The UK Government has ended the Furnished Holiday Lettings (FHL) rules. Since 6 April 2025, all holiday lets are taxed in the same way as normal rental income. This applies across the whole UK and affects anyone running a holiday let, Airbnb-style rental, cottage, annexe, or other short-stay property.

Centre for London has called for a Proportional Property Tax as part of a wider plan to tackle London’s housing crisis. The city not only needs more homes, but also a better way to use, fund, and distribute the homes it already has. Although the report focuses on the capital, many of the pressures it identifies are felt across the UK, including a shortage of social housing, high moving costs, a lack of suitable homes for older people, and barriers to new development.

Launching on 1 June 2026, Connect, a bespoke online platform, links agents through a trusted professional network, helping them send and receive referrals, valuation requests, and instructions across the UK and internationally. Sign up to win more business, create additional income opportunities, and deliver a better service – especially when clients are moving further afield.

The Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee has called for major changes to the Draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill before it is introduced to Parliament in autumn 2026. Propertymark has long campaigned for meaningful leasehold reform, including action on ground rents, service charges, building safety, consumer information and the regulation of property agents. We welcome the Committee’s recognition that reform must work in practice for homeowners, agents, lenders and managing agents.

Scotland’s visitor levy framework has been expanded after the Visitor Levy (Amendment) (Scotland) Act received Royal Assent on 21 May 2026, giving councils greater flexibility over how tourist taxes can be charged.

It has been nearly ten years since the Leasehold: A Life Sentence report was published, launching a sustained Propertymark campaign. Despite the introduction of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024—of which only 10 of 125 sections have come into force—leaseholders continue to face significant financial pressures, rising and often unjustified service charges, and ongoing building safety concerns.

Voting opened on 21 May 2026 for members to elect a Propertymark Board Director and the next Vice Presidents for our sales and lettings divisions. By taking part, members help influence how the profession is represented, shape the professional body's future priorities, and strengthen the credibility of member-led representation.

The UK Government has launched a consultation on the design of the surcharge, first announced in the 2025 Autumn Budget, which is expected to apply to homes in England valued at £2 million or more from 2028. If the reforms are to address unfairness in the existing system effectively, property values must be assessed consistently and updated regularly and clearly so consumers can calculate their council tax.

The UK Government has set out further reforms across housing, communities, and local government. Proposals affect leasehold, building safety, social housing, local authority standards, and tourism levies, all of which could impact local housing markets and influence the way councils, owners, agents and residents interact.

The UK Government has set out how it intends to ban the sale of new leasehold flats, expand the legal framework, and improve accessibility to make commonhold the default tenure for flats in both residential and mixed-use developments. Propertymark welcomes efforts to address the entrenched problems in the leasehold system, and we have put forward our recommendations for strengthening the draft legislation, ensuring the role of professional managing agents is recognised and supported, and the sector has adequate time to prepare.

The UK Government is implementing a major overhaul of the Right to Buy scheme, including increasing minimum tenant eligibility to 10 years, cutting the maximum discounts to 15%, and introducing a 35-year exemption for new builds. These reforms aim to stop the rapid depletion of social housing stock, allowing councils to retain and rebuild homes, with 100% of sales receipts available for investment starting in 2026–27.

Matthew Pennycook MP stated that leasehold remains a barrier to a fair and efficient property market and confirmed that the UK Government aims to ‘get the job done’ by the end of this Parliament, making commonhold the default tenure for new flats. However, he also stated that reform must be phased to avoid legal, administrative and market disruption — meaning the five million existing leases in England and Wales will not end immediately.

Findings from the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee inquiry into the affordability of home ownership have revealed that the home-buying and selling process is a painful experience that reduces motivation to move and slows down the housing market. These findings closely reflect our evidence and support our consistent calls for improvements for consumers and agents.

Propertymark has highlighted the challenges property agents face when identifying the hidden influence of Designated Persons in transactions. The Office for Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) is examining how the rules are applied in practice, and we’ve been clear that whilst agents are committed to preventing financial crime, the current expectations are often difficult to meet.