United Kingdom: Landlord and tenant laws

The amount of control the landlord has over his property, measured on a five-point rating scale:

• Strongly Pro-landlord = 2
• Pro-landlord = 1
• Neutral = 0
• Pro-tenant = -1
• Strongly Pro-tenant= -2

We look at factors such as the following:

• Can rents be freely agreed between landlord and tenant?
• Can the landlord collect security and rental deposits, and are the amounts limited?
• Must contracts be for specified periods? Can either landlord or tenant terminate early, and what are the penalties for early termination? Does the tenant have a right to extend?
• Does the court system work? How long can it take to evict a tenant for non-payment of rent?

For fuller details see the Data FAQ. The resulting rating is the Global Property Guide's view, and not necessarily that of the contributing law firm (in cases where we have asked law firms for contributions and input).

Source: Global Property Guide Research, Contributing Law Firms

The United Kingdom (UK) has among the best housing statistics in the world. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is the source of official house price time-series, with annual, quarterly and monthly data available stretching back for aeons. Nationwide, Hometrack, the Halifax, and many other commercial organizations also publish quality UK house price time-series, annual, quarterly, and monthly.

The rents situation is much less good, the only figures being from the Association of Registered Letting Agents (ARLA).