in July as political uncertainty, higher mortgage costs and an unusually distracting summer weighed on England’s housing market, Rightmove reveals. The 1% monthly drop took the average price of a newly listed home to £372,359. July usually brings a seasonal decline, but the latest […]

Landlords could face longer possession delays and tougher council enforcement during the second half of 2026. That’s the view of Allison Thompson, the chief lettings officer at Leaders, who adds that the sector has continued to operate successfully despite repeated economic shocks and regulatory changes. She adds that the Renters’ Rights Act, weaker economic growth […]

The PRS Database stopped being an abstraction this summer. The government has been beta-testing its “Register your rental property” service with real landlords, who registered actual properties and were issued a Landlord Registration Number and a Property Registration Number. The shape of the live system is now reasonably clear, and the rollout is planned to […]

Six tenants have been ordered to pay a landlord £3,240 after a tribunal found four examples of unreasonable conduct in a withdrawn rent repayment order (RRO) claim worth about £60,000. The case unravelled over a licensing period that did not exist. The First-tier Tribunal found the east London HMO had been licensed throughout the tenants’ […]

Despite cutting affordable housing targets in the capital, London is still falling far short of its housing delivery goals, according to new findings. The London Assembly’s annual Housing Monitor report reveals housing targets have been missed and housing waiting lists continue to soar. Last year, the government announced new emergency measures to tackle London’s housebuilding […]

Dear HMRC, On 1 July 2026, HMRC amended several pages of its Business Income Manual dealing with interest relief, business funding and the withdrawal of capital by proprietors. The pages affected included BIM45690, “Funding the business”, BIM45700, “Withdrawal of capital from a business”, and related guidance concerning capital accounts and Silk v Fletcher. These pages […]