Surveyor’s notes.
A short note most days on the EPC, landlord and surveying news that actually changes something — and what it means for the people it lands on.
Surveyor's notes — 1 Oct 2026: prices stall
Nationwide says house price growth halved to 0.8% and Burnham wants councils to seize neglected rentals. A surveyor's read on both, plus landlord exits.
241 29 Sep 2026Surveyor's notes — 29 September 2026: just enough, not more
Landlords upgraded rentals to the bare EPC minimum, 500 homes a day are leaving the rental market, and Medway lands a £1,600 HMO licence fee.
236 28 Sep 2026Surveyor's notes — 28 September 2026: the six-month rule
Council powers to seize empty homes drop from two years to six months, and the new landlord register carries a £40,000 penalty ceiling.
230 27 Sep 2026Surveyor's notes — 27 September 2026: the levy lands
Croydon's new landlord licensing schemes go live and the Building Safety Levy lands on developers from Thursday — what both actually cost you.
227 26 Sep 2026Surveyor's notes — 26 September 2026: the wait gets longer
Generation Rent wants landlords fined for exaggerated deposit claims, and Propertymark data shows half of sales now take 17 weeks to exchange.
223 25 Sep 2026Surveyor's notes — 25 September 2026: quitting, not fixing
Landlords are quitting the rental market at the fastest rate since 2016, and the Building Safety Levy lands on developers in six days.
218 24 Sep 2026Surveyor's notes — 24 September 2026: the EPC premium trap
Buyers pay a premium for efficient homes but sellers can't afford the upgrade, and the second staircase deadline for tall blocks hits in a week.
214 22 Sep 2026Surveyor's notes — 22 September 2026: surveys before offers
Two firms now sell the survey before the offer, landlords are exiting at the fastest rate since 2016, and guarantors are booming as the Act’s workaround.
210 21 Sep 2026Surveyor's notes — 21 September 2026: the register bites
The rental property register has rollout dates and a possession-order trigger, and Rightmove’s September index hides a soft buyer market.
206 20 Sep 2026Surveyor's notes — 20 September 2026: the evidence gap
A refreshed government checklist puts hard numbers on landlord safety compliance, and a tribunal review shows why evidence-free rent rises keep failing.
201 19 Sep 2026Surveyor's notes — 19 September 2026: the data disagrees
A charity says the rental sector isn't shrinking, but HomeLet's index just hit a record high and a landlord's cover-up cost him £28,000.
200 18 Sep 2026Surveyor's notes — 18 September 2026: hazards get numbers
Government's new landlord checklist puts hard numbers on housing hazards, and the Bank of England holds rates while mortgage pricing moves on regardless.
194 17 Sep 2026Surveyor's notes — 17 September 2026: leasehold flats slide
Flats are the only property type losing value as leasehold risk mounts, and a council has scrapped its landlord licensing scheme after a legal challenge.
193 16 Sep 2026Surveyor's notes — 16 September 2026: database gaps, CGT bid
The NRLA wants inflation stripped out of Capital Gains Tax before the Budget, and Generation Rent says the new landlord database can't show enforcement history.
185 15 Sep 2026Surveyor's notes — 15 September 2026: landlords pull back
Buy-to-let incorporations are falling for the first time since 2008, Zoopla says rents could rise 5% by year-end, and tribunal disputes are up 56%.
181 14 Sep 2026Surveyor's notes — 14 September 2026: who's checking whom
The Grenfell inquiry review shows a regulator taking shape, Southampton opens 30 landlord files, and 303,185 homes sit empty long-term.
176 13 Sep 2026Surveyor's notes — 13 September 2026: the paperwork bites
A new rental database launches in December, tribunal disputes are up 56 per cent, and Bristol hands out a serious HMO licensing fine.
172 12 Sep 2026Surveyor's notes — 12 September 2026: the levy squeeze
Housing starts are down 36 per cent on the year as the Building Safety Levy reshapes site decisions, and swap rates push buy-to-let costs higher again.
170 11 Sep 2026Surveyor's notes — 11 September 2026: the fines land
Rent tribunal cases jump 56% under the Renters’ Rights Act, and Bristol and Southampton hand out the Act’s first council fines under new powers.
166 10 Sep 2026Surveyor's notes — 10 September 2026: the database lands
A mandatory landlord database gets a £65 fee and 2027 deadlines, while HMRC takes over rent-increase disputes from the tribunal.
163 9 Sep 2026Surveyor's notes — 9 September 2026: the licensing surge
Selective licensing schemes hit a record high under the Renters' Rights Act, while landlord rent arrears fall to their lowest level on record.
160 8 Sep 2026Surveyor's notes — 8 September 2026: the South East slump
The first annual house price fall since 2023 hits the South East hardest, while buy-to-let mortgage rates rise on swap-rate volatility.
157 7 Sep 2026Surveyor's notes — 7 September 2026: the 27-week wait
Possession claims now take a record 27 weeks to enforce, and new data shows almost half of UK buy-to-let is now owned through companies.
154 6 Sep 2026Surveyor's notes — 6 September 2026: the quiet exodus
Landlord numbers have fallen for the first time in five years, and new survey data shows first-time buyers walking away the moment damp shows up.
150 3 Sep 2026Surveyor's notes — 3 September 2026: the tribunal tilts
Rent tribunal cases have nearly quadrupled since the Renters’ Rights Act, and a landlord who ignored a collapsing staircase now owes £17,244 in rent repayments.
147 2 Sep 2026Surveyor's notes — 2 September 2026: enforcement gets real
A Croydon licensing scheme slipped with no legal way to vary it, and a Lewisham illegal eviction case shows enforcement now comes with a taskforce attached.
144 1 Sep 2026Surveyor's notes — 1 September 2026: squeezed both ways
Landlord costs are rising twice as fast as rental income, and rent tribunal challenges have nearly quadrupled in a year.
142 31 Aug 2026Surveyor's notes — 31 August 2026: mandatory vs voluntary
Bailiffs face mandatory ECB accreditation while the cowboy-builder crackdown stays voluntary, and plug-in solar becomes legal this week.
139 30 Aug 2026Surveyor's notes — 30 August 2026: the landlord squeeze
HMRC data shows landlord costs eating a record share of rent, courts get 1,000 more judges for Renters' Rights Act claims, and NRLA proposes a landlord ISA.
136 29 Aug 2026Surveyor's notes — 29 August 2026: the enforcement gap
Plug-in solar goes legal with no consent process built in, a letting agent allegedly sits on 100 deposits, and rent tribunal challenges nearly quadruple.
133 28 Aug 2026Surveyor's notes — 28 August 2026: the safety net widens
Awaab's Law's second phase brings heat networks into scope, Rayner commits nearly £10bn to 73,600 homes, and the leasehold bill's window is closing.
130 27 Aug 2026Surveyor's notes — 27 August 2026: the power shifts
Rayner rules out rent controls again despite a new JRF study, mayors gain call-in powers over big schemes, and surveyors face a retirement squeeze.
127 26 Aug 2026Surveyor's notes — 26 August 2026: the price of compliance
Agent fees are rising to cover Renters’ Rights compliance costs, and a 100-tenant deposit scandal shows why vetting your letting agent matters.
124 25 Aug 2026Surveyor's notes — 25 August 2026: the sixteen-month catch
A Renters’ Rights notice can lock you out of re-letting for sixteen months, and new HMO appeal data show what really predicts a win.
122 20 Aug 2026Surveyor's notes — 20 August 2026: courts can't keep up yet
The courts get 1,000 new judges for Renters' Rights, a ground rent cap loophole consultation closes this week, and Preston proposes £1,050 landlord licences.
119 19 Aug 2026Surveyor's notes — 19 August 2026: stations fast-tracked
A rewritten NPPF fast-tracks homes near stations and shields pubs from conversion, as Rightmove logs the biggest August price fall since 2018.
116 18 Aug 2026Surveyor's notes — 18 August 2026: royal estates flunk EPCs
A Guardian investigation catches royal estates letting sub-standard EPC homes, and a cladding safety fund opens for blocks under 11 metres.
113 17 Aug 2026Surveyor's notes — 17 August 2026: a walk to the station
Planning rules fast-track homes near stations, Rightmove logs its biggest August price fall since 2018, and a council previews maximum-strength landlord fines.
110 16 Aug 2026Surveyor's notes — 16 August 2026: a gas certificate
A lost gas safety record heads to the Supreme Court, NRLA data says unfreezing benefits won't spike rents, and RICS's July survey stays stuck.
107 12 Aug 2026Surveyor's notes — 12 August 2026: new-build's hidden bill
New-build homes carry up to £55,000 in hidden planning costs and one in eight sit unsold after six months, while prime central London falls for a 39th month.
104 11 Aug 2026Surveyor's notes — 11 August 2026: enforcement gets real
A Haringey landlord is branded 'rogue' in a £12,480 ruling, London funds Renters' Rights Act enforcement, and the South East leads on price cuts.
101 10 Aug 2026Surveyor's notes — 10 August 2026: it depends where you are
Stoke-on-Trent proposes street-level HMO caps, Lloyds data shows the South East now falling annually, and Awaab's Law's hazard list grows from November.
098 9 Aug 2026Surveyor's notes — 9 August 2026: on the clock
Burnley opens another selective licensing consultation, and the Building Safety Regulator's approval times have halved to a 22-week median.
095 8 Aug 2026Surveyor's notes — 8 August 2026: the doors are closing
Stoke-on-Trent moves to strip city-wide HMO conversion rights, and Right to Buy sales jump 90% in England before reform tightens the scheme.
090 6 Aug 2026Surveyor's notes — 6 August 2026: the £23,138 lesson
An Oxford landlord's £23,138 fine for defying a Prohibition Order, a tenant-led renters' forum in Haringey, and two councils widening selective licensing.
087 5 Aug 2026Surveyor's notes — 5 August 2026: the paper trail hardens
A landlord's £6,408 fine for ignoring an Improvement Notice, a new council enforcement league table, and build-to-rent starts down 79% in a year.
084 4 Aug 2026Surveyor's notes — 4 August 2026: narrative over bricks
A tribunal's mould-compensation row, 1.5 million unmortgageable UK homes, and deposit protection rebuilt ahead of the rules.
081 3 Aug 2026Surveyor's notes — 3 August 2026: the cladding window
A funding window opens this month for sub-11m cladding fixes, and this week's tax deadline is the first bite of a threshold reaching far more landlords.
078 2 Aug 2026Surveyor's notes — 2 August 2026: the Section 21 deadline
The transitional deadline for old Section 21/8 notices expired this weekend, and Thurrock's selective licensing scheme survived its final High Court challenge.
075 1 Aug 2026Surveyor's notes — 1 August 2026: the £7,400 HMO warning
A Cardiff landlord's £7,400 fine for an unlicensed HMO riddled with damp, mould and fire risk, plus a Surrey council moving to shut off small HMO conversions.
072 31 Jul 2026Surveyor’s notes — 31 July 2026: deadline day for landlords
Today's the deadline for old Section 21 notices, and the Bank of England held rates at 3.75% with three members pushing for a rise.
069 30 Jul 2026Surveyor’s notes — 30 July 2026: the £104m nudge letter
HMRC clawed back £104m from landlords, mortgage rates crept up as approvals recovered, and HMO landlords quietly get ahead on EPC C.
066 29 Jul 2026Surveyor’s notes — 29 July 2026: the Section 21 countdown
Two days left to file lapsed Section 21 claims, Surrey landlords fined £75k in two years with barely half recovered, and Burnham rules out a stamp duty shake-up.
063 28 Jul 2026Surveyor’s notes — 28 July 2026: the £10k-an-hour minister
Angela Rayner banked £20,000 from a letting agents’ trade body weeks before regulating it again, and two Norfolk landlords are fined over £216,000 for repeat safety breaches.
060 27 Jul 2026Surveyor’s notes — 27 July 2026: the critic joins the desk
Angela Rayner rules out rent controls as her department misses today’s leasehold reform deadline, and the MP who criticised the delay is now inside it.
057 25 Jul 2026Surveyor’s notes — 25 July 2026: Paperwork is the defence
A new £7,000 hazard penalty turns on landlords’ paperwork, not just property condition, and London’s Mayor puts £58.7m behind social home retrofits.
054 24 Jul 2026Surveyor’s notes — 24 July 2026: Landlords go professional
Build-to-rent hits £2.2bn a quarter as landlords professionalise, HMRC posts record monthly inheritance tax, and asking prices fall hardest in a decade.
050 23 Jul 2026Surveyor’s notes — 23 July 2026: London falls, rents don’t
A SpareRoom survey finds renters overwhelmingly back rent controls as the NRLA relaunches its campaign against them, ONS data shows London prices falling for a ninth straight month while its rents keep rising, and the auction market posts its strongest June in years.
047 22 Jul 2026Surveyor’s notes — 22 July 2026: cut today, freeze looming
Burnham confirms a £45 VAT cut on electricity but won’t rule out freezing rents, two London boroughs move to license most of their rental stock, a Making Tax Digital deadline looms, and fire chiefs clash with the government over evacuation lifts.
044 21 Jul 2026Surveyor’s notes — 21 July 2026: new desk, same in-tray
Angela Rayner returns to Housing, a new DESNZ secretary inherits the Warm Homes Plan, landlords race a 31 July court deadline, and gilt yields move before the reshuffle dust settles. A working surveyor’s read.
042 20 Jul 2026Surveyor’s notes — 20 July 2026: it wasn’t the World Cup
Asking prices post their steepest July fall in a decade, the Land Registry clears its backlog, a landlord is fined less than three months’ rent for two winters without heating, and HMRC narrows interest relief. A working surveyor’s read.
040 19 Jul 2026Surveyor’s notes — 19 July 2026: rental supply turns negative
Rental supply falls for the first time since 2022, twelve days left on served Section 21 notices, a £9,000 heat pump grant from Tuesday, and Awaab’s Law phase two. A working surveyor’s read.