Starting with the tenant fee ban in 2019, followed by the revisions to the minimum EPC ratings required, the introduction of Electrical Safety checks became mandatory for all residential rental properties, then the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment to the 2015 Act) was introduced in 2022.

The aim of all these changes has been to provide better quality housing for tenants.  However with these additional costs, at landlords expense, we also saw the biggest shift in rent increases, this, coupled with inflation and rising mortgage rates we can only expect to see this to soar further.

It seems the Government aren’t quite done yet either with discussions continuing on a Renters (Reform) Bill which hit parliament recently and could see further adjustments to mandatory energy performance ratings and abolishing no fault evictions (section 21 notices).

Naturally, it is too early to reflect on what impact this could have on the housing market but all we can do is sit tight, await legislation & ensure our staff are kept well informed & trained accordingly!