The professional body
for the property sector

Housing quality and energy efficiency underline the progress made, and the scale of the challenges still facing the sector is the headline finding in the EHS (English Housing Survey). Policy ambitions must have clear guidance, realistic timescales, workable exemptions, and sustained funding to reflect the diversity of the housing stock. Active involvement by qualified property professionals is also a must if raising standards is to be achieved.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has issued hundreds of thousands of pounds in new fines to property agents for failures to comply with anti-money laundering (AML) regulations, reinforcing the consequences of getting compliance wrong. The latest enforcement action covers the 2025–26 reporting period and includes 170 penalties issued to estate agency businesses, totalling more than £835,000. Letting agents are also within HMRC’s supervisory scope where transactions meet the required thresholds.

Màiri McAllan MSP has written to the UK Government, warning that current rates are failing to keep pace with the cost of renting, increasing the risk of homelessness and placing additional strain on local authorities and temporary accommodation budgets. While housing policy is devolved, LHA rates remain reserved to Westminster. The current approach is unsustainable, and we are continuing to call for meaningful reform to ensure welfare support reflects real-world rental costs.