Starmer reprimands Reeves for ‘inadvertent failure’ over rental licence mishap Property 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 [...]
Landlords advised to ‘get their ducks in a row’ as Renters’ Rights Bill signed to law Property The Renters’ Rights Bill received Royal Assent yesterday after a year-long journey through Parliament. The bill, which will remove so-called no-fault evictions, strengthen tenant protections and digitalise the sector, promises to shake up the market for both landlords and tenants – with considerable new burdens for the former. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the government [...]
Renters and landlords ‘in the dark’ on new law, Labour warned Property The UK’s landlord lobby group has warned that renters and landlords ‘desperately’ need more clarity on the rollout of the government’s Renters Rights Bill. The bill, which was debated in the House of Commons on Monday, is expected to receive Royal Assent in late 2025 and to become law in early 2026. It is one of [...]
Reeves to consider national insurance on landlords’ rental income August 28, 2025 Rachel Reeves is considering a tax increase for UK landlords in this year’s Autumn budget as she attempts to fill a £40bn hole in the public finances. The Chancellor is examining proposals for applying national insurance (NI) to rental income in the hope of raising £2bn. Officials are drawing up options for tax rises in [...]
Canary Wharf Group tops 250,000 sq ft of office space leased this year August 6, 2025 Canary Wharf has announced two new major leasing deals, taking the total amount of space leased this year to 250,000sq ft. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) will extend their office footprint to 60,000 sq ft and extend its lease at One Canada Water until 2035. SmartestEnergy, which helps companies navigate the energy transition, will lease 20,000sq [...]
Professional landlords to replace ‘hobbyist’ investors August 5, 2025 The much-publicised decline of the small-scale private landlord is leaving huge scope for professional lenders to take their place, in a ‘net positive’ for the market, according to property experts. Private landlords are being squeezed from all directions: A combination of lower tax relief, higher mortgages and tighter regulation has continuously pushed yields down. Amateur [...]
Rightmove profits rise amid rental and commercial property growth July 25, 2025 Britain’s largest property portal, Rightmove, posted a rise in revenue and profit on Friday, buoyed by estate agents upgrading marketing packages and growing demand across its rental and mortgage arms. The FTSE 100 firm told the market that revenue rose 10 per cent to £211.7m in the first half of 2025, up from £192.1m last [...]
Will the Renter’s Rights Bill push up costs for student accommodation? July 9, 2025 The Renter’s Rights Bill is set to introduce huge changes into the UK’s property market. Landlords and tenants alike will see significant upheaval, with fixed-term tenancies abolished, no-fault evictions banned and pets allowed. But how much will all of this affect students? Unite, which is the largest provider of student housing in the UK, reckons [...]
Landlords pick Manchester over London for higher returns June 30, 2025 Manchester has surpassed London in terms of the best yields for landlords, despite the former having a much lower average rent. London ranked fifth in a survey of rental yields, with the average annual return on investment in the capital at just 2.25 per cent, versus 4.21 per cent in Manchester, according to specialist property litigation [...]
Landsec boosts profit amid residential and retail pivot May 16, 2025 Property investment group Land Securities – known as Landsec – has reported a five per cent boost amid a strategic repositioning of the firm’s commercial property portfolio in favour of residential and retail property. Profit before tax rose to £395m from £341m, as the group plans to invest £1bn in retail and more than £2bn [...]