Landlord press review: March 2026
Like every month, Rentila offers you an overview of the main real estate news of interest to landlords and tenants. This month, we focus on: England’s economy losing out on over £900m due to failed house sales; Property buyers face a rapidly changing and ‘more complicated’ market; Falling mortgage rates put 40% of homes within reach of buyers; Renewed calls for rent caps in Bristol as costs continue to spiral; 5 costly mistakes first-time home buyers make and how to avoid them; Over quarter of landlords who sold property did so with tenants in place… Happy reading and… renting!
The market
Report shows Northern Ireland house prices up 45% since pandemic
Northern Ireland house prices have risen nearly twice as fast as those in the UK since the Covid pandemic, a new study shows.
Smart Mortgage Insurance analysed the UK house price index and Department of Finance data, comparing the first quarter of 2020 with the 2025 fourth quarter averages.
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UK home sales fall by 5% month-on-month in first ‘significant’ dip since summer
Across the UK, 94,680 home sales were recorded in January, which the revenue body said was “marginally” lower (less than 1%) than the 95,430 in January last year but 5% lower than December 2025.
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England’s economy losing out on over £900m due to failed house sales
England’s economy is potentially missing out on more than £900m due to property sales falling through, according to an analysis by Rightmove.
The property platform said in findings, that this figure was based on 6% of transactions falling through and not coming back onto the market within a year.
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UK house prices hold steady in February
The UK’s annual house price growth held at 1% in February, with a modest rise at the start of the year, Nationwide reports.
It says there was a 0.3% month-on-month increase to lift the average price to £273,176, from £270,873 the previous month.
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Buyers ‘nervous’ as house prices fall in real terms
Property buyer activity showed signs of caution in January, with mortgage approvals falling to a two-year low, according to the Bank of England.
The Bank’s Money and Credit report recorded 59,999 approvals for house purchases in January 2026, the lowest level since 55,946 in January 2024.
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Average UK house price passes £300,000 for the first time
House prices increased by 0.7% in January, following a 0.5% fall in December, according to the latest Halifax House Price Index.
The average property price is now £300,077, rising above £300k for the first time, with annual growth at 1%, up from 0.4% in December.
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Property buyers face a rapidly changing and ‘more complicated’ market
The latest Halifax House Price Index shows average UK property values have stayed above £300,000 for a second consecutive month, highlighting the resilience of the housing market. But early momentum could be threatened by geopolitical tensions.
The conflict in Iran and wider unrest across the Middle East is expected to have a major impact on the UK property market.
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Mortgage
Mortgage and business lending slowdown expected in 2026 but dip is ‘temporary’
UK mortgage lending is expected to grow more slowly this year than in 2025 – while lending by banks to businesses is set to nearly halve amid global and economic uncertainty, according to an economic forecasting group.
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Falling mortgage rates put 40% of homes within reach of buyers
Some 40% of homes currently listed for sale are now cheaper to purchase with a mortgage than to rent, assuming a 20% deposit, according to Zoopla, as falling borrowing costs help many get on the housing ladder.
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UK mortgage approvals plummet to lowest level in two years
Mortgage approvals for home buyers plummeted to a two-year low in January, falling below 60,000 for the first time since January 2024, according to new figures from the Bank of England.
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Average mortgage rates fly over 5% as the market adjusts
Average UK mortgage rates have climbed back above 5% as lenders rapidly withdraw products from the market, according to new data from Moneyfacts. The average two-year fixed rate has risen to 5.01% while the typical five-year fix has reached 5.09%, both hitting their highest levels since summer 2025.
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Where are mortgage rates heading over the next 12 months?
A survey shows homeowners are almost evenly split: 23% expect rates to rise, while 25% anticipate they will fall. Aspiring first-time buyers are notably more pessimistic, with nearly half (47%) expecting an increase, compared with just 13% who believe rates will fall.
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Rent
Council tax and social rents both set to rise in Redbridge
The rates of council tax and rent are set to rise in Redbridge, according to newly published reports. Labour-led Redbridge Council has outlined plans to raise council tax by 4.99 per cent in April as it faces continuing financial challenges. That would raise tax for an average band-D property in the borough by £109 a year, bringing the total to £2,298.
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Labour accused of ignoring rental housing
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been warned she must “take sharp notice” of the collapse of John Lewis’ housing venture by investing immediately in the build-to-rent sector.
The Association for Rental Living (ARL), the body which represents the build-to-rent sector, has sent an open letter to senior Labour figures calling on the government…
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BTL landlords continue to ‘invest strategically’ as rents rise
Buy-to-let landlords remain active in the UK rental market, which ended 2025 showing steady growth despite affordability pressures and cooling demand in some regions.
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Are tenants beginning to see the problem of landlords leaving?
Like Thelma and Louise hurtling towards the cliff edge, more people are beginning to see the problems coming with the Renters’ Rights Act.
Thankfully, tenants are now asking why landlords are leaving and why rents are rising.
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Landlords stop renting homes as no-fault evictions set to be banned
No-fault evictions look to be on the rise in Southampton as landlords stop renting homes ahead of major changes to the private rented sector, a council meeting was told.
Reforms under the Renters’ Rights Act coming into effect from May 1 include scrapping no-fault evictions…
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Renewed calls for rent caps in Bristol as costs continue to spiral
Bristol has the highest rents of any city outside London, according to recent figures from the Office of National Statistics. According to the ONS, it cost £1,893 a month to rent a typical private home in Bristol in the year to January 2026.
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Electrical faults found in 1 in 4 London rental homes
Electrical engineers are warning landlords and tenants to take safety checks seriously after inspections revealed that one in four rental properties in London contains potentially dangerous electrical faults.
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Competition for rented homes falls to lowest in six years
Competition for rented homes has fallen to its lowest level in six years as demand eases and more properties become available to let.
Renters are now making an average of 4.8 enquiries per property, down from 6.5 a year earlier.
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Rises in rental prices in South West starting to ease
The rising cost of renting is said to be easing in the region – according to the latest figures.
Rental prices in the South West showed a yearly increase of 2.6 per cent, with the average monthly rent reaching £1,147.
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Advice
5 costly mistakes first-time home buyers make and how to avoid them
A mortgage specialist has revealed the biggest homebuying headache that most first-time buyers don’t anticipate – and it’s not saving up a deposit.
The real surprise for new homeowners is the overwhelming wave of costs that descend in the first few months after receiving the keys.
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Landlord law is changing: what you must do before 1st May 2026
This legislation reshapes the balance between landlord and tenant in a way that directly affects how you manage property, protect income and handle risk. It is less about headlines and more about how the detail plays out when something goes wrong.
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Other
Tenant is lost for words after landlord raises his rent for a ‘shocking’ reason
A landlord has sparked a heated feud by trying to increase the rent after discovering his tenant had received a pay rise.
Josh received a random text from the property owner saying he planned to put the rent up, while still keeping it below market value at ‘mates rates’.
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Tenancy Deposit Scheme claims it is helping landlords and tenants
The UK’s longest-running tenancy deposit protection scheme claims it has resolved more than 33,000 disputes and protected £2.45 billion in deposits.
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Ltd company landlords hold 3x as many properties as individual investors
Data from Q4 2025 found that more than one in five landlords now operate at least part of their portfolio through a limited company.
It shows that they are also more reliant on buy-to-let borrowing, reflecting the more capital-intensive and leveraged nature of their portfolios.
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Sadiq Khan ‘appalled’ after billionaire landlord’s company accused of mass evictions in London
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has written to billionaire Asif Aziz over allegations that his property firm is carrying out “mass evictions” of London residents through the use of soon-to-be banned Section 21 notices.
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UK cities where letting agents are most active
New research shows that, on average, each letting agency branch in Britain’s major cities manages 13.5 rental listings, with Nottingham having the highest workload at 35 properties per branch.
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Strong tenant-landlord relationships linked to longer tenancies
Some 68% of tenants say the single biggest factor that would make them stay in their rental home long term is the relationship with their landlord or agent, above rent levels, location, or the quality of the property itself.
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Why the abolition of Section 21 isn’t a cause for celebration
I’m among the many landlords across England who are watching the clock tick down to May 1 with keen interest for when Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions end under the Renters’ Rights Act.
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Over quarter of landlords who sold property did so with tenants in place
The latest Landlord Trends Q4 2025 data shows that more than a quarter of landlords who sold property over the past year did so with existing tenants in place. Where this occurred, landlords typically sold an average of 1.8 properties with sitting tenants.
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