A social housing resident reportedly complained for eight years about excess cold before their windows were repaired, in one of the cases exposed by the Housing Ombudsman in a new report on disrepair. Window-related failures resulted in severe maladministration in 9% of the Ombudsman’s findings in 2025-26. Its usual level is around 2%. The report, […]

The government has announced a new data collection strategy to monitor the private rented sector (PRS). In a policy paper published by the government, ministers said the strategy is intended to assess how the Renters’ Rights Act will affect the PRS following the legislation coming into force. The data will also monitor the PRS Database […]

The average UK rent rose to £1,340 in May, with HomeLet recording monthly increases in 10 of the 12 regions it monitors. Greater London moved faster, reaching £2,161 after a 1.6% rise during the month, while Scotland recorded the largest May increase at 1.9%. The average figure is 1.1% higher than April’s £1,325 and 2.5% […]

The Scottish government has come under fire over its First Homes Fund, with critics claiming it is the SNP “trying to distract from nearly two decades of failure”. The scheme is designed to help first-time buyers by providing a £10,000 contribution towards a deposit on their first home. However, critics have argued the scheme does […]

Landlords weighing their next portfolio move are cautious about buying again, with 52% saying they do not currently plan to purchase another property. Landbay’s latest landlord survey found 35% plan to add to their portfolios over the next 12 months. When asked about their prospects, 41% of landlords described themselves as neutral, 21.8% are positive […]

Back in July/Aug 2023, I had reason to sack the letting agents and bring the management in-house. I’d already decided that, as tenants left to sell, BTL life is just becoming too complex. Tenants were happy that I synchronised everything to the 1st of September, mainly because they got a few months at the old […]

With the British Summer sizzling, it isn’t just the weather that has been making landlords sweat. Thousands of landlords exiting the Private Rented Sector (PRS) are discovering the hard way the time, cost and effort of evicting tenants and running empty property to sell with vacant possession. The landlord in this case study already knew […]

You have a limited company owning rental properties and are due to inherit rental properties from your parents? Read on. How your parents structure their will should be influenced by your future plans for those properties. Get it wrong and you could face an unexpected tax bill. The starting point is simple: Do you plan […]

Following on from last week’s theory about the purging of small landlords from the private rented sector (PRS), here comes the first trap. It’s obvious that many landlords don’t engage closely with the sector since best estimates put the number of private landlords in England at around 2.6 million, but a significant chunk will not […]

Piecemeal legislation needs to end to tackle London’s housing crisis, claims a landlord group. Speaking at the London Housing Conference, chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), Ben Beadle, claimed investment in the private rented sector is key to tackling the housing crisis. The news comes as the government have announced emergency measures […]

A Labour MP has suggested landlords should take a greater role in tackling anti-social behaviour caused by tenants. In a Parliamentary written question, Connor Naismith MP asked whether the government was taking steps “to make private landlords responsible for dealing with anti-social behaviour caused by their tenants”. In response, housing minister Matthew Pennycook confirmed under […]

Nottingham’s landlord licensing schemes have created £114.9m in social value over five years, according to the first evaluation published by the city council of their wider impact. The calculation reveals that £4.62 was returned for every £1 invested between 2020 and 2024. The independent study examined £24.9m invested in the city’s licensing schemes, assessing their […]

A housing charity and a retailer have teamed up to tackle Scotland’s housing crisis. In a new partnership, Shelter Scotland and IKEA have launched a digital interactive tool that allows the public to provide MSPs with a local snapshot of the housing emergency and its impact. The news comes as John Swinney, leader of the […]

Four buy to let lenders have announced a raft of mortgage changes including a 4.19% two-year tracker and a 4.74% limited-edition five-year fix. Commercial cases are in the mix too as InterBay cuts owner-occupier rates by up to 40 basis points, while Coventry for intermediaries has reduced selected BTL rates by up to 16 basis […]

Average UK house prices returned to quarterly growth at the start of 2026, rising 0.3% to £305,092, research reveals. Benham and Reeves’ Property Market Index Review, which combines data from Halifax, Nationwide and Rightmove recorded the increase in the first quarter after a 0.5% fall in Q4 2025. Prices across the UK were 0.7% higher […]

Landlords must issue the Renters’ Rights Act information by the end of this week or face a £7,000 fine. The government explain a copy of the information sheet must be given to every tenant named on the tenancy agreement. The government have warned if landlords do not provide the information sheet to tenants before 31 […]

Hello, my name is Melissa Lawford, and I’m the economics correspondent at The Telegraph. I’m writing an essay about what a potential housing market downturn will mean for the wider UK economy. I’m particularly keen to speak to buy-to-let landlords who are trying to exit the market but who are having trouble selling their homes. […]

Landlords are now housing a generation of young families for longer, as the number of children living in privately rented homes has tripled since the turn of the century. The Resolution Foundation said 3.2 million children were living in the private rented sector (PRS) in 2024-25. That compares with 1.1 million in 2000-01, with one […]

The Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) committee has scrutinised the government’s draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill, saying it needs to go further. In response to the bill, the committee welcomed protections for leaseholders but warned that key recommendations previously made by the Law Commission are missing from the draft legislation. The findings come […]

First-time buyers are searching for homes priced £10,000 above last year’s level, even as fewer of them are making enquiries, Zoopla figures show. In London, the average home targeted by a first-time buyer has crossed £500,000 for the first time, reaching £502,250. That’s despite average prices across the capital remaining unchanged year on year. The […]

Renters with poor credit records, unpredictable earnings or having nobody willing to act as a rent guarantor could face a tougher search for a home, the NRLA says. It has carried out research which found that 78% of landlords said the Renters’ Rights Act was likely to make them more selective when choosing tenants. The […]