The UK Government has taken its most significant step towards regulating property agents since the RoPA (Regulation of Property Agents) Working Group published its recommendations in 2019. Property professionals can prepare for future requirements now by gaining a recognised qualification, with financial support available through The Propertymark Trust’s Class of 26 initiative.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s first days in office have brought several announcements and appointments with implications for the property sector. Angela Rayner has returned as Housing Secretary, rent controls have been ruled out for England, targeted business rates support has been announced, and Burnham has confirmed that Stamp Duty will not change at the Autumn Budget.

Responding to the UK Government’s consultation, our primary concern is the practicality of identifying and valuing properties that would be subject to the High Value Council Tax Surcharge (HVCTS). Many high-value homes have not been sold for several years, meaning accurate valuations cannot be based solely on online estimates or market appraisals.

Nearly ten years after we first began campaigning on this issue, reform is still not moving fast enough. Flat owners remain trapped by rising costs, complex rules, and a sales market that is becoming harder to navigate. We’ve drawn on fresh evidence from more than 1,200 leaseholders and over 200 Propertymark members to expose the current impact of unaffordable costs linked to building safety defects, the difficulty of challenging unreasonable service charges, and the increasing barriers to sale which are putting the market under significant pressure.

Despite global economic uncertainty, the auction profession remained resilient in Q1 2026, with 80% of surveyed members reporting that the number of lots achieving their reserve price stayed the same or increased compared with the previous quarter.

Since 1 May 2026, landlords who want to sell a tenanted property must rely on specific possession grounds under Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988. For sales agents and auctioneers, this changes how rented property is valued, marketed and sold. Sellers may still be able to sell with vacant possession, but the process is no longer as straightforward as many landlords expect.

The property market remains an attractive target for money laundering because of the value of property assets and the ability to hide ownership through companies, trusts, and overseas structures. An estimated £6.7 billion of UK property was bought with wealth suspected to have come from questionable sources between 2016 and 2022 — yet the National Crime Agency (NCA) reports that the volume of SARs from the property sector remains low.

Sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000 should now be using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD), and further deadlines in 2027 and 2028 will bring many more agents, property owners, and businesses into the new system. MTD requires affected taxpayers to keep digital records and submit quarterly updates to HMRC using compatible software.

New analysis has shown that the average UK house now costs 1.7 times as much as the average flat, the greatest disparity since records began. The findings underline the growing impact that leasehold complexity, service charges, ground rent, and uncertainty around reform are having on buyer confidence, especially in England and Wales where flats are most sold on a leasehold basis.

The next Vice-Presidents for the sales and lettings divisions, alongside a Propertymark Board member re-elected for a second term, have been appointed following the 2026 leadership elections. The results were announced at Propertymark’s AGM on Friday, 19 June 2026, where attendees also heard from the incoming divisional Presidents, Kim Lidbury MARLA and Ian Harris FNAEA MARLA.

The UK Government has set out its plans for reform, with changes aimed at making transactions faster, clearer, and more reliable. The roadmap points towards a more structured, more digital, and more accountable system which aims to reduce delays and fall-throughs. It will also place greater expectations on agents to gather, explain, share, and manage information from the start of the process.

Building on the momentum of previous years, we stepped up in scale, ambition and impact, bringing the profession together for a high-energy day of policy insight, practical learning, networking and sector-wide debate. More than a conference, Propertymark One was a meeting point for the profession at a time when agents are navigating significant legislative, economic, and technological change.

Just days after launch, Connect is already creating new business opportunities for members, with more than 2,000 registered users on the platform. Propertymark’s exclusive referral and lead-generation platform enables members to send and receive referrals, valuation requests and instructions through a trusted network of qualified property professionals across the UK and internationally.