Renters’ Rights Act - New £7000.00 Fines Implemented
From 22nd June 2026, councils can issue fines of up to £7,000.00 if landlords are found to have serious hazards in their rented properties. From:-
Landlords who don’t fix dangerous problems like damp and mould now face fines of up to £7,000
New power now in force in the Renters’ Rights Act so councils can take stronger action where landlords fail to fix problems, alongside existing enforcement powers
New penalty will speed up fixes, as the Housing Secretary calls on councils to use all powers at their disposal to tackle poor conditions
Private renters will see stronger action on dangerous problems like severe damp and mould, following a new government crackdown.
Councils can now issue fines (from Monday 22 June) of up to £7,000.00 if landlords refuse to fix poor conditions.
Reform of the Property Sector - What’s on the Horizon?
A shift in towards regulation of the property sector is on the horizon within social housing and the Private Rented Sector.
Social Housing
It all began with former Housing Secretary Michael Gove’s announcement in 2023 that Social housing managers would be required to gain professional qualifications under the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 to protect residents and raise standards in the sector and rightly so, in part as a result of the Grenfell Tower tragedy and in memory of two-year-old Awaab Ishak, who tragically died in 2020 due to prolonged exposure to severe black mould.
Breaking News - Government Publishes Home Buying and Selling Roadmap
The UK Government has published a roadmap its plans to reform the Home Buying and Selling Process to make transactions easier, quicker and more efficient.
The roadmap sets out a process which is structured, digital with the objective of reducing delays and sales falling through.
There will also be greater emphasis on agents to be thorough when gathering, sharing and using information.
Update to Anti-Money Laundering Regulations
Article written by David Smith - 17th June 2026
The Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) Regulations 2026 were made on 9 June. These come into effect automatically 21 days after they were made, so will be in effect as from 30 June.
I wrote briefly about the draft regulations here when they were made available.
By far and away the most crucial and immediate change is that the €10,000 pcm rent threshold for compulsory AML checks for higher value tenancies changes to £10,000. This is quite a change as €10,000 is closer to £8,650 so there is quite a big jump here. This is also quite a key number as there are a fair few rental properties in the higher-end sector that would be picked up by a threshold at £8,500 but not by a threshold at £10,000 so I would anticipate that this will take a reasonable chunk of property out of AML controls and will give agents a lot more flexibility in this area.