The Supreme Court is set to hear Harker v Hubert, a case testing whether a Section 21 notice can be valid where a gas safety certificate was allegedly not provided at the start of the tenancy and may not have been available at all. The dispute turns on how the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations interact with the post-2015 Section 21 requirements under the Housing Act 1988 and the Deregulation Act 2015.
Stoke-on-Trent council is proposing a major tightening of controls on houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), including an Article 4 Direction, ward-level caps on HMO concentrations, and a city-wide additional licensing scheme for smaller HMOs. The measures are intended to address resident concerns about the local impacts of high HMO density, including noise, waste and parking pressure.
The article examines the Government’s planned cap on most existing residential ground rents in England and Wales, moving them to £250 a year before reducing them to a peppercorn after 40 years under the forthcoming Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill. It argues the reform may ease sales and mortgage issues linked to onerous ground rents, but could also reduce freeholder income, create fairness concerns between leaseholders, and affect valuation and financing assumptions.
The article argues that the Renters’ Rights Act is already producing unintended consequences, including upward pressure on rents, reduced flexibility for tenants without guarantors, and new risks for landlords trying to sell rental properties. It cites early market data and industry commentary suggesting the reforms are reshaping behaviour before their full effects are understood.
The article reports that under proposed Finance Bill 2027 measures, HMRC would gain stronger powers to penalise landlords for tax reporting errors that are not corrected after a Customer Correction Notice. It also notes that HMRC recovered more than £100 million in unpaid tax from property owners in the latest reported year, following nudge letters.
Landlord Action reports a 28% year-on-year rise in landlord possession instructions ahead of the 31 July transitional deadline linked to the Renters’ Rights Act. The article also notes early patterns in the use of the revised Section 8 grounds, with rent arrears grounds currently the most common and sale-related possession claims also significant.
Propertymark has warned that the planned national landlord register in England could add cost and administrative burden if it duplicates information already held in local licensing or other government systems. It supports the principle of a central register, but says the scheme must be workable, properly resourced and designed to strengthen, not replace, local enforcement.
The article argues that rental-sector compliance pressures are increasing, with changing legislation, licensing, planning, fire safety and the Renters’ Rights Bill creating operational risk for property managers. It describes how one agency is using technology and internal training to identify high-risk properties earlier, improve decision-making and reduce the chance of fines and enforcement action.
The article reports on a London Property Tribunal case in which a letting firm was ordered to return a £125 deposit deduction that had been taken without a proper dispute process. It argues that some landlords and agents still misunderstand or ignore the Tenant Fees Act 2019, particularly around cleaning-related deductions at tenancy end.
Goodlord reports that fraudulent tenancy applications are costing landlords and letting agents an estimated £4.1 billion a year, with direct losses averaging £9,600 per tenancy. The article says fraud has risen by 40% in the past year, with London and the prime rental market identified as higher-risk areas, and notes that scammers are increasingly using AI to create convincing fake documentation.
Reigate and Banstead Borough Council is consulting on an Article 4 Direction that would remove permitted development rights for smaller HMOs, requiring full planning permission for conversions housing three or more people from more than one household. The council says the move is intended to manage rising complaints and allow closer scrutiny of location, design, accommodation standards and neighbourhood impact.
New research cited by Rushbrook & Rathbone suggests average rental void periods in England have shortened since the Renters’ Rights Act was introduced in May, falling from a peak of 24 days to 21 days. The article says landlords are adapting to the new legal framework and using the period to improve compliance and portfolio management, although voids remain longer than a year ago in some areas.
