Rents rise, equity holds, and four compliance clocks are ticking

What is still provisional

No new figures landed this week and nothing we hold has been restated. The honest subject is therefore the state of the record itself.

9 reference periods remain provisional and can still be revised: 2025-09, 2025-10, 2025-11, 2025-12, 2026-01, 2026-02, 2026-03, 2026-04, 2026-05. UK House Price Index estimates carry a 12-month provisional window (HM Land Registry guidance, updated 16 December 2025; ONS, 17 June 2026), during which figures are restated as more transactions register.

The next window closes on 2026-09-01, for 2025-09. Until then every figure in it is subject to change, including ones already quoted elsewhere as final.

Your property is worth more than it was — but the pace of growth is easing

The UK average house price reached £271,295 in May 2026, up 0.3% on the month and 2.7% on the year. That is a step down from April's annual rate of 3.9%, so prices are still rising — your equity is still growing — but the market is cooling rather than accelerating. If you are due to remortgage in the next twelve months, the valuation your lender runs will reflect May's level or later; on current trajectory, that figure is still comfortably above where it sat a year ago.

The HPI index itself moved from 103.6 in April to 104.0 in May — a modest tick forward. For a landlord whose property is mortgaged, a higher index reading means a lower loan-to-value ratio at renewal, which is the single most important lever in the rate your lender offers you. The direction is still in your favour, but if you were banking on a bigger uplift to cross an LTV threshold, the slowing annual rate is worth noting before you book your remortgage conversation.

The average two-year fix sits at 4.79% — here is what that means when your deal ends

The Bank Rate stands at 3.75% as of 6 August 2026. The Bank of England monthly average two-year fixed-rate mortgage for July 2026 was 4.79%, with the five-year equivalent at 4.61%. If you are rolling off a fix taken out at the peak rates of 2023–24, both figures represent a meaningful improvement — but they are still well above the pre-2022 environment many landlords planned around. The average variable rate for July 2026 was 6.6%, which is the number to avoid if your deal lapses without action.

For context on where rates may head next: SONIA stands at 3.7313% as of 5 August 2026 — not a live market quote for today, but a signal that the two-year fix is unlikely to fall sharply in the near term. If your deal expires within six months, it is worth speaking to a broker now rather than waiting.

North outperforms South — what your area's number actually means for your equity

The regional picture in May 2026 is sharply divided. If you let in the North East, your property averaged £163,933 — up 5.9% on the year and 0.6% on the month. The North West posted the strongest monthly move of any English region at 1.4%, with an average price of £219,506 and annual growth of 5.8%. Yorkshire and The Humber grew 4.3% annually to an average of £208,549. These are the regions where price growth is running hardest and where your equity position has strengthened most over the past year.

London tells the opposite story: the average price there fell 3.7% over the year to £544,814, with a monthly drop of 1.2% in May. If you own a property in the capital, your equity has moved backwards over the past twelve months. That matters most when your remortgage is imminent — your lender's valuation will reflect this, and a fall in paper value can push you into a higher LTV band and a worse rate. The South East (up 1.2% annually to £381,311) and the South West (up 1.7% to £302,559) are holding value but growing slowly. The East Midlands and West Midlands both dipped slightly on the month (down 0.4% and 0.1% respectively) while remaining in positive territory year-on-year.

More homes are coming — and that affects what your tenant's alternatives look like

The government's planning reform programme is moving forward. The Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 introduced mandatory local housing targets, and ministers have committed to a 1.5 million new homes target over the parliament — a rate of housebuilding not seen for decades if delivered. The revised National Planning Policy Framework is expected to come into force in summer 2026, with councils required to apply the new rules on housing land supply immediately upon adoption. A 5% buffer has been reintroduced to housing land supply calculations, which increases the pressure on councils to approve residential applications.

For a landlord who already owns and lets, this matters in one specific way: if new supply reaches your area in volume, tenants gain alternatives and your negotiating position on rent reviews weakens. That is not an immediate threat — construction pipelines are long — but it is the macro backdrop to the rental market you let into. In the shorter term, brownfield development programmes and permitted development changes may affect what you can do with your own property: extensions, conversions, or ancillary lettings. If you are considering changes to your property, check with your local planning authority before assuming any works fall within permitted development.

Four deadlines, four actions: what the law now requires of you and when

Renters' Rights Act — already live from 1 May 2026. The Act received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025, and its Phase 1 provisions took effect on 1 May 2026. On that date, almost all existing assured shorthold tenancies automatically converted into assured periodic tenancies. Section 21 'no-fault' evictions are abolished: you cannot serve a new Section 21 notice. Fixed-term tenancies no longer exist for new lettings; all new agreements are periodic from the outset. If you have not yet read through what the Act requires of you day-to-day — how rent increases must now be handled, which Section 8 grounds apply and when — the Renters' Rights Act compliance guide is the place to start.

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax — live from 6 April 2026 if you are above the threshold. If your gross income from property and self-employment combined exceeds £50,000, you are already required to keep digital records and submit quarterly updates to HMRC using MTD-compatible software. The annual Self Assessment return is replaced by a Final Declaration. The threshold drops to £30,000 from April 2027 and to £20,000 from April 2028. HMRC will not sign you up automatically — you must do it yourself. The MTD for landlords guide walks through what software you need and how quarterly submissions work.

PRS Database registration — expected late 2026, Phase 2 of the Renters' Rights Act. A national Private Rented Sector Database is due to launch in England in late 2026. Once it opens, registration of yourself and each property you let will be compulsory before you can market or let. Failing to register could mean losing access to key Section 8 possession grounds and facing financial penalties. The exact launch date and fee structure are not yet confirmed — monitor the PRS Database registration guide for updates as the secondary legislation is published.

EPC C by 1 October 2030. The government confirmed in January 2026 that all privately rented homes in England and Wales must achieve a minimum EPC Band C by 1 October 2030 to be legally let. The maximum spend cap is £10,000 per property; if you cannot reach Band C within that cost, an exemption applies. Fines for non-compliance can reach £30,000. Four years sounds distant, but EPCs, contractor quotes and improvement works take time — and contractor pricing has not yet spiked the way it will as the 2030 deadline approaches. The EPC C 2030 guide covers which upgrades deliver the most rating points per pound spent.

The gap between the fastest and slowest English regions is 4.1 percentage points — check where your rent sits

The UK average private rent reached £1,388 a month in June 2026, up 3.3% on the year according to the ONS Price Index of Private Rents. That is the national picture — but the regional spread tells a more useful story for a landlord trying to judge whether their own rent is keeping pace. Across England's regions, the fastest-growing was the North East at 6.3% annually, while the slowest was London at 2.2% — a gap of 4.1 percentage points between the top and bottom of the English regions. If you let in the North East, rents in your area are rising at nearly three times the rate of London.

Looking across the regions: the North West grew 5.4% annually to an average of £961 a month. Yorkshire and The Humber was up 4.8% to £862. The South West rose 4.7% to £1,237. Wales increased 4.9% to £843. The West Midlands grew 4.4% to £971. The East Midlands rose 3.7% to £918. The East of England was up 3.3% to £1,281. The South East grew 2.3% to £1,415. London, at 2.2% growth, averaged £2,302 — the highest absolute rent but the lowest rate of increase among English regions. Northern Ireland's figures are not published for this period. Scotland rose 1.3% to £1,012.

If your rent has been static for a year or more, the ONS data is the clearest evidence that the market has moved. Under the Renters' Rights Act, rent increases must now go through the Section 13 process — a formal notice, with the market rate as your evidential base. The Section 13 guide explains the notice requirements, and the rent guides by city and bedroom count give you the local figure to anchor your case.

Where the upside in what you already own is sitting right now

If your current mortgage is a two-year fix taken out in mid-2024, when rates were higher, it may be worth asking your broker now whether an early exit — paying any early repayment charge — pencils out against the July 2026 average of 4.79% for a new two-year deal, or 4.61% for a five-year fix. Neither figure is a live market quote, but they represent the Bank of England's monthly average for July and are the best benchmark available for where the market was sitting at the end of last month. A five-year fix at 4.61% buys you certainty through to 2031 — past the EPC C deadline — which matters if you are planning improvement works and want predictable financing costs alongside them.

On the rent side: if you are letting in the North East, the North West, Yorkshire, Wales or the South West, your area's annual rent growth is running above the national average of 3.3%. If your current rent has not been reviewed in the past twelve months, it is likely below what you could achieve at re-let — and under Section 13, you can serve a formal notice to bring it to market rate without waiting for the tenancy to end. Check your area's figure against the rent guides or the rental yield index, which covers gross yields across 294 English local authorities. The gap between your current rent and the local market figure is income you are currently leaving on the table.

What to do this week

Check your tenancy paperwork. The Renters' Rights Act came into force on 1 May 2026. If you have not already confirmed that your tenancy agreements reflect the new periodic structure and that you have removed any reliance on Section 21, do that now. You cannot serve a Section 21 notice from 1 May 2026 onwards.

If your gross property and self-employment income exceeds £50,000, verify you are on MTD. Making Tax Digital for Income Tax has been live since 6 April 2026. HMRC will not chase you — you must register and use compatible software yourself. The threshold falls to £30,000 in April 2027, so even if you are below £50,000 now, check whether next year's income will bring you into scope.

Get your EPC rating for each property. The 1 October 2030 deadline for EPC Band C is four years away. If any of your properties are currently rated D or below, commission an assessment and get at least one contractor quote for the improvement works. Prices will rise as 2030 approaches and demand for installers increases. The spend cap is £10,000 per property; know your number now.

Watch for the PRS Database launch announcement. The national landlord registration database is expected to open in late 2026. You will need to register yourself and each property before you can legally market or re-let. Bookmark the PRS Database guide — it will be updated as the secondary legislation confirms the launch date and fee.

Review your rent against the local ONS figure. The UK average private rent is £1,388 a month, up 3.3% on the year. If your rent has not moved in twelve months and you let in a region above that average — the North East at 6.3%, the North West at 5.4%, Yorkshire at 4.8% — your income is behind the market. Use the Section 13 notice process to bring it in line, and check the rent guides for your specific area and bedroom count.