Leaseholders to be given extra protection

Housing Secretary Angela Rayner has announced a new measure to protect leaseholders in England and Wales from high fees and poorly regulated property management companies.

The government plans to create an independent regulator for property agents.

Licensing

Property agents will require a licence to follow standards covering conduct and complaints. If there are breaches, licences could be revoked.

Fee caps

The government will introduce caps on fees for things such as keeping pets, changing doors, making alterations or obtaining documents such as building safety certificates.

Ground rents

The leasehold announcement sits alongside the current commitment to cap and ultimately abolish annual ground rent for existing leaseholders.  

Vacant properties

Plans were also mentioned to give councils the power to take over long-term empty homes, to increase council housing and help with homelessness.

To summarise, Labour is proposing tighter regulation of property-management companies and caps on the fees leaseholders can be charged.

Recent posts

Here are the lowest fixed mortgage rates of the week, available to first-time buyers, home movers, buy-to-let, and those remortgaging.

Call us for more information: 01628 507477 or email: team@mortgagerequired.com.

Saturday 26th September, Andy Burnham announced a new equity loan scheme called “Your First Home”. The scheme, which will be confirmed at next month’s budget, is aimed at first-time buyers looking to purchase a new-build property from a developer signed up to the scheme.

On Wednesday 28th October, Chancellor John Healey delivered the 2026 Autumn Budget.

We have summarised the key points relating to property and tax.

In September 2026, they extended this to a wider range for those moving home. Eligible homeowners looking to purchase their next property can access the delayed start mortgage, which could help with the overlap between properties, solicitor, removal, and repair costs.

A mortgage ‘stress test’ revolves around predicting future ‘affordability’. It is seen by many borrowers as just another hurdle to overcome, but it’s important to understand why it was introduced and who it is meant to protect.

There are several scenarios for a landlord where standard buy-to-let lending isn’t enough for their investment. For more complex properties, ownership structures, or borrowing circumstances, a specialist buy-to-let mortgage may provide options that are not available through mainstream lenders.

Losing your job or finding yourself ‘between jobs’ is, unsurprisingly, a stressful place to be. Keeping a cool head and taking action is important.

This price gap between the cost of houses and flats is the biggest it has ever been. Houses are now costing 1.7 times more than a flat, which is 0.4 times higher than 10 years ago

Take a look at our list of houses vs. flats per area.