The Online Procedure Rule Committee has published a draft practice direction for a new digital service for County Court possession proceedings in England and Wales. Letting agents are unlikely to use the service in its first phase unless they work with an eligible social landlord. However, the pilot signals the direction of travel for possession proceedings.

The Law Commission’s latest proposals aim to make business tenancy renewals clearer, quicker, and better suited to the modern commercial property market. While we welcome most of the proposed changes, we have highlighted important caveats where caution is needed to prevent a rise in disputes and to ensure that all parties have adequate protections.

HM Land Registry will add property and spatial identifiers to its monthly Price Paid Data from 28 August 2026, helping estate agents provide more reliable information to buyers and sellers. Unique Property Reference Numbers (UPRNs) and INSPIRE IDs will be available in separate lookup tables alongside the dataset. The change will make it easier to connect sale prices with other property, address, and location data.

Landlords who failed to register or obtain the correct licence accounted for almost all of the 3,198 fixed penalty notices (FPNs) issued by Rent Smart Wales in the 12 months to May 2026, highlighting the valuable role agents can play in supporting client compliance. All private landlords renting out domestic property in Wales must register with Rent Smart Wales and either employ a licensed agent or become licensed to manage the property themselves.

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.

The housing market remained active during June, but buyers and renters continued to show caution. Buyer registrations dipped, while sales agreed remained broadly stable. Demand for rental properties continues to outstrip supply, with nine applicants per available property.

The number of registered rental properties and landlords is declining, while a small group of larger landlords controls a growing share of the market, according to data from Rent Smart Wales. The national figures also mask sharp differences between Cardiff, Swansea, and the rest of Wales.

The first phase of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 has been in force since 1 May 2026, but local regulation is continuing to develop alongside it. Councils across England are consulting on new selective licensing schemes and planning controls for Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs), creating further checks, costs, and responsibilities for agents and landlords.

Behavioural research suggests that around 60% of landlords in the private rented sector do not fully understand their responsibilities and often fail to meet basic regulatory requirements as a result. This unintentional non-compliance is driven not by bad intent but by four interconnected behavioural patterns.

Propertymark has written to Baroness Sherlock, OBE, Minister of State at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), calling for action to ensure housing support matches real rents, following her statement that local authority Crisis and Resilience Fund housing payments are available to private tenants who cannot meet their rent. The Fund is a welcome safety net for people facing short-term financial difficulties; however, one-off crisis payments cannot replace adequate levels of Local Housing Allowance to meet ongoing rental costs.

Rent pressures are real, but controlling the price of a scarce product does not create more of it. Rent controls can protect some tenants in the short term, but they do not address the shortage of homes that drives high rents. They can also weaken investment, reduce the number of properties available and make it harder for people seeking a new tenancy to find a suitable home. Evidence from schemes implemented around the world backs Propertymark’s opposition to rent controls and work to challenge and reshape the policy in Scotland.

Cyber crime incidents can impact property businesses of all sizes. A lack of cyber security can leave firms vulnerable to substantial losses and the impact can be huge and long lasting. Even using third-party hosting companies or sites doesn't remove the risk of exposure to crime and subsequent liabilities. Propertymark industry supplier, Gallagher, explains the steps property agents can take to prevent and manage risk.

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.

Commercial property agents handling telecommunications sites in England and Wales should note a change to where disputes under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 are decided. From 30 July 2026, certain disputes fall within the jurisdiction of the First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal, rather than the courts.

The UK Government is seeking evidence on whether a small group of residential leases, known as quid pro quo arrangements, should be exempt from its proposed annual ground rent cap. The Draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill, which is due to be introduced to Parliament in autumn 2026, will cap ground rents on most existing residential long leases at £250, before reducing them to a peppercorn—effectively zero—after 40 years. However, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is considering different treatment for specific cases.