The UK named its seventh prime minister since 2016 in July, with Andy Burnham taking the reins as leader of both the Labour Party and the British government.
With parliament in recess and no major new policies yet being enacted under his leadership, Burnham has made a series of speeches and appointments that could soon prove highly pertinent for everyone involved in the UK property market.
Beyond the new PM’s arrival, July showed that the impacts of the recently introduced ‘Renters’ Rights Act’ are already being felt, economic uncertainty continued to flow from the Middle East conflict, and the Bank of England opted to hold its base rate of interest again for a fifth time in succession.
There has been some speculation that the football World Cup and persistently hot weather preoccupied potential home buyers and sellers to some extent but with asking prices falling there were some signs too that the housing market was hotting up somewhat in high summer.
New PM’s Housing Plans and Appointments
Almost immediately upon assuming the role of prime minister, Andy Burnham committed his government towards driving an end to rough sleeping and a major uptick in council house building to help ease what he called the UK’s “housing crisis”. In a recent speech, he suggested that far too many people throughout the country are struggling to pay their rent, or to buy a home of their own.
It’s also been reported that the new prime minister is considering a major overhaul of property taxes and potentially replacing traditional council taxes with a land value or proportional tax model.
How any of that might work in practice remains to be seen but Burnham has made clear he wants more being done to increase residential property supplies across England and Wales.
“Everything starts with a good home,” he told an audience in Manchester. “If you don’t give people a good home, what chance have they got of having a good life?”
Leasehold Reform On Angela’s Agenda?
The new prime minister also made several appointments to his cabinet that could have wide-ranging ramifications for the housing sector.
Firstly, he appointed his fellow northerner and former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner as his Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Rayner’s appointment has been warmly welcomed by campaigners for leasehold property ownership reform who hope she will continue to, as they put it, “stand on the side of ordinary homeowners,” within the context of what is quite a contentious ongoing debate.
Also taking on a new role is Mary Kelly Foy, MP for the City of Durham, who has been appointed as a PPS to housing minister Matthew Pennycock. Foy has campaigned against what she calls “dodgy landlords” in the rental sector for some years and even suggested that “fleecehold” might be a more apt term for the current leasehold property ownership structure.
Early Impacts of the Renters’ Rights Act
Elsewhere, the Renters Rights Act looks as if could be one of the more consequential pieces of legislation enacted during Sir Keir Starmer’s short-lived tenure at Number 10 Downing Street.
The now former prime minister’s government introduced a raft of new rules that came into full effect in May this year that are already proving impactful across the housing sector.
The new rules mean renters can now move house without penalty based on just two months’ notice to their landlords but they cannot legally be evicted on short notice without valid reasons. Rent increases are now only allowed once per year and landlords cannot reject prospective tenants because they have children or receive benefits.
Landlords and agents must also now publish and stick to asking prices on their rental properties when advertising for new tenants. This rule is designed to give prospective tenants more clarity and ensure that landlords can’t repeatedly ‘move the goalposts’ or simply let their properties out to the highest bidders.
The new dynamic has been welcomed by renters but reportedly means landlords are now increasing their initial asking prices on rents in the knowledge that they cannot be subsequently increased.
More Mortgages Rates Uncertainty
In the early days of July, Moneyfacts reported the sharpest monthly drop in fixed term mortgage rates in almost two years. However, in a sign of how uncertain the mortgage market can be currently for homeowners and homebuyers, those falls were offset by increases later in the month after a resumption of hostilities in the Middle East.
Those increases also happened despite the UK’s headline rate of inflation falling by more than expected to 2.6% in June. That fall—while representing good news for consumers and for the Bank of England—has been overshadowed by fears that the Iran War fallout will see inflation rates spike again later in 2026.
The Bank announced on July 30th its decision to hold the base rate of interest at 3.75%, with policymakers keen to avoid increasing the cost of borrowing but also feeling unable yet to introduce any cuts that would be good news for millions of mortgage customers.
Deal Numbers Edge Up as Asking Prices Fall
Higher than hoped for mortgage rates and the associated squeeze on affordability are viewed as having contributed to a cooling in the pace of property transactions throughout much of the spring of this year. However, HMRC reported a slight uptick in transaction rates in June, both as compared to June 2025 and May 2026.
In potentially good news for first-time buyers, Rightmove’s latest House Price Index showed asking prices on homes being freshly put up for sale this summer falling more steeply than usual. A summer fall in asking prices is typical and expected but is reckoned to have been exacerbated this year by political uncertainty both at home and abroad.
“Political change is adding further uncertainty to the market and adding to summer buyer distractions,” noted Rightmove in a report published before HMRC subsequently revealed transaction rates actually ticked up during June.
The Home Legal Direct Perspective…
There are perhaps more questions than answers abounding across the England and Wales housing sector at present – whether that’s with regards to the potential impacts of regulatory overhauls, public policy rethinks, uncertainty around asking prices, mortgage deals or renters’ rights.
Nonetheless, many thousands of people move happily into new homes or have their mortgage deals approved every week nationwide. What’s key is to make the most informed choices you can and to get sound advice whenever you need it – ideally in advance of any major moves you might make.
You can be connected to one of many highly qualified and eminently professional conveyancing and solicitor firms in seconds with Home Legal Direct.
Our in-house experts can also answer any questions you might have about the entire conveyancing process, from beginning to end, whatever your circumstances and wherever you are in England or Wales. Contact us today to find out more or get your conveyancing quote now!