Another week and another Newsround. Let’s see what the team has found this week.
Government guidance issued on possessions before 1st May
The government has updated their latest guidance to landlords who want to give notice to their tenants before the 1st May 2026 which is when the Renters Rights Act comes into force.
They state that if a landlord wants to serve notice on their tenant then they must use the correct possession notice. These are different if served before the 1st May and after this date. You can read the updated guidance on the government web page here.
Tenancies are becoming longer
The renting landscape is changing with smaller landlords exiting the rental market before the Renters Rights Act comes into force which is bringing about longer tenancies, according to Emma Parsons sales and partnership director of Flatfair.
She claims that due to reduced rental stock it is keeping rents high and tenants are staying in situ for longer than in previous years.
You can read more here.
430,000 social housing homes do not meet basic standard
Councils have been hauled over the coals by an all-party committee of MP’s that say that too many tenants in social housing are still living in appalling conditions and that their complaints are not dealt with quickly enough. The committee stated in a new report
It is not acceptable that just under 430,000 social homes still fail to meet even this basic standard.
They want the government to adopt a new Decent Homes Programme to bring in a improvement to existing housing conditions alongside building more social housing, but with a much clearer road map for bringing in Awaab’s Law to all hazards. They feel that the ‘current standard has been out-of-date for some time and is in urgent need of reform, given that it was last updated in 2006’.
They also want it reviewed every ten years.
Government pledge to monitor guarantor use by landlords
The English Private Landlord Survey carried out by the request of The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government claims that 21% of landlords require a guarantor and they claim that this can act as ‘a barrier’ to some tenants in being able to rent.
Mr Pennycook, Housing Minister said
The government recognises that blanket requirements for a guarantor could act as a barrier to renting for some tenants and expects landlords and agents to consider tenants’ individual circumstances when negotiating rental conditions.
He added that the government will monitor the use of guarantors along with the ongoing evaluation of the new reforms within the PRS and said there is no ‘one size fits all approach for landlords’ when taking on a tenant.
You can read the English Private Landlord Survey main report here.
Snippets
Taskforce urges government to restore LHA rates
Gardening tenant loses eviction fight with landlords
Money laundering – what every private landlord must know
Possession delays soar to 25 weeks – new data
Britain’s building standards are now so bad, even the super-rich are facing housing misery
Landlords could face Equality Act compensation claims and council fines
See also our Quick News Updates on Landlord Law
Newsround will be back again next week.
Doesn’t the anti money laundering regulations only apply to private landlords operating through agents, not those self managing?
My view is that they do apply to landlords but as I said in my post here https://www.landlordlawblog.co.uk/2025/08/11/money-laundering-checks-for-landlords-what-you-must-do-in-2025/ the wording is ambiguous.
I think landlords ignore them at their peril, but if they want to ignore them, that is entirely a matter for them.