🎯 Property news to your desk

🏠 Property sourcer
📈 Investors call me before deploying capital into Durham & NE
🤝 Finders Fees paid

[🎯 Property news to your desk @accusourcing]

Google just named their £1bn London HQ ‘Platform 37’ and it's longer than The Shard is tall.

4,000 workers move in this summer.

When serious money plants a permanent flag in a location, the property market around it notices.

[Demis Hassabis @demishassabis]

And on the ground floor of Platform 37, we’ll be opening ‘The AI Exchange’ - a public space with exhibitions & events to help people learn about AI. Looking forward to hosting our first visitors later this year! Read more on our blog: https://t.co/94RmRPlUuz

[🎯 Property news to your desk @accusourcing]

Here's what it means for buyers and investors.

Sources:
- Mortgage Professional America
- Lloyds Banking Group (@LBGplc)
- ⁠Halifax House Price Index (@HalifaxBank)

[🎯 Property news to your desk @accusourcing]

Lloyds just launched a near-98% LTV mortgage requiring only a £5,000 deposit for first-time buyers on homes up to £300,000.

The average first-time buyer property in the North East is £143,928 making this one of the most relevant regions for this product in the entire UK.

[Emma Fildes @emmafildes]

In tandem with Lloyds’ new £5,000 deposit mortgage launch today, the lender highlighted the most affordable places in the UK for first time‑buyers. Guiding them onto the ladder, northwards. The top two spots were in Scotland, East Ayrshire coming in at number one, closely followed by Inverclyde. Generally, the most affordable don’t tend to be the most desirable for a good work/life balance, which is why they are, well…affordable. @LloydsBank

[🎯 Property news to your desk @accusourcing]

Here's what it means for buyers and investors.

Sources:
- Mortgage Professional America
- Lloyds Banking Group (@LBGplc)
- Halifax House Price Index (@HalifaxBank)

[🎯 Property news to your desk @accusourcing]

Lloyds just launched a near-98% LTV mortgage requiring only a £5,000 deposit for first-time buyers on homes up to £300,000.

The average first-time buyer property in the North East is £143,928 making this one of the most relevant regions for this product in the entire UK.

[HeWantsWealth 📈📊🏡💰 @hewantswealth]

Lloyds has launched a new first-time buyer mortgage needing just a £5,000 deposit 🏡

Key details:
- Up to 98% mortgage (borrow up to £295k)
- Max property price: £300k
- 5-year fixed rate at 5.89%
- No product fees
- Max borrowing: 4.5x salary
- Available to employed + self-employed

But there’s a catch:
- No gifts (“Bank of Mum & Dad” banned)
- No new builds
- No shared ownership
- Strict affordability + credit checks apply

Example:
£300k house = £5k deposit + £295k mortgage.

On the example of a £300,000 home with a £5,000 deposit:

Mortgage = £295,000
Rate = 5.89% fixed for 5 years
Assuming a 40-year term (the max allowed)

Estimated monthly repayment = ~£1,600/month.

If the mortgage term was shorter:

35 years = ~£1,740/month
30 years = ~£1,920/month

That’s before bills, insurance, council tax and maintenance costs.

Lloyds says it’s aimed at renters who can afford monthly payments but can’t save huge deposits. Basically, the majority of Millennials and GenZ!

[🎯 Property news to your desk @accusourcing]

Sources:
Paragon Bank
Housing Act 1988
Renters' Rights Act 2026

[🎯 Property news to your desk @accusourcing]

With Section 21 now being gone from 1st May 2026, here's exactly how Section 8 works under the Renters' Rights Act:
- Mandatory vs discretionary grounds
- ⁠New Form 3A
- ⁠Notice periods, and leaving an evidence trail

[Festus Akinbusoye @FestAKINBUSOYE]

I've just got a panicked message from a dear friend who's been served an eviction notice by their landlord. He wants to sell. They have three children, always paid rent on time. They even offered to pay more rent as they love the property, + never had issues with the landlord, but he's not interested. He told them to go to their MP (she's Labour)

This is a disaster. Are local authorities ready for what is coming as a result of this?

[🎯 Property news to your desk @accusourcing]

Medway Council just approved a £46 million deal to buy 791 homes from a social housing provider exiting the area.

Roughly £58,000 per property.

The dynamics driving it have major implications for private rental investors paying attention.

Sources:
@BBCNews
Medway Council

[BBC Kent @BBCRadioKent]

Medway Council has approved a £46m deal to buy nearly 800 homes for use as council properties, despite opposition concerns over the cost.

More here: https://t.co/viw5YBrYvg

[🎯 Property news to your desk @accusourcing]

Medway Council just approved a £46 million deal to buy 791 homes from a social housing provider exiting the area.

Roughly £58,000 per property.

The dynamics driving it have major implications for private rental investors paying attention.

Sources:
@BBCNews
Medway Council

[BBC Kent @BBCRadioKent]

Medway Council has approved a £46m deal to buy nearly 800 homes for use as council properties, despite opposition concerns over the cost.

More here: https://t.co/viw5YBrYvg

[🎯 Property news to your desk @accusourcing]

@CoreBalance1 @mhclg https://t.co/9LpOogOJ6i

[🎯 Property news to your desk @accusourcing]

Labour's leasehold reform could collapse after freeholders including Cadogan Estates secured the right to appeal the legislation at the Court of Appeal.

Here's what this legal challenge means for investors holding leasehold property right now.

[Norma Cohen @NormaCohen3]

The legal arrangement for flat occupiers in England and Wales isn’t ownership, as is the case around the world. Instead it’s the ancient law of leasehold where landowners have full control. Now that it’s more widely understood no one wants it. Labour vowed abolition. It hasn’t.

[🎯 Property news to your desk @accusourcing]

Sources:
Mortgage Introducer (@MortgageChat)
Moneyfacts

[🎯 Property news to your desk @accusourcing]

HSBC and Halifax just cut mortgage rates, the first meaningful sign of lender confidence returning after weeks of volatility.

But with the average two-year fix still at 5.89% and the Middle East situation unresolved, is this a turning point or a brief window?

[Michael Clapper @MichaelClapper]

HSBC, Halifax cut rates across key mortgage product ranges https://t.co/pdj5NSsnrQ

[🎯 Property news to your desk @accusourcing]

@NLC_2019 @cattwil @EOCS_Official @FloEshalomi @LKPleasehold @SharedOwnersNet Great insight. Thanks for sharing 🙌🏾

[🎯 Property news to your desk @accusourcing]

@NLC_2019 @cattwil @EOCS_Official @FloEshalomi @LKPleasehold @SharedOwnersNet Thanks for sharing. What have been your observations nationally?

[🎯 Property news to your desk @accusourcing]

Sources:
BBC News (@BBCNews)
Qatar Investment Authority
Canary Wharf Group
Tower Hamlets Council (@TowerHamletsNow)

[🎯 Property news to your desk @accusourcing]

The iconic HSBC tower in Canary Wharf is being converted into a hotel.

One of the most recognisable office buildings in Europe is pivoting to mixed-use as the district reinvents itself.

[Building News @BuildingNews]

Canary Wharf’s HSBC tower revamp takes step forward with plans to turn top levels into a hotel: KPF scheme will also include new promenade linking building to the Canary Wharf Elizabeth Line station https://t.co/pEzTxodHgl #construction #news

[🎯 Property news to your desk @accusourcing]

Sources:
Landlord Today
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (@mhclg)

[🎯 Property news to your desk @accusourcing]

Landlords in England face a £7,000 fine if they miss the 31st May 2026 deadline to provide tenants with the government’s official Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet.

Here’s exactly who it applies to, how to deliver it correctly, and what not to do.

[GB News @GBNEWS]

Renters' Rights Act explained as landlords now face fines up to £40,000

https://t.co/rQIdblK5cF