LettingAgentToday

A property group says it has £10m to spend snapping up sales and lettings agencies – and it says it has eight  acquisitions in the pipeline. Sourced has already completed four acquisitions this year, and chief executive Stephen Moss says conversations with independent agency owners suggest one particular reason driving many of their desire to sell – the rise of AI.

A year of rapid growth for the agency loc8me means it now has a property management presence in 20 UK cities. The acquisition of Mighty Student Living takes the Loughborough-founded company into its 20th university location. Earlier this year it saw the acquisition of more than 1,100 beds in Liverpool and an increase from 600 to 1,500 beds in Nottingham. All 19 Mighty Student Living employees will join loc8me, with founder Peter Charnley staying involved to support the transition.

Anti-Money Laundering (AML) rules for letting agents could be made stricter in the near future. The UK government’s 2026-2029 AML strategy, just published, suggests that property may be increasingly recognised as vulnerable to money laundering because criminals can use transactions and ownership structures to integrate illicit wealth into the legitimate economy.

A council has scrapped plans to introduce additional licensing for smaller HMOs – and the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) says it helped bring about the U-turn. The scheme, which was originally under consultation late last year, aimed to extend Telford and Wrekin council’s licensing requirements to shared houses with three or four occupants. Had it proceeded, landlords of smaller HMOs would have been forced to pay a licensing fee of more than £1,500 per property.

A Build To Rent support group says AI and better technology must be matched by nore information about the experience renters can expect. Love to Rent wants online rental search to move beyond bedrooms, price and postcode, and give consumers a clearer understanding of what it will actually be like to live in a home.

Digital eye strain is one of the most common complaints among people who spend long hours in front of screens, whether that’s for work, study, or simply scrolling in the evening. Symptoms like dryness, blurred vision, and headaches are your eyes signalling that something in your daily routine needs adjusting. The good news is that most of the fixes are simple and don’t require expensive equipment or a complete lifestyle overhaul.

Most portfolio landlords say their work has become harder in recent years, mostly thanks to the Renters Rights Act. Rushbrook commissioned a survey of 525 landlords who manage their own portfolios. Of those surveyed, 62% own six or more rental properties, including 36% with portfolios of 11 or more. The research suggests that the increasingly complex regulatory landscape, particularly the recent Act, is starting to influence how landlords approach the management of their portfolios.

Renters are most likely to pay dearly for the new government private rental sector database. That’s the warning from a property company, commenting on the database, which involves landlords of assured or regulated tenancies being required to register themselves and each property. Elliot Castle, chief executive of We Buy Any Home, says: “We absolutely welcome legislation that protects tenants from rogue landlords and helps councils act against unsafe or poorly managed properties.

Landlords are exiting the lettings market at the highest rates for at least 10 years. Figures from respected property consultancy TwentyCi show 562 properties per day are leaving the private rental sector in Q3 of 2026 so far. That’s a total of 44,000 at the time of writing. At this point last year, the daily rate was 495. And at the start of the decade, this number was only 167 per day.

A council has launched a scheme to incentivise private landlords into helping it solve its own homelessness problem. Cornwall council says “financial incentives may be available for landlords who can offer suitable accommodation” but insists that’s only part of the benefit.