A Bill introduced by Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey on 6 July, provides new protections for tenants in the Private Rented Sector (PRS) In Northern Ireland, focusing on safety measures, restrictions in rent increases and extending notice periods.

The Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill has been published today, and when implemented aims to help tackle inconsistency and ambiguity of ground rents for future leaseholders.

A landlord survey by Direct Line suggests that nearly half welcome the UK Government’s new Model Tenancy Agreement, which enables tenants with ‘well-behaved pets’ to secure a tenancy more easily.

The UK Government has today, 19 April, opened a Mortgage Guarantee Scheme to help first-time buyers and current owners with 5 per cent deposits buy a house up to £600,000.

Yesterday, 12 April 2021, the UK Government amended advice on house moves following the easing of restrictions in England. Following measures to re-open retail in England, there is now more flexibility for branch managers to allow unscheduled visitors, however, adherence to safety guidance remains paramount.

From today, 1 April, restrictions across Northern Ireland have eased further as part of the Executive's roadmap out of lockdown and the Coronavirus Financial Assistance (Business Support) Scheme 2021 was launched on 31 March by the Department of Finance.

To make it simpler and easier to rent a home in Wales the Welsh Government passed The Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016. This Act creates many changes to current tenancy laws, which are anticipated to be introduced in early 2022.

The Scottish Government’s First Home Fund scheme will re-open on 1 April 2021, which has a budget of £60 million available for the financial year 2021-22 to provide first-time buyers with up to £25,000 to help them buy a property, which can be used for both new build or existing properties.

The Welsh Government has announced today, 23 March, that the Tenancy Loan Saver (TSL) scheme will be extended until 30 September 2021.

All Councils across England will be given more freedom by the UK Government on how they spend the money from homes sold through Right to Buy to help build the homes needed in their communities.

HM Treasury has released its ‘Tax Day command paper’ designed to allow further scrutiny on tax announcements that would normally take place during the budget.

The Welsh Government has announced a further extension to the ban on evictions and the requirement for landlords to provide six-month notice periods to tenants before they evict.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, has announced a number of measures affecting the property industry in the UK Government’s 2021 budget, but Propertymark believes more should be done in order to tackle COVID-related rent arrears.

On 14 February, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick announced a further extension to the ban on bailiff evictions in order to ‘continue to support renters during the ongoing national lockdown restrictions’.

The UK Government has announced changes to the Model Tenancy Agreement to enable tenants with ‘well-behaved pets’ to secure a tenancy more easily. Propertymark urges the UK Government to recognise the impact of their decision to cap deposits and the knock-on costs that landlords face.

The Scottish Government has announced in their Budget 2021-2022 that the change to the residential LBTT nil rate band, introduced in July 2020, will not be extended but the 100 per cent non-domestic rates relief will be for at least the first three months of the financial year.