Politics and property certainly collided last month. Blink and you will have missed one of several announcements in October. From Bills becoming Acts and new conveyancing forms to changes to safety compliance and stamp duty pledges, here’s what you might have missed.
1) Renters’ Rights Bill gained Royal Assent: after months of debate, the Renters’ Rights Bill passed its last hurdle and became the Renters’ Rights Act on 27th October. There will be no immediate change for private landlords and tenants. Instead, phased introductions can be expected from 2026.
Scottish Bill took a step forward
2) Rent controls reintroduced: The Housing (Scotland) Bill successfully passed through Scottish Parliament in October and now awaits Royal Assent. As a result, rent caps will become law, with local councils able to limit rent increases in prescribed rent control areas. Royal Assent for this Bill is expected at the end of 2025.
Budget speculation intensified
3) Rumours around stamp duty: the Autumn Budget is weeks away on 26th November and the Chancellor is expected to address stamp duty in her announcement. While the most radical rumour suggests stamp duty will be scrapped in favour of a new seller-paid property tax, it is more likely the thresholds will be adjusted, with a new mansion tax floated.
4) Consultation on buying and selling reforms opened: Labour used October to set out how it would like to reform the buying and selling process. It opened a 12-week consultation on a broad range of home moving changes. We have already produced a blog containing the detail – have a read before taking part in this online survey (closing date 21st December 2025).
5) Conservatives made a bold pledge: also keen to impact the future of buying and selling, the Conservative party announced it would scrap stamp duty if it was voted back into power. The pledge was debated at the end of October during the House of Commons’ Opposition Day.
6) New conveyancing forms launched: The Law Society launched two updated property forms last month. There have been changes to the TA6 property information form and the TA7 leasehold information form. Both should be simpler and quicker for sellers to complete.
7) EICR regulation changes confirmed: landlords were served some compliance tweaks regarding the mandatory Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR). Fines for breaching the law will increase from £30,000 to £40,000 from 1st November 2025. In addition, landlords will enjoy greater protection for prosecution if a tenant won’t give an electrician access to the property.
Demand and price movement detailed
8 ) Asking prices inched up: sellers remained bullish over how much their properties could sell for. Rightmove found the UK’s average asking price increased 0.3% last month. Sales were also up 5%, compared to the same point in 2024.
9) Demand on hold: Zoopla’s latest house price index revealed many buyers are waiting to hear what’s in the Budget before they make their next move. The portal’s figures showed demand was down 8% when compared to last year. Despite this, there are 7% more homes for sale than noted 12 months ago.
UK’s average rent up again
10) New tenancies cost more: the UK’s average monthly rent for newly-agreed tenancies is now £1,343, according to HomeLet. It charted a 1.1% rise during its last monitoring period. On a monthly basis, rents are rising most aggressively in Greater London, Scotland and the East Midlands.
11) Buy-to-let mortgage rates decrease: landlords looking to expand their investment portfolios had access to cheaper mortgage rates in October. Keystone, Molo and Paragon were among a number of lenders to reduce rates on select buy-to-let products.
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