Latest News

Saving for a deposit is one of homeownership’s biggest challenges but did you know the Government is giving away free money to first-time buyers? You’ll have to open a LISA to benefit: here’s everything you need to know.

Putting the hype of the holiday season to one side, the end of the year always brings interior excitement. It’s in mid-winter that the design powerhouses announce their colours of the year. 

The Renters’ Rights Bill has finally become an Act, gaining Royal Assent six years after the then Prime Minister, Theresa May, promised to ban Section 21 evictions. While the long and winding road to rental reform is almost over, the private rental sector didn’t change overnight.

The penultimate month of 2025 was another jam-packed with property news. As well as the Autumn Budget, which we have reported about separately, there was house price news, rental insights and confidence-building announcements from the mortgage market. Here’s our November buying, selling and renting summary.

All eyes were on Downing Street on 26th November 2025, when Rachel Reeves held the famous red briefcase aloft, this year’s Autumn Budget notes contained within. The following address to the House of Commons was hotly anticipated – the expectancy blamed for a pause in the buying and selling market.

Birdnesting has been back in the press this year, thanks to an unlikely source. When the then Deputy Leader of the Labour party was caught not paying enough stamp duty, it was her birdnesting status that caught her out.

Private landlords are alive and well – and they are younger than you think. In 2024, analysis completed by the national accountancy group, UHY Hacker Young, found more than 3,000 landlords in the UK were aged 21 or younger. Collectively, they earned more than £66 million from their rental income.

In the UK, the school admission process involves a parent or caregiver having a permanent, valid address and many families will pre-empt this requirement by moving to improve their chances of getting a place at their favoured school.

All eyes have been on the House of Commons when it comes to property. After lengthy debate, detail and adaptation, the Renters’ Rights Bill became an Act on 27nd October 2025. Its contents will mainly affect lettings in England and Wales but the discrimination ban protecting tenants with children and tenants in receipt of benefits will also apply in Scotland.

Hotblack Desiato is committed to keeping our landlords informed of the latest legislative changes that affect the private rented sector.

Landlords have a duty of care to keep buy-to-lets in a fit and habitable state, as detailed in the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018, the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 and the Housing Act 2004. Responsibilities include preventing mice and rats from entering the property and addressing an infestation that is a result of sub-standard living conditions.

When it comes to fashionable places to live in the UK, one current location is having its moment: the Cotswolds. This designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty sits between Bath, Cheltenham, Oxford and Stratford-upon-Avon, covering 790 square miles.