Your March 2025 newsletter

This year, compliance is the name of the game in the PRS.

Besides the Renters’ Rights Bill, new sanctions checks regulations are coming in May, while the Government is also consulting on EPCs.

At Revive Property Management, we’ll do everything we can to keep you up to speed and ensure you’re prepared for any changes. Here are your latest market insights…

Rental market performance in February 2025

Here’s what changed in the English rental market last month:

The average monthly price for a rental property rose 0.2%, from £1,207 in January to £1,209 in February. February’s average rent of £1,209 is up by 4% compared to 2024 figures (£1,162)

Average void duration shortened from 24 to 20 days

Analysing these changes, Goodlord CEO, William Reeve, said: “Within the latest figures, we still see signs of rising demand in a market that refuses to cool off. Voids have shortened once again after January’s record-breaking lengths. And whilst overall rents for February are only slightly higher than January’s figures, we don’t always see month-on-month increases at this time of year. These are strong indications that the PRS will continue to heat up alongside the weather.”

Date for House of Lords committee stage still pending for Renters’ Rights Bill

As of March 3, no date has been released for the committee stage of the Renters’ Rights Bill. Although many industry experts still believe the Bill will pass after Easter and become effective between July-October 2025, any delays now could lengthen that timeline.

The committee stage was supposed to follow around two weeks after the second reading, which happened on February 4. It will examine the Bill line by line over a period of around eight days and will be followed by the report stage and third reading around two weeks later. Finally, the Bill will be passed back to the House of Commons to consider any proposed amendments before progressing to Royal Assent.

While amendments will be gathered together and placed in order ahead of the committee stage, the Government can reject these in the House of Commons. In other words, the Bill is unlikely to change significantly from its current form.

Addressing a key misconception…

Many people in the PRS think that, like its predecessor, the Renters’ Rights Bill will turn out to be a wild goose chase. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Although the timeline for the Bill isn’t set in stone, it remains a priority for the recently elected Labour Government, which has a large majority in the House of Commons.

Sanctions checks are changing

Currently, agents only need to conduct sanctions checks where monthly rents exceed €10,000 per month (approximately £8,300). However, from. May 14, 2025, this is changing.

From this date, all agencies will be subject to reporting obligations as “relevant firms” under financial sanctions laws. This means the Revive Property Management team needs to conduct sanctions checks on all prospective:

Landlords – at the point of instruction

Tenants – before concluding a letting agreement

Rest assured, we’ll be updating our processes in the coming weeks and months to ensure compliance.