Fact sheet: Housing Health and Safety Rating System Regulations 2026

As the dust settles following the implementation of the Renters’ Rights Act, lettings agencies are finding alternative ways to mitigate uncertainty and financial risk for landlords. A range of services are growing in popularity that replace traditional, abolished methods like rent in advance, not least professional rent guarantor provision. This service offers reassurance for good tenants who can afford the rent but don’t quite meet the right criteria on paper, including students, self-employed people or those on benefits, or retirees.

Propertymark has urged the UK Government to ensure that reforms to the building lifecycle support property agents, improve the home-moving process, and give consumers confidence that building work has been completed properly. Our members work closely with other professionals throughout the life of a building, and we have highlighted how consistent standards, clear responsibilities, and reliable records would help agents provide a better service to sellers, buyers, landlords, tenants, and leaseholders.

Major changes to the financial rights of married and cohabiting couples when relationships end are being considered by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). Proposed reforms cover divorce and dissolution, cohabitants who separate, and inheritance when an unmarried partner dies without a will. A clearer framework is welcome, but courts must consider housing needs, individual circumstances, and each person’s contribution.

Two linked announcements are intended to reduce unnecessary delay, complexity and cost within England’s higher-risk building regime. One will change how occupied buildings are assessed, while the other could allow a wider range of urgent safety work to proceed without prior approval.