It is a well-established view that reform of ground rents is long overdue. Under the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill, it is proposed that most existing long residential ground rents would be capped at £250 a year and then reduced to a peppercorn after 40 years. That sits within a wider programme of change […]

Demand continues to outstrip supply as void periods increase, according to new data. Propertymark’s latest housing insight report reveals longer void periods, while reports of easing rents point to a more nuanced housing market. The industry body says the Autumn Budget in October will be crucial in shaping market sentiment. Notice periods causing issues According […]

The government has announced 1,000 new judges and tribunal members are being recruited to cope with increased demand following the Renters’ Rights Act. In a letter to the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), Courts Minister Sarah Sackman KC confirmed that the recruitment drive, alongside the courts’ digitisation process, would allow possession claims to be dealt […]

If you let student HMOs, the paperwork you put in front of a group this August decides whether you can get the property back next summer. There is no fixing it later. Ground 4A is the possession ground built to keep the student turnover cycle working after the end of Section 21. It is mandatory, […]

Rents continue to rise across the UK following the Renters’ Rights Act, while house price growth slows, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reports. Private rents increased by 3.7% in the 12 months to July 2026, reaching an average of £1,393. This was up from an annual growth rate of 3.3% in the 12 months […]

The average price of a new-build home has surpassed £500,000, according to new research. Data by Propertymark reveals the average price of a new-build property reached £501,658 in July 2026. However, regional disparities remain, with the largest decline in the East of England. Every nation faces its own housing challenges According to the data, the […]

A council has launched a major crackdown on houses in multiple occupation (HMOs). Stoke-on-Trent City Council has proposed a cap on the total number of HMOs within each ward and plans to require planning permission for new conversions. The news comes as landlords in Norwich could face a new licensing regime covering smaller HMOs. Require […]

A new target of more than 30,000 purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) beds over the next decade will require flexible planning, according to Lichfields. The planning and development consultancy has warned that a flexible planning approach will be needed to deliver 31,500 student beds across the capital, helping to ease pressure on the private rented sector. […]

A criticism repeated against Substantial Incorporation Structure (SIS) arrangements is that transferring the beneficial ownership of mortgaged properties to a company must have breached the mortgage terms, making the transfer ineffective and automatically invalidating Section 162 Incorporation Relief. That argument compresses several separate legal questions into one convenient conclusion. The evidence heard during the ten-day […]

Despite Andy Burnham’s pledge to end rough sleeping, new figures reveal an increase in the number of people sleeping rough in London. Figures from the Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN) reveal 3,959 people were sleeping rough in London in April to June this year. While this is down by 10% compared to the same […]

Generation Rent may not be disappearing. It may simply be getting older, and neither Britain’s pension system nor its housing policy looks ready for what follows. A Facebook post by Adam Lawrence recently stopped me in my tracks. It suggested that somebody retiring as a tenant could need £400,000 in pension savings just to pay […]

An industry body has warned that the PRS Database must not become a duplication of selective licensing. Propertymark says schemes should not duplicate existing regulation, warning that “simply collecting licensing fees will not improve standards”. Under the Renters’ Rights Act, all landlords will need to sign up to the database, which will include information about […]

A council has launched an intelligence-led taskforce to tackle rogue landlords and improve standards in the private rented sector. Lewisham council’s new Rogue Landlords Taskforce will target landlords linked to poor housing conditions, unlicensed properties and waste problems. The move comes as Bath and North East Somerset Council proposes tougher financial penalties for landlords, including […]

Tenant demand has risen to its highest level in two years, as concerns over landlords selling their properties continue to grow. Data from Pegasus Insight shows 63% of landlords now describe tenant demand in their areas as either ‘very strong’ or ‘quite strong’, up from 58% in Q1. This marks the first quarterly increase since […]

A council is urging landlords to sign up to a new scheme to improve the EPC ratings of their properties while helping to provide temporary accommodation in the area. Brighton & Hove City Council has launched the Energy Performance Grant Scheme, offering eligible landlords grants of up to £7,500 to carry out energy efficiency improvements […]

My bottleneck is deciding which BTL listings justify a viewing, especially when agents push for appointments before the numbers are established. I expect a viewing to resolve questions that records and a short agent call cannot answer. A deal that already fails on price, finance or obvious risk seldom improves after a walk-through. My first […]

A drafting criticism is not a court judgment. When a paid review begins with predictions of catastrophic tax consequences and ends with a recommendation to unwind or settle, clients are entitled to ask whether every realistic option has genuinely been considered. Over the last few years, I have been shown a growing collection of reports, […]

I’m going to say this plainly: no other organisation has more practical experience of landlord incorporation than Property118. That is a bold claim, but it is one we have earned the right to make. We have conducted thousands of consultations with landlords, helped hundreds to incorporate their property businesses and supported clients through HMRC compliance […]

Timing is everything, from knowing when to buy, when to hold and when to sell, and the same can be said for selling your property portfolio. We know because we are landlords ourselves, so we know the market is tough right now. We’re a company founded by landlords for landlords, made up of some of […]

More than half of homes in England and Wales are taking longer to sell this summer due to higher mortgage rates, claims Zoopla. Data from the property portal reveals homes in 180 of 363 local authorities are taking longer to sell this summer, with eight taking two months or longer on average. However, the national […]

One of the UK’s largest social housing providers claims modular homes could be the key to solving Britain’s housing crisis. Places for People (PfP) wants to work with councils across the country to prioritise modular housing for temporary accommodation instead of costly hotels and B&Bs. A modular home is a type of prefabricated housing built […]