Starmer reprimands Reeves for ‘inadvertent failure’ over rental licence mishap October 30, 2025 Sir Keir Starmer has sent a sharply worded email to Rachel Reeves criticising the Chancellor for misleading suggestions that she did not know she needed a licence to rent out her family home. Reeves has had to backtrack from earlier suggestions that she and her husband had not been aware of the Southwark Council rental [...]
Reeves may be forced to pay back £38,000 in rent after breach of housing rules October 30, 2025 Rachel Reeves may be forced to pay back tens of thousands in rent to her tenants after leasing her Southwark home without a license. Southwark’s rules on housing allow tenants to claim up to 12 months of rent if they’re a tenant of an unlicensed property. Given that Reeves has been renting out her £3,200-a-month [...]
Housing market stalls as ‘fearmongering about budget’ hurts confidence October 27, 2025 House price growth in the UK has slowed and sales have dropped for the first time in two years as more buyers adopt a ‘wait and see’ strategy ahead of a tax-raising Budget next month. Zoopla found that the usual Christmas slowdown has “begun six to eight weeks early”, with buyer demand down eight per [...]
A mansion tax would hit ordinary Londoners and stall the market October 24, 2025 A rumoured tax raid on sales of properties over £1.5m would be a disaster for Londoners, says James Evans With the Treasury neither confirming nor ruling out the prospect of a so-called ‘mansion tax’ – a capital gains levy thought to be based on the sale of primary residences above £1.5m – uncertainty is already [...]
The taxes driving housing developers out of London October 22, 2025 Stealth taxes faced by would-be builders have made London the most expensive city in the world to build, writes David Hirst.
Housing secretary Steve Reed ‘overly optimistic’ for betting jobs on housing targets October 22, 2025 The government’s housing secretary, Steve Reed, continues to be optimistic about the chance of a pledge to build 1.5m new homes in England despite mounting concern about delays. Earlier this week, Reed said that he would “absolutely” meet the goal and widespread scepticism would make “celebration all the sweeter”, he told BBC Panorama. “My job should be on [...]
Cutting affordable housing quotas is a slap in the face for Labour voters October 20, 2025 If Labour is no longer in favour of building affordable housing, what exactly is the party for, asks James Ford.
Sadiq Khan to blame for slump in London housing starts, think tank says October 17, 2025 Sadiq Khan is to blame for a dearth in housebuilding in London, a leading think tank has warned, as new construction projects slumped to their lowest level seen in years. A perfect storm of challenging macroeconomic conditions, needlessly stringent regulation and a sluggish planning process has helped push construction rates down to just 4,170 housing [...]
London shopping centre to be demolished for major development October 17, 2025 A huge redevelopment proposal for Lewisham shopping centre was given the green light last night, paving the way for hundreds of new homes to be built. Lewisham Council officials voted to approve plans to redevelop the 1970s complex, in a move that will see it turned into 1,700 new homes, 660 student beds and 445 [...]
Construction output weakens as gloom persists October 16, 2025 UK construction output has continued to shrink as companies struggle to build at the pace required by the government’s far-reaching housing goals. Output fell 0.3 per cent month on month in August, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), with the most pronounced decline in repair and maintenance. “The underlying trends in construction are [...]