The British Property Federation (BPF) has published a blog post as part of its Spotlight Series, highlighting its Net Zero Pledge, an initiative aimed at fostering collaboration and accelerating decarbonisation efforts within the UK real estate sector. The Pledge calls on BPF members to commit to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050, actively engage with other signatories, and share insights to support the industry's transition. With signatories representing approximately £125bn in UK assets under management, the initiative addresses the significant environmental impact of buildings, which contribute around 25% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions. The BPF has also taken the Pledge, partnering with Planet Mark to develop its own net zero targets and plans.

The British Property Federation (BPF) has published commentary from its Assistant Director of Policy, Theo Plowman, examining the Renters’ Rights Bill and its impact on the residential sector.

The British Property Federation (BPF) has published guidance on the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 (RRA 2025) to assist its members, landlords and other stakeholders in understanding the RRA 2025’s scope and reforms across the private rented sector (PRS) in England. The RRA 2025 introduces wide-ranging structural changes to tenancy arrangements, possession procedures, rent regulation and landlord compliance obligations. It will take effect on 1 May 2026 and will be implemented in three phases. Phase one, commencing on 1 May 2026, will abolish section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions, replace fixed-term tenancies with open-ended Assured Periodic Tenancies (APTs), and limit rent increases to once every 12 months. It will also ban rental bidding, restrict the payment of rent in advance to one month at the outset and expand obligations relating to pets and anti-discrimination against renters with children or those in receipt of benefits. These reforms will apply to both new and existing PRS tenancies. Landlords will be required to provide tenants with the government-published information sheet by 31 May 2026. Phase two, expected in late 2026, will introduce a mandatory national PRS database for landlords and local councils, alongside a new PRS Landlord Ombudsman. Landlords will be required to register themselves and their properties on the database and comply with Ombudsman determinations. Phase three will extend the Decent Homes Standard to the PRS and implement ‘Awaab’s Law’. This will require landlords to address reported health and safety hazards, such as damp and mould, within defined statutory timeframes: (1) investigation within 14 days of a complaint; (2) provision of findings within two days of the investigation; (3) commencement of emergency repairs within 24 hours; and (4) commencement of non-urgent repairs within seven days.

The British Property Federation (BPF) has published new planning and carbon manifestos ahead of the general election. BPF’s new planning manifesto ‘Building More, Building Better’ calls on the incoming government to improve existing structures and policies to develop a planning system that functions efficiently, quickly, and with certainty, ensuring productivity and sustainability in the UK. BPF’s carbon manifesto ‘Building a Sustainable Future’ appeals to the incoming government to work with the building industry to create a comprehensive net zero carbon roadmap for the real estate sector across all asset classes and tenures, covering existing and new buildings.

The British Property Federation (BPF) has published a news analysis, reporting a surge in housing completions across the Build-to-Rent (BtR) sector. At the end of the second quarter, the sector reached a record high delivery, with 22,000 homes completed over the past 12 months. The analysis indicates that the completion rate for this period is 2.5 times higher than the average for the period from 2017—19.

The British Property Federation (BPF) has published its response to the government’s Business Rates and Investment call for evidence, warning that current business rates policy is deterring investment, delaying refurbishment activity and increasing financial risk for property owners. It urges reform of empty property relief (EPR) and a reduction in the overall business rates burden. The BPF says the system must be ‘simple, fair and predictable’ to support long-term investment. It highlights that the UK has the highest property tax burden in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and that business rates for higher-value properties can exceed 50%, which it argues affects competitiveness and growth. The BPF proposes extending EPR to 12 months of 100% relief, or at least six months initially, followed by a 50% charge instead of full liability. It also calls for extending Improvement Relief to property owners, reviewing the proposed move to a slice-based system, introducing a fixed tax rate, publishing draft valuation lists earlier and removing the risk of backdating.

The British Property Federation (BPF) has published its response to the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee’s (HCLG) pre-legislative scrutiny of the Draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill, stating that while it supports sensible leasehold reform and a renewed focus on commonhold, the draft legislation creates uncertainty, lacks the detailed framework needed to make commonhold workable as a default tenure and fails to address immediate leaseholder concerns. The BPF raises concerns about government interference with existing ground rent investments, warning that the proposed £250 ground rent cap could undermine investment, housing supply and remediation obligations under the Building Safety Act 2022. It highlights the risks of freeholder insolvency, worsening building safety and the continued absence of Regulation of Property Agents (ROPA) reforms.

The British Property Federation (BPF) has published its response to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG)’s July 2025 consultation on strengthening leaseholder protections over charges and services. The BPF supports mandating reserve funds for new leases and greater transparency around fees in principle, but opposes over-standardisation of landlord–leaseholder relationships, warning that this could oversimplify inherently complex arrangements. It strongly opposes section 62 provisions limiting landlords’ ability to recover litigation costs, arguing that this would make residential buildings ‘almost impossible to manage’ in cases of service charge arrears and lease covenant breaches. The BPF also rejects proposals granting leaseholders veto rights over managing agent appointments, noting that this could result in the appointment of subpar agents based solely on cost considerations. Regarding managing agent qualifications, the BPF supports the Property Institute as the designated professional body but opposes local authority enforcement due to resource constraints. Finally, it recommends using RICS Professional Cost Service Charge Headings instead of MHCLG’s proposed options for service charge budget headings.

The British Property Federation (BPF) has published its response to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government's consultation on revisions to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).

The British Property Federation (BPF) has published its response to the government’s consultation on the Home Energy Model (HEM) methodology for assessing existing dwellings and producing new domestic Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) metrics, stating that it supports improvements to the regime while identifying several issues. It supports enhancements to the EPC framework and welcomes higher minimum energy efficiency standards in the private rented sector but notes that some proposals may increase complexity and should remain as simple and clear as possible for investors, landlords, consumers and assessors. The BPF also highlights considerations regarding the application of the new metrics to blocks of flats and apartments which form a significant proportion of the private rented sector in England noting the potential for some properties to fall within exemption categories under the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) regime. It indicates that clarity on compliance routes will be important and notes that perceptions of non-compliance may affect property values. In addition, the BPF states that it would welcome further engagement on how information will be presented in revised EPCs to support clarity and consumer understanding.

A British Property Federation (BPF) report calls for detailed guidance on co-living in the forthcoming revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), in light of increased momentum for co-living. The research highlights various benefits to co-living, largely in relation to affordability and flexibility while bringing a ‘sense of togetherness and community’. However, in order to make sure that co-living continues to grow, the BPF is urgently calling for the NPPF to provide active support for co-living schemes, for local authorities to be required to include an allocation for co-living schemes in their local plans, for local authorities' policies to not be too prescriptive and for affordable housing policies to recognise co-living.

The British Property Federation (BPF) and Savills have published research indicating that planning consent times for build-to-rent homes in London have doubled over the past six years, rising from an average of 8 to 15 months. This is 150% longer than the statutory time limit for major applications. The research also shows that the number of build-to-rent homes under construction fell by 17% nationally, from 59,874 to 49,984, and by 29% in London, from 17,138 to 12,134, representing the ninth consecutive quarterly decline. The number of build-to-rent homes in the planning pipeline increased by 2% across the UK and by 6% in London, rising from 36,559 in Q1 2025 to 41,968 in Q1 2026, although schemes at the application stage fell by 17% over the same period. The BPF attributes delays to the impact of the Building Safety Regulator and cites wider regulatory pressures, including the incoming Renters' Rights Act. It also notes that 80% of the build-to-rent pipeline now consists of schemes with more than 100 homes, reflecting viability challenges. The analysis further highlights that build-to-rent accounts for 8% of all new homes delivered in the UK.