Room rents across most of the UK have reached record highs, while supply of flatshare rooms has fallen 4.7% year on year. The article links rising rents and shrinking supply to wider rental market pressures, including landlord exits, compliance concerns and local authority action on HMOs.
Propertymark has said it will engage with government on plans for mandatory regulation of property agents, including licensing and minimum qualifications. The organisation supports the principle of stronger consumer protection, but says key details such as qualification requirements, funding, transition arrangements and the regulator’s relationship with existing redress schemes still need to be clarified.
The Law Society has launched a consultation on proposed updates to the National Conveyancing Protocol, which sets out good practice for residential conveyancing and is mandatory for CQS-accredited firms. The draft reflects changes in digital working, lender requirements, consumer transparency, cyber risk, leasehold and commonhold, and planned government reforms to the home buying and selling process.
FI Property Group has appealed Chorley Council’s refusal of a proposed 1.3m sq ft industrial and employment scheme on Green Belt land near Junction 3 of the M65. The Planning Inspectorate will now determine the outcome, with the developer arguing the site should be treated as Grey Belt and that there is strong regional demand for large industrial units.
The Conservative Party leader has pledged to abolish Stamp Duty Land Tax on home purchases if the party wins the next general election, alongside rolling back proposed mansion tax measures and pursuing wider inheritance tax changes. The article also notes support from Propertymark, which says any replacement tax system would need careful design to avoid disrupting transactions.
The article argues that AI governance and AI accuracy are separate issues: a system can be well controlled and still produce wrong answers. It stresses that firms should demand evidence of measured accuracy, especially for high-consequence conveyancing matters, rather than relying on outputs that merely sound plausible.
Chestertons has appointed Jordana Miles as Head of Short Lets as it reports stronger activity across its lettings business. The agency says tenant demand, move-ins and landlord instructions have all risen, with short lets seeing particular interest from corporate clients, relocating tenants and owners whose properties have not sold quickly.
