Open News

A long-standing Conservative Party figure has issued a strong warning against the reintroduction of rent controls, branding them “the mullet hairstyle of policies – both very bad and back in fashion.” David Gauke – former MP for Hertfordshire, ex-Work and Pensions...

Lambeth Council in south London is pressing ahead with new planning controls to restrict the number of smaller Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs), despite only limited feedback from residents during consultation. The authority says concerns were raised in two...

Generation Rent, long critical of buy-to-let landlords, is now raising red flags about the rising Build-to-Rent (BTR) sector in London. From their analysis, deputy chief executive Dan Wilson Craw warns that while BTR was marketed as a professional alternative to...

Hackney Council is consulting on two new five-year licensing schemes for the private rented sector (PRS) from early 2026 – but proposals to set licence fees at £925 per property have provoked a major row. The schemes include: Borough-wide Additional HMO Licensing –...

The Guardian is reporting that Stamp Duty might be replaced by a potential national property tax.  In summary: Proposal: The Treasury is reportedly considering a new national tax on the sale of homes worth more than £500,000. Purpose: The tax is being explored as a...

Analysis of Zoopla data from Benham and Reeves suggests that the anticipated "landlord exodus" from the UK rental market has not occurred. Contrary to fears that the Renters' Rights Bill would cause a significant reduction in rental property supply, the number of...

The era of the “hobby landlord” is fast disappearing, as new figures highlight a dramatic fall in buy-to-let mortgage approvals. UK Finance data shows approvals dropped from 25,280 in Q4 2022 to just 12,422 in Q1 2024—a 53% decline in barely a year. End of the...

UK landlords bought 85,000 fewer properties in the past year, with just 6% of Britain’s estimated 2.84 million landlords expanding their portfolios—down from 9% in early 2024. The slowdown, revealed in new analysis by Dwelly using HMRC and The Mortgage Works data,...

Buy-to-let mortgage repossessions have risen 11% year-on-year, according to Moneyfacts, in what finance experts warn is a sign of squeezed landlord margins and market volatility. Rising Repossessions a Warning Signal Rachel Springall, finance expert at Moneyfacts,...

The government risks missing its housing targets unless more support is directed into home-building careers, according to new analysis by the Home Builders Federation (HBF). While some 100,000 students are typically enrolled on Further Education construction courses,...