The professional body
for the property sector

August’s figures reveal a housing market where activity continues, but buyers are taking a more cautious approach, making realistic pricing and negotiation increasingly important. Meanwhile, growing tenant demand and limited rental supply continue to create challenges across the lettings market, highlighting the different pressures facing buyers, sellers, landlords and renters.

In the last two years, landlords have seen more expensive mortgages and rising compliance costs. The Renters' Rights Act has changed how tenancies work and what happens when things go wrong. And now there's an annual fee to register each property on the new database, one more line on a spreadsheet that only ever grows in one direction. None of that is going away. However, as Propertymark Industry Supplier Homebox explains, agents still can ensure their landlords feel like someone is actively working to bring their costs down.

The UK Government has opened a consultation on extending Awaab’s Law to private rented homes in England. Rather than placing new duties on landlords to carry out repairs, the proposals set clear legal expectations about the timeframes within which homes must be made safe if they contain serious hazards, while also empowering private renters to challenge dangerous conditions. Propertymark is calling on members to get involved in our work to ensure proportionate regulations packaged with meaningful support for agents and their landlords.