HMRC says more than 570,000 sole traders and landlords have now signed up to Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax, with over 436,000 having submitted their first quarterly update. From September 2026, HMRC will begin contacting customers who should be using MTD for the 2026 to 2027 tax year but have not yet signed up, and new guidance is due in late August for those who receive a letter.
RICS reports that the UK rental market remains under pressure from a shortage of good-quality stock, with landlord instructions staying negative as some landlords reduce portfolios or exit the sector. Tenant demand was broadly flat, while expectations for rent increases remain positive over the next three months.
Avant Homes has completed an agreement with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to defer certain building safety payments. The housebuilder said the arrangement is intended to support liquidity, alongside 2025 results showing a £111m loss.
Prime London lettings saw the strongest annual rental growth in 18 months in July, with average rents up 5.3% and new instructions and lets agreed both rising modestly. The article notes that rental growth has accelerated alongside the May start date of the Renters’ Rights Act, although the evidence presented is observational rather than conclusive.
RICS reports that the UK rental market remains under pressure from a continuing shortage of good-quality stock, with landlord instructions still negative as some landlords reduce portfolios or exit the sector. The same snapshot also shows a weak sales market, with buyer demand, agreed sales and house price balances remaining negative across much of the UK.
Greater Manchester Mayor Bev Craig has set out a plan to deliver 10,000 new social homes by May 2028, supported by a new Public Sector Land Bank and funding expected through Homes England’s Social and Affordable Housing Programme. The announcement was made alongside a visit to a recently completed EPC A social housing scheme in Ashton-under-Lyne, which Craig cited as a model for energy-efficient, brownfield-led delivery.
The article examines how the Labour government’s introduction of the “greybelt” concept has changed planning practice in England, allowing some land within the green belt to be argued for development through individual planning applications. It highlights growing tension between national housing ambitions and local resistance, with developers increasingly using the revised National Planning Policy Framework to appeal refusals.
The article examines how regional geopolitical instability is exposing gaps between construction contract relief mechanisms and insurance cover. It explains that force majeure or similar contractual provisions may offer time or cost relief, while war exclusions in construction-related insurance policies can still leave losses uninsured.
The Environment Agency has published the Thames Regional Flood and Coastal Committee strategy for the next decade, setting out a refreshed approach to managing flood and coastal erosion risk across the Thames region. The strategy is aligned with Defra’s flood funding reforms and the 2026 to 2029 investment programme, and it will guide how proposals are assessed against regional priorities.
Cheshire Fresh has submitted an outline planning application for Weavers Green, a proposed 280-acre development north-west of Crewe that could deliver up to 2,100 homes alongside employment space, local facilities and land for a primary school. The site is currently countryside and not allocated for development, but the application is framed against Cheshire East Council’s inability to demonstrate a five-year housing land supply.
The Office for Nuclear Regulation has extended two improvement notices served on Bouygues Travaux Publics SAS and Laing O’Rourke Delivery Ltd, partners in the Bylor joint venture at Hinkley Point C, after a worker was seriously injured by a falling formwork panel. The regulator said the firms had made progress but still need more time to demonstrate full compliance with the notices, which relate to planning, management and monitoring of construction work under CDM 2015.
Horizon Management has taken on the management of 347 homes in Sheffield and Merseyside after leaseholders exercised their statutory Right to Manage. The article highlights the firm’s role in both running the RTM process and preparing the operational handover, alongside wider pressure on leaseholders from rising service charges and recent RTM reforms.
