Housing
Mortgage rates, changes to tenants’ rights, council tax and the running cost of a home.
Hosepipe bans in England: ten companies, 30 million people, six reservoirs exceptionally low
Temporary use bans are in force at ten water companies, from Thames Water to South West Water, and affect around 30 million people. England's reservoirs are 55% full against an expected 74.3%. What exactly is banned, the fine, who is covered, and why the company must cut your charges.
Your UK water bill: how it is calculated and how to pay less
You cannot switch water supplier, but you can change the amount on the bill. What each company charges in 2026/27, when a meter pays off, who qualifies for a social tariff worth up to 90% off, why water is never disconnected over arrears, and when the company owes you GBP 10 a day.
UK house prices stall: annual growth halves to 0.8% and prices slip over the month
Nationwide’s September house price index, published on 1 October, shows annual growth halving from 1.6% to 0.8% — the weakest since December 2025. Prices fell 0.2% over the month and the average home costs £274,251. London is up just 0.4% over the year, Northern Ireland 5.9%, while East Anglia, the East Midlands and the South West are in negative territory.
Renters’ Rights Act: what changed for tenants in England — evictions, rent rises, deposits and pets
Section 21 is abolished, fixed-term tenancies are gone, rent rises once a year and only by Form 4A, advance rent is capped at one month and bidding wars are banned. A point-by-point guide to the new law and what to do now.
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Right to rent: what landlords must check from 1 October 2026 — and how to get a share code in five minutes
An updated right to rent code of practice applies in England from 1 October. Every adult occupier is checked, even those not named on the agreement; landlord penalties reach £20,000 per person. Here is how to pass the check in five minutes with a share code, what British and Irish citizens show instead, why nobody may check 'only the foreign-looking' tenants — and what you must do if you sublet a room yourself.
Your First Home: equity loans return to England — 20% from the government with a 2.5% deposit. The new scheme, and every other way to buy for less
On 26 September the government announced Your First Home — the heir to Help to Buy, closed in 2023: first-time buyers will get a government equity loan worth 20% of a new-build's price with a deposit of just 2.5%, and an interest-free initial period. Income and price caps arrive in October's Budget. Here is how the scheme will work, what Help to Buy taught us — and what is available right now: Shared Ownership from a 10% share, First Homes at 30-50% off, the Lifetime ISA with its 25% government top-up, Right to Buy and developer incentives.
Where to live cheaply in London: boroughs with rents from £1,500 — 2.4 times below Kensington — and what you trade for the price
Average London rent has passed £2,300, and Kensington sits at £3,690. Yet the map has boroughs where the average let is £1,500-1,700 and a house costs £376,000 against London's £550,000 — ONS figures from summer 2026. An honest guide to the affordable belt: what life there really costs, whether the shops are truly 'half price', and what exactly you pay with — time, the view from the window, and more.
Empty homes in England: councils will be able to take over a property after just 6 months
On 27 September the government announced a reform of Empty Dwelling Management Orders: the period after which a council can ask a tribunal to take an empty home into compulsory management is being cut from two years to six months. That comes on top of the council tax premium — an extra 100% after just one year empty. Here is what changes and how to stay clear of the new rules.
Your First Home: buy your first home in England with a 2.5% deposit and a 20% government loan
The government has announced a new scheme for first-time buyers — Your First Home: a deposit from 2.5%, topped up by a government-backed equity loan of up to 20% of a new-build's price, with an initial interest-free period. Compared with a 95% mortgage that could mean saving hundreds of pounds a month. Income and price caps will be set at the Budget on 28 October.
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Empty shopfronts on the high street: £210m to revive them, and how a small business can win a unit at a rental auction
MHCLG announced a £210m package on 25 September, £10m of it for High Street Rental Auctions — a council's power to force a landlord to let premises empty for over a year. An ordinary cafe or shop can win the lease. The conditions: 12 months vacant, 22-24 weeks of process, a 1-5 year tenancy, and one sealed bid only.
Damp and mould in a rented home: what the landlord must do, and in how many days
In social housing the deadlines are in law: 24 hours for an emergency, 10 working days to investigate damp, 3 days for a written summary, 5 for the safety work. Private renting has no day counts — but it has a free council inspection and the courts. A guide for the heating season.
Your rent is going up: how to challenge it for £47 — and why the tribunal can no longer set it higher than the landlord asked
Since 1 May 2026 rent in England can be raised once a year, by form 4A notice with two months' warning. Challenging it costs £47, and the application must be in before the new rent starts. The key change: the tribunal cannot award more than the landlord proposed, and a revenge eviction under section 21 is no longer possible.
UK rents hit £1,400 a month, £2,332 in London — £79 a month more than a year ago
ONS August data: average private rent across the UK is £1,400 a month, with annual growth up from 3.7% to 3.8%. London is £2,332 and accelerating from 3.0% to 3.5% — about £950 a year extra for the same flat. The fastest rises are not in the south but in the north: 5.8% in the North East and North West.
How to get your tenancy deposit back in the UK: if it was never protected, the court must award you at least its value
A deposit must be placed in one of three government-approved schemes within 30 days, with the prescribed information sent in the same window. Checking takes two minutes and costs nothing. If it was never protected, the county court must award between one and three times the deposit, and you have six years to claim. Since 1 May 2026 an unprotected deposit blocks the possession order itself.
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Your mortgage fix is ending: how to lock a rate six months early and avoid the SVR
Bank Rate is 3.75%, but newly drawn mortgages cost 4.45% in July and the whole outstanding stock 3.97%. When a fix ends, the lender moves you onto its standard variable rate by default — almost always the most expensive option available. Under the Mortgage Charter you can reserve a new deal six months ahead and swap it for a better one if that appears before it starts.
Renting in London 2026: what a flat costs and what deposit is legal
What renting in London actually costs, on the latest ONS figures: £2,317 a month in the capital, £1,451 across England, £1,393 UK-wide. By law the deposit is capped at five weeks’ rent and the holding deposit at one, and it must be protected within 30 days. Agreement fees, reference checks and inventories are not yours to pay.
Letting a room? The check is compulsory, and the penalty runs to £20,000
Every new tenant must be checked, and only the landlord can do it. Two things are needed: the tenant’s share code and their date of birth. Checking only the people who “look foreign” is a separate breach of the law.
Assured shorthold tenancies are gone: how renting works now
Since 1 May, England has had neither assured shorthold tenancies nor section 21 evictions. A landlord must now name a ground.