Landlord press review: October 2025
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: London landlords look to sell before legislation hits ; Wales leads for UK landlord yields ; Halifax cuts mortgage rates as other lenders hold or raise deals ; The cost of renting in the UK reaches record highs ; Five essential autumn home maintenance tasks to keep your insurance valid ; Private rented sector must be protected and nurtured … Happy reading and… renting!
The rise of co-living sector in the UK
The housing market in the UK is rarely still. It twists, it adapts, and every so often it throws something new into the mix that challenges old assumptions. Co-living is one of those shifts, a model that feels fresh but also oddly familiar – like the logical next step after decades of shared houses, student digs, and communal living experiments.
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London landlords look to sell before legislation hits
The Renters’ Rights Bill, stricter EPC rules and rumours of charging national insurance on rental income have left landlords looking to exit the market.
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Housing market activity likely to strengthen gradually
The average UK house price increased by 0.5% month-on-month in September, following a 0.1% monthly fall in August, Nationwide Building Society said.
Property values increased by 2.2% annually in September, slightly up from 2.1% annual growth the previous month.
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UK house prices slip in Sept but up 1.3% over year
The typical home now costs £298,184. Over the past 12 months prices have grown by 1.3%, the slowest annual rate since April 2024.
This is according to the latest Halifax House Price Index which suggests this slight monthly dip in prices reflects a housing market that has remained broadly stable, prices are up +0.3% since the start of the year.
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UK housing market remains subdued
The latest RICS UK Residential Market Survey reveals that the housing market remained subdued in September, with momentum continuing to falter. For the third consecutive month, both buyer demand and agreed sales remained firmly in negative territory.
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Wales leads for UK landlord yields
Landlords in Wales are enjoying the UK’s strongest returns, data reveals.
According to Paragon Bank’s Q3 Buy to Let Yield Report, the region recorded an impressive average gross yield of 8.84% by September’s end.
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First-time buyers paying more for homes
Zoopla says improved affordability and borrowing power among first-time buyers has led them to spend more on their first homes this year.
The average cost of a first-time house has increased by 2.4% in the last 12 months to £229,000.
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Annual house price rises slow in August
On a monthly basis, prices rose by just 0.8%, taking the average house price across the UK to just under £273,000. The figures are based on Land Registry data from completed property sales.
Regionally, prices have grown the most in the North East of England, rising 6.6% in the year to August to an average of £163,564.
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Lenders reduce rates and launch new buy to let deals
Three specialist buy to let lenders have unveiled fresh rate changes and new products to support brokers working with landlords.
Pricing starts at 5.50% for a two-year fix at 70% LTV, while a five-year deal at the same LTV is set at 5.80%.
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Halifax cuts mortgage rates as other lenders hold or raise deals
The average rate for a two-year fixed mortgage rose to 4.81% this week, while the average five-year fixed deal came in at 5.03%, according to data from Uswitch. Those are the average rates on 75% loan-to-value (LTV) mortgage, meaning buyers need to have at least 25% for a deposit.
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Majority of BTL landlords choose five-year fixed-rate mortgage for stability
More than half (57%) of buy-to-let (BTL) landlords are set to choose a five-year fixed rate when they come to remortgage.
The research reveals this is a drop from 71% this time last year, as two-year fixes gain greater interest.
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Remortgage rush masks decline in first-time buyer activity
The UK mortgage market showed signs of life in September, bouncing back from the traditional summer slowdown – but the latest data from Twenty7tec reveals the recovery is far from balanced, with remortgaging dominating activity.
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Average two- and five-year fixes remain unchanged for fourth week
Average two and five-year fixed rates have remained unchanged for the fourth consecutive week at 4.98% and 5.02% respectively, the latest ratewatch data from Moneyfacts reveals.
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What does Scotland’s new Housing Bill mean for renters and landlords?
The legislation is intended to introduce a long-term system of rent controls in Scotland and strengthen tenants’ rights.
Scottish housing secretary Màiri McAllan has described the Bill as the “gold standard” for homelessness prevention.
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Fewer landlords planning rent increases as affordability pressures mount
According to the latest Landlord Trends report (Q2 2025) from mortgage market specialist Pegasus Insight, 61% of landlords now expect to increase rents in the next 12 months — down from 78% at the same point last year.
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Rents fall in London as landlords struggle to sell up ahead of Renters’ Rights Bill
London tenants are seeing rents fall, data shows, as landlords fail to offload their properties before renters are handed new rights.
Renters in the capital are paying £2,148 less a year or £179 less a month than they were in October 2024.
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The cost of renting in the UK reaches record highs
The 1.1% monthly rise reflects ongoing strain in the private rental sector, where demand continues to outstrip supply. The figures come as the Renters’ Rights Bill moves closer to becoming law, adding to uncertainty across the market.
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London’s cheapest and most expensive areas to rent a room
According to flatshare site SpareRoom, the average London room rent between July and September 2020 was £728 per month, rising up to £995 for the same period this year. This means that the average tenant is currently paying £267pcm more for a room than five years ago.
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Rent rises are cooling but tenant affordability issues remain
Rent rises are cooling in some parts of the country, but not enough to help alleviate tenant affordability issues, research reveals.
The latest data from Canopy’s Q3 Rental Affordability Index also found that the average renter is now spending 41% of their take-home income on rent.
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Nobody wants rent controls, but we’re getting them anyway
Rent control is the most efficient way known to destroy a city, except for perhaps bombing, or so said Swedish economist Assar Lindbeck. It discourages the development of much-needed new housing, fuels discrimination and black market activity, and limits mobility and choice.
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Is Buy-to-Let still worth it in 2025?
The question has been whispered in landlord forums, debated in coffee shops, and tossed about in property podcasts for years now: is buy to let dead? We suspect the answer isn’t so tidy. Property markets rarely give us a neat yes or no, and 2025 seems to be one of those years where the outlook feels more complicated than ever.
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Five essential autumn home maintenance tasks to keep your insurance valid
UK homeowners are being warned to take extra care this autumn, as insurance experts shed light that these simple mistakes could lead to claims being rejected. Recent Google Trends data also reveals a 5,000% spike in UK searches for “blocked gutters” in the past 30 days.
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North East of England is buy-to-let hotspot
Investor activity is increasingly concentrated in northern England, where yields are higher and stamp duty costs are lower, a property firm said.
It estimated that 28.4% of homes sold in the North East were bought by a landlord in the third quarter of 2025…
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Latest Renters Rights Bill buy to let mortgage update – what every landlord should know
Many landlords are now asking how the Renters Rights Bill buy to let mortgage market will respond once the new tenancy laws take effect. The Bill has dominated headlines for its impact on tenants, but its influence on lending could be just as significant.
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Landlords to scrutinise applications more closely under Renters’ Rights Bill
A referencing platform warns landlords will scrutinise tenant applications more carefully as they list tips to navigate the Renters’ Rights Bill.
Canopy says the new rules will rebalance the rental market and give stronger protections to tenants.
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Tenant with Section 21 may be jailed?
We have a situation to resolve where a tenant we have issued with a Section 21 is going to court, and there is the possibility of a custodial sentence…
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Private rented sector must be protected and nurtured
With the Housing (Scotland) Bill concluding its journey through parliament and about to become law it is an appropriate time to review the importance of the Scottish private rented sector (PRS) over the last 30 years.
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Landlords pay the price when tenants secretly sublet
A legal firm has warned landlords that if tenants secretly sublet, it’s the landlord, not the tenant, who could face hefty fines or even criminal prosecution.
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