The UK Government’s Making Tax Digital (MTD) initiative is transforming how taxes are reported and managed, with significant implications for property agents. Self-employed individuals and landlords earning over £50,000 per year must comply with MTD for Income Tax Self-Assessment (ITSA) from 2026, and those earning over £30,000 from April 2027. In her Spring Statement on 26 March 2025, Chancellor Rachel Reeves, MP, announced that the threshold will decrease to £20,000 in 2028.

Eight years after the Grenfell Tower tragedy, which claimed 72 lives, tens of thousands of people remain in unsafe homes, with remediation efforts slow and riddled with uncertainty, according to the new report from the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has delivered her Spring Statement, outlining the UK Government’s plans for housing, planning, and welfare benefits as part of its broader economic strategy. The Statement was framed as a continuation of the government's existing strategy rather than a full Budget, with no major tax changes and only a limited number of new policies aimed at correcting a gap in public finances.

Compliance in the UK lettings sector is often treated as a box-ticking exercise. Gas Safety Certificates, EPCs, and Deposit Protection Schemes are the well-known essentials that every agent expects to manage, but the real risks don’t always come with a checklist. Oversights can lead to crippling fines, legal battles, and reputational damage, with the biggest threats often lurking in grey areas of legislation, quiet regulatory changes, and obligations that only become clear when something goes wrong.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MCLHG) and the Welsh Government have proposed new regulations overhauling how insurance costs are charged to leaseholders in multi-occupancy buildings, to increase transparency and prevent leaseholders from being overcharged through commissions and hidden fees. While Propertymark supports efforts to ensure fairness for leaseholders, we have warned Ministers that these reforms alone will not bring down insurance premiums; a focus on building safety and insurer confidence is needed to achieve real change.

With the Renters’ Rights Bill on the horizon, the private rented sector (PRS) is set for significant change. As part of this, the bill will be introducing an Ombudsman which will hold landlords and letting agents to higher standards of accountability, ensuring tenants have a clear route to escalate disputes. Proactive landlords and agents can take steps now to prevent issues from reaching this stage, saving time, stress, and reputational damage in the process.

As widely expected, there was an uplift in activity in the sales market due mainly to the Stamp Duty thresholds changing in April, which will see many homeowners pay more property tax in England and Northern Ireland.

Fraudsters exploited the vulnerabilities in the property transaction system by stealing a homeowner’s identity and using a fake driving license to set up a bank account in his name to facilitate a sale in 2021. After four years, on 11 March 2025, a County Court finally granted the owner full possession of his home.

Propertymark has responded to the UK Government’s consultation on proposals to streamline the infrastructure planning process consultation, highlighting key areas where improvements can be made while ensuring the interests of local communities and property professionals are safeguarded. Importantly, we recommend a stronger emphasis on public approval during the pre-application process to ensure that only well-supported projects move forward quickly.

The Bill aims to modernise the UK's planning system, promoting rapid housing development and infrastructure while balancing environmental sustainability. Members should prepare for a dynamic landscape with new opportunities and responsibilities as these reforms take effect, offering new avenues for growth while necessitating adaptability to regulatory changes and a commitment to sustainable development.

The Universal Credit Fair Repayment Rate will drop from 25% to 15%, reducing the amount available to service an individual’s monthly debts, including housing payments. Furthermore, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is set to overhaul the system of the automatic deduction of arrears and ongoing rent payments directly from tenants' Universal Credit or other benefits, following a court ruling which deemed the practice unlawful.

Client accounting goes beyond bookkeeping—it's key to an agent’s reputation. An agent’s brand can take years to build but can be undone in days when something goes wrong. A strong reputation drives referrals and precedes first contact with new clients, landlords, suppliers and prospective staff. A strong local brand helps the agency grows faster and gain more value, so protecting and nurturing it has to be a top priority for any manager or owner.

The UK Government has committed to banning the sale of new flats on a leasehold basis and reforming the legal framework for commonhold, so it becomes the default and preferred tenure. It will also become easier for existing leaseholders to convert to commonhold, although the complexities of this may take longer to work out. Few agents in England and Wales have experience with commonhold, as less than 20 developments currently exist, so Propertymark has broken down some key parts of the proposals to help members understand the change.

Harmless plants, including Bindweed and dogwood, are frequently mistaken as Japanese knotweed, leading to unnecessary alarm and potential complications during property transactions, and further education is needed to help with identification.

Recent data from the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) reveals that individuals aged between 18 and 39 account for nearly 75% of reported rental fraud cases, resulting in losses nearing £9 million across approximately 5,000 incidents last year. Property professionals must be vigilant and proactive in combating rental fraud to protect consumers and themselves.

The UK Government has announced its next steps in a significant programme of reform to property ownership, aiming to abolish the traditional leasehold system and promote commonhold as the standard tenure for flats in England and Wales.