The Bank of England has voted to keep UK interest rates on hold at 4% following its latest Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, with four members voting for a cut and five opting against.
The decision means borrowing costs remain unchanged as policymakers weigh signs of easing inflation against uncertainty over the government’s upcoming Budget.
Prices across the UK economy rose by an average of 3.8% in the year to September — almost double the Bank’s 2% target, but slightly below the 4% rise many economists had expected.
While inflation is moving in the right direction, the Bank said it was not yet ready to reduce rates, preferring to wait for more clarity on how Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s Budget on 26 November could influence growth and spending.
However, the latest data and tone from the MPC have raised expectations of a potential rate cut in December, if inflation continues to ease and the economy shows further signs of slowing.
Industry response:
Nick Leeming, chairman of Jackson-Stops: “The decision to hold interest rates at four per cent reflects the Bank of England’s need to stem inflation with ongoing caution towards economic growth. This wait and see position is one familiar with many homebuyers at the moment, keen to know what the Chancellor’s final decisions are on tax and spending policies before committing to a move.
“However, this might have been an opportunity missed by the Bank of England’s rate setting committee, in which a 25 basis points drop would have given the lending market a much-needed boost during this November lull. If budget tax rises harm growth, we may see interest rates cuts being used in the future to support greater market movement.
“Earlier this week lenders hedged their bets on a rate cut, with Nationwide reducing mortgage rates by up to 0.25 percentage points, offering the lowest two-year fixed rate since 2022. Moves such as this will be welcome by the mortgaged majority, with the hope they won’t be short lived. Some mortgage rates remain more than double the level they were before the pandemic, with house prices rising 26%* during the same period.
“The slow pace of building is also a concern, with chronic undersupply keeping house prices high. Inflated costs and interest rates are impacting growth in the development sector, especially SMEs, leaving government targets unmet. Greater financial headroom may have been a welcome boost to those struggling to make the numbers work.”
Matt Smith, Rightmove’s mortgages commentator: “Ahead of one of the most widely anticipated and discussed Autumn Budgets of recent times, it was unlikely the Bank would go for another interest rate cut so close to the announcement and has opted for stability instead. There’s still a good chance of a rate cut before the end of the year, depending on what is announced in a couple of weeks’ time, and if not then we’re looking at early 2026.
“Some good news is that the cost of financing mortgages has actually come down in recent weeks. We’ve started to see some lenders become more competitive in certain segments of the mortgage market in recent days, and offer some headline-grabbing cheaper rates, as they look to secure some final business before the end of the year.
“The average two-year fixed mortgage rate is now 4.44% – down from 4.95% at this time last year. The downward trend is good, but mortgage rates have come down more slowly than many were predicting at this time last year. Rates have come down even more slowly for five-year products. With the uncertainty surrounding how the upcoming Budget will impact people’s finances, another rate cut soon followed by some notable reductions in mass-market mortgage rate products would be a big boost to home-mover sentiment and affordability."
Frances McDonald, director of research at Savills: “Today’s narrowly decided decision signals that policymakers remain broadly cautious as they await clearer signs that inflation is firmly under control.
“Although the pace of interest rate cuts has been slower than expected, they will still play a key role in stimulating demand and supporting house price growth over the next five years.
“Combined with more relaxed mortgage rules – which allow some buyers to borrow a larger multiple of their income – and a materially stronger UK economy beyond 2026, we expect renewed upward pressure on house prices. Our latest forecast predicts that UK average house prices are set to rise by 22.2% by 2030, with annual growth peaking at 5% in 2028 and 5.5% in 2029.
“Ahead of the next rate decision, all eyes will be on the upcoming Budget and how the financial markets will respond. However, we expect any announcements from the Treasury to have a more pronounced impact on prime values and transactions than on the broader mainstream market.”
Amy Reynolds, head of sales at Antony Roberts estate agents: “While market expectations for a base rate cut had risen, the Bank of England has remained cautious and held it at 4% for now.
“Regardless of the decision made today, we’ve recently seen lenders introduce new products and policies aimed at higher-income borrowers and larger loans, which is encouraging for the London market – particularly in the Richmond Borough.
“Although many have spoken about a market where not much is going on, which meant we were expecting a very quiet November in the run-up to the Budget, that hasn’t been the case. We’ve agreed a high number of sales – mainly freehold homes – with prices reaching up to £2.5 million.
“It may be that some buyers are moving now to hedge their bets in case the Budget proves less property-focused than expected. A measured Budget and a rate cut early in 2026 would be the ideal combination to unlock more momentum in the market.”
Kevin Shaw, national sales MD, LRG: “No one will be surprised that the Bank of England has chosen to hold interest rates. With the Budget less than three weeks away, perhaps the Bank sees the need for some stability. And it would have been a brave move to change course in such a situation.
“There’s been so much speculation around the 26 November Budget that it’s taken on the status of a political event as well as a fiscal one. The last time we saw something of similar magnitude was the general election of July 2024. Back then the Bank also opted for caution despite the data signalling the need for a base rate reduction. It’s clearly sticking to the same approach.
“The Bank’s reasoning is sound. Inflation has remained stubbornly at 3.8% for two consecutive months – not something to panic about, but not yet at the target level at which to relax either. With so much depending on what the Chancellor unveils later this month, holding steady is the least disruptive choice.
“For the property market, today’s decision means continued stability for buyers and sellers.
“Perhaps on 18 December, when the Monetary Policy Committee next meets, with political uncertainty out of the way and inflation data moving in the right direction, we may see a reduction …well timed for Christmas.”
Nathan Emerson, CEO of Propertymark: “Following four rate cuts since August 2024, today’s decision to hold interest rates reflects the Bank of England’s cautious approach in an uncertain economic climate. Stability can be reassuring for the housing market, giving buyers and sellers a clearer sense of direction after months of volatility.
“However, for many, affordability remains stretched, and the market would benefit from further easing when conditions allow. Sustained rate stability or a gentle reduction in the months ahead would help bolster consumer confidence and keep transactions moving.”
Simon Capp, head of residential sales, British Land: “The decision to hold interest rates is disappointing, especially given the better-than-expected inflation figures in September. While there has been a flurry of activity following the summer months, a decision to cut the rate today would have given the residential market a welcome boost as we head into the typically slower Christmas period, especially given heavy speculation in the lead up to the autumn budget. Despite market headwinds, quality central London residential property is a robust commodity. From our sales data we see an ongoing predominance of purchasing activity from owner occupiers, seeking long-term ownership.”
Andrew Lloyd, MD at Search Acumen: “Today’s decision to hold interest rates at 4% reflects the Bank of England’s continued caution in balancing growth against inflation, that, while stable, remains elevated at 3.8%. Stability in borrowing costs is welcome, particularly as the market awaits the Chancellor’s Budget later this month, but holding rates steady will do little to reinvigorate activity across the property market in the short term.
“The government is consistently missing its housing targets, where an interest rate cut would have been a major boost to help UK developers reduce borrowing costs, stimulate buyer demand, improve project viability, and increase developer confidence. Lower financing costs to ease these margins, particularly with smaller housebuilders, could have been a real win at a particularly vulnerable time for the sector.
“Looking ahead, for real estate investors, dealmakers, and lenders alike, confidence will depend on clear signals from both monetary and fiscal policy. The Budget could be that signal, but until then the cautious ‘wait and see’ mindset of many market participants is likely to persist. If inflation starts to move downwards, we could see further monetary policy easing later this year, which, paired with political stability and renewed investor appetite, would help unlock a more active property market heading into 2026.”
Nicholas Mendes, head of marketing, John Charcol: “The Bank of England has kept Bank Rate at 4.0%, choosing patience over pre-emption. Inflation is falling faster than expected, with CPI at 3.8%, wage growth easing, and the labour market clearly softening. However, the Monetary Policy Committee has opted to wait for the Chancellor’s Budget later this month, where up to forty billion pounds of tax rises could alter the balance between growth and inflation.
“It is a pragmatic decision by the Bank, knowing that tighter fiscal policy could do part of its job for it, pulling inflation lower in 2026 without the need for another rate cut now. For the moment, policymakers appear comfortable that monetary policy is restrictive enough and that disinflation is well established across the economy.
“Holding steady also gives the Bank time to test whether the current slowdown is temporary or something deeper. Consumer spending remains subdued, business investment patchy, and mortgage approvals are only just starting to recover. By waiting, the Bank can see whether underlying momentum stabilises through winter before deciding whether to ease in the new year. For borrowers, it is a sign that while we are past the peak, the Bank is determined not to move faster than the data justifies.”
The Renters’ Rights Bill will bring the biggest shake-up to private renting in a generation after it received Royal Assent today.
The Bill, the first major legislation introduced in the private renting since the Housing Act 1988, passed through Parliament last week and now becomes law.
Ben Beadle, chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), said: “After years of debate and uncertainty, today marks an important milestone for the private rented sector. With the Renters’ Rights Act on the statute book, the sector needs certainty about the way forward.
“This is the most significant shake-up of the rental market in almost 40 years, and it is imperative that the new systems work for both tenants and responsible landlords. The NRLA stands ready to work with the government to ensure the reforms are implemented in a way that is fair, proportionate and deliverable.
“The government now needs to engage meaningfully with those providing the homes so desperately needed, to ensure implementation of the Bill is realistic and aligns with the practicalities of the market – not least the need for clarity well in advance of the next academic year for student housing.”
The housing minister Matthew Pennycook has not yet set out a timeline for when the reforms would take effect, despite pressure from shadow housing secretary James Cleverly to set out a schedule.
Beadle continued: “At a minimum, the sector needs six months’ notice before implementation to ensure a smooth and seamless transition, and the Government must provide certainty on this as soon as possible.
“The government must also recognise the vital importance of a thriving private rented sector not only to meet tenant demand but to the national economy. It is essential that the Government’s reforms do not worsen the supply crisis by discouraging long term investment in the homes to rent that so many rely on.
“As the changes bed in, the government should commit to ongoing monitoring of their impact and ensure its findings are published.”
Beverley Kennard, head of lettings operations at Knight Frank, commented, “With the Renters’ Rights Bill now granted Royal Assent, this marks a significant milestone in reforms that have been on the horizon for some time. While we await clarity on implementation – expected to take effect within the next six months – it’s worth remembering that the Bill is designed to tackle rogue practices, not penalise responsible landlords.
“Although the transition period may bring some adjustment, the core elements of the Bill remain largely the same: the abolition of Section 21, changes to notice periods, and a 12-month restriction on re-letting where a landlord has given notice to sell.
“It’s also important to view the Renters’ Rights Bill within the wider context of the market. Tax policy, energy efficiency requirements, and interest rates all continue to shape landlord confidence and investment decisions. We’ll be working closely with our landlords to help them understand the practical implications of these reforms, manage any perceived risks, and plan with confidence for the months ahead.
“For landlords, property remains a sound long-term investment. The fundamentals of the sector remain strong, and the keys to successfully letting a property are unchanged – thorough tenant referencing, good landlord-tenant relationships, professional management, and trusted advice. In short, this is not cause for alarm: with the right preparation and advice, the private rented sector will continue to be a stable and worthwhile place to invest.”
Morgan Vine, director of policy and influencing at Independent Age, is among those who welcomes the Renters’ Rights Bill gaining Royal Assent.
Vine said: “The rising number of older private renters, around a third of which are in poverty, desperately need a safe and secure home. Thankfully, today we are one step closer to this.
“For years, at Independent Age we have been calling for a better deal for older renters, and it’s good to see parliamentarians taking action. Many of the older private renters we have spoken to live in a constant state of anxiety, worried about eviction and asking their landlord for repairs. Now, we need to see swift implementation of the Bill, including the end of No Fault evictions and a limit to upfront payments.
“What the Bill won’t address, is the quality and affordability of rented homes. We need to see the UK Government commit to uprating Local Housing Allowance – the mechanism that decides how much Housing Benefit is paid – in the upcoming Budget, and every year in the future. With two-thirds of older private renters who receive Housing Benefit not getting enough to cover their rent, this is squeezing personal budgets to an unsustainable level. This must change.”
Catherine Williams, real estate partner at international law firm Addleshaw Goddard, has provided a summary on what the Act means for the sector:
Risk of rising rents
“I think there is a very real risk that these controls might end up pushing rents up for existing properties as supply continues to be restricted.”
Institutional landlords overlooked
“The Act overlooks the important distinction between individual private landlords and large-scale institutional operators. The Act’s changes to how rent reviews are implemented and challenged introduces uncertainty for institutional landlords, who rely on predictable annual rent increases to support long-term investment models. By limiting rent reviews and enabling tenant challenges which could drag on for months—many of which may be speculative or lack merit—the legislation disrupts financial planning for professionally managed rental portfolios and risks undermining the viability of much needed new BTR schemes during a housing crisis.”
Impact on professional investment
“These institutional landlords — such as pension funds, insurers and professional developers — are subject to rigorous compliance, sustainability and governance standards. They deliver well-managed, high-quality rental housing and play a vital role in addressing housing demand. Treating them the same as so-called cowboy landlords risks undermining investor confidence and penalising those contributing positively to the sector.”
Delivery targets at risk
“With this and the Building Safety Regulator delays, Steve Reed is going to be lucky to have 750,000 homes in this Parliament, let alone 1.5 million. The legislative programme simply does not facilitate the rhetoric of ‘backing the builders not the blockers.'”
Rent review provisions create systematic risk
“The transition to a mandatory statutory rent review process only (via Section 13) removes the ability for a Landlord to agree a regular index linked rent review. If a rent review is challenged, the inability of the First Tier Tribunal to increase rents beyond the landlord’s proposed amount introduces systemic risk, disrupting the financial models underpinning long-term institutional investment.”
Potential for legal challenge
“If signs of overload emerge and no corrective action is taken, it’s entirely reasonable to expect the legislation could face legal challenge.”
Restrictions on deposits and upfront payments
“Capping deposits and upfront rent payments is intended to enhance affordability but simultaneously reduces flexibility. Tenants who choose or need to pay rent in advance, often as a mitigating strategy against credit risk, may find their options constrained, ironically reducing housing accessibility.”
Support for tenant protections
“I support many of the measures aimed at protecting tenants; there’s no question that poor landlord practices have caused real harm — not just to individuals, but to the market itself, fuelling a distorted public perception of landlords and undermining trust in the sector.”
Call for balanced policy
“The Act assumes landlords are bad and tenants are good. But the private rented sector isn’t binary. There are as many good landlords dealing with problem tenants as rogue landlords abusing the system. If we keep legislating on that basis, we’ll drive out good landlords and further shrink supply — and that is bad news for renters and the housing crisis.”
Extending National Insurance to landlords’ rental income would hit individuals, comprising 81% of market.
That’s the warning from the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (IMLA) which says the move – suggested as a possible Budget policy to be announced next month – would have serious unintended consequences for smaller personal landlords operating in their own names.
The association says such a move would not apply to incorporated landlords, creating a two-tier system that would widen the gulf between individual and corporate property owners. For many smaller landlords, already squeezed by recent tax and regulatory changes, the impact could be devastating.
The proposal, floated as part of pre-Budget speculation, could push many landlords’ effective tax rates to unsustainable levels. IMLA’s research shows that 58% of higher-rate taxpayers letting properties in their own name would face total tax and NI bills exceeding their entire rental profit and would be paying more than 100% back to the Treasury.
Landlords have already been hit by the loss of mortgage interest relief, higher capital gains tax bills, a stamp duty surcharge and an increasingly demanding regulatory environment. Imposing NI on top could further reduce the number of buy-to-let properties, which has already fallen by more than 110,000 since 2022, and drive up rents as supply continues to contract.
IMLA’s analysis concludes that while extending NI to landlords might raise around £2.2 billion annually, the damage to rental supply, market confidence and tenant affordability would far outweigh the benefit.
At a time when the government is seeking growth and stability, IMLA argues that penalising smaller landlords risks undermining both, by reducing investment, shrinking housing choice and increasing upward pressure on rents.
Kate Davies, executive director of IMLA, says: “Extending National Insurance to landlords’ rental income may appear an easy way to raise money, but in practice it would hit exactly the wrong people. It would punish smaller, often part-time landlords who provide homes for more than four million UK households, while leaving larger incorporated operators untouched. That is both unfair and economically counterproductive.
“This would be a short-sighted and self-defeating move. Fewer rental homes mean higher rents, less mobility, and more pressure on public housing. At a time when the UK needs more investment in property, not less, this proposal risks driving it away.”
As MPs waved the Renters’ Rights Bill through Parliament this week, landlord compliance expert Des Taylor of Landlord Licensing & Defence has warned that the legislation is being mis-sold to the public as tenant protection when it is designed to increase local authority income and control over the private rented sector.
He said: “The Renters’ Rights Bill isn’t about protecting tenants – it’s about protecting council budgets.
“Behind the headlines of ‘fairness’ and ‘balance’ lies a different reality: More powers. More penalties. Longer voids. Less control.
“Landlords are being boxed in with restrictions that benefit only one group – and it’s not the renters. This Bill isn’t what they’re telling you.”
Taylor points to the abolition of Section 21 which will fundamentally change how landlords and tenants interact.
He says that with Section 21 evictions removed, landlords will be forced onto a much slower Section 8 process to regain possession.
That change, he argues, will push more landlords into lengthy legal battles while delaying property turnover for over a year in some cases.
He continued: “Landlords could be waiting 12 to 16 months to recover a property from a non-paying tenant.
“In that time, councils save money on emergency housing because tenants technically remain ‘housed’ – even if they’re months in arrears. It’s a cynical fix for a broken social housing system.”
Taylor points to another consequence hidden in plain sight: revenue generation.
He believes the Bill’s deeper purpose is to widen the enforcement net for local authorities, giving them broader discretion to levy civil penalties which rocket from £5,000 up to £25,000, for administrative mistakes and minor breaches.
Taylor commented: “Every new power comes with a price tag, and that price will be paid by landlords through fines and by tenants through higher rents.
“It’s being dressed up as tenant protection, but really it’s a mechanism for councils to collect income while claiming moral virtue.”
The Bill also risks increasing void periods and financial stress across the sector.
There will be longer possession timelines, more compliance demands and growing uncertainty over tenancy length which will make professional landlords think twice about investing further.
Taylor warns that this tightening web of regulation will have a ripple effect across the market.
He went on: “There will be less investment in local rental housing as smaller landlords exit, and the rising compliance costs will be passed on to tenants.
“There will also be worsening availability for vulnerable renters as councils rely on the PRS to plug social housing gaps.”
While the government insists the Bill will make renting fairer, Mr Taylor argues it will instead entrench inequality.
“Tenants in arrears may lose the most,” he said. “Once a landlord has to rely on Section 8, councils can claim the tenant made themselves intentionally homeless.
“That means no housing duty owed, no emergency accommodation and no help. It’s a quiet but devastating policy trick.”
Calling the Bill ‘politically driven’, Taylor urges agents, landlords and property professionals to stay vigilant.
He added: “This legislation changes the relationship between landlords, tenants and the state.
“We’re moving towards a system of revenue-focused enforcement, not fair regulation.
“Every landlord should read the fine print and prepare accordingly.”
