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Judicial-review reform targets major housing schemes as leasehold transparency and council reorganisation advance

Week ending 16 July 2026 · published 16 July 2026

Policy moves shape the week

A six-week consultation launched on 16 July proposed extending judicial-review reforms beyond Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects to major housing, transport and energy developments. The Ministry of Justice and MHCLG said the measures could limit repeated unsuccessful claims and provide clearer court timetables while preserving access to justice. The announcement said 42 major infrastructure decisions had been made by this stage of the Parliament and that an estimated 392,400 homes had been delivered by 14 June, more than a quarter of the Government's 1.5 million-home target.

Leasehold reform also moved forward. Measures under the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 were confirmed for introduction from 2027, including annual reports on building condition and planned major works, a standard service-charge demand form, access to six years of building and maintenance invoices, and stronger protection against landlords passing legal bills to leaseholders.

On 16 July, ministers added 14 areas to local-government reorganisation plans, taking the overall programme to 134 councils being streamlined into 38 unitary authorities. Gloucestershire will move from seven councils to one, while Derby and Derbyshire will move from ten councils to two.

House-price measures remain mixed

No fresh house-price index was released during the week. The Lloyds House Price Index — renamed from the Halifax House Price Index in July 2026 — recorded in its 7 July release that UK prices rose 0.2 per cent month-on-month in June to an average of 299,330 pounds, with annual growth edging up to 0.6 per cent. Nationwide's June index, published on 1 July, recorded UK annual growth of 2.2 per cent, with Northern Ireland up 8.6 per cent and the Outer South East up 0.1 per cent. Rightmove's June asking-price index showed 376,191 pounds, down 0.6 per cent month-on-month and 0.5 per cent year-on-year. The ONS UK House Price Index for April reported an average of 270,000 pounds and annual growth of 3.8 per cent, although the ONS result was inflated by the low April 2025 comparison after the stamp duty changes. These measures are not directly interchangeable: Rightmove records asking prices, lender indices use mortgage-approval data, and the ONS series uses completed transactions. The next Rightmove release is scheduled for 20 July and the next ONS UK House Price Index for 22 July.

Mortgages, Bank Rate and household costs

Bank Rate remained at 3.75 per cent after the Bank of England's 18 June Monetary Policy Committee decision, which was split 7-2 in favour of holding. The next decision was scheduled for 30 July. Rightmove's mortgage tracker recorded an average two-year fixed rate of 5.07 per cent in June, down from 5.18 per cent in May.

The household-cost picture remained mixed. CPI inflation was 2.8 per cent in May, above the Bank's 2.0 per cent target, while Ofgem's price cap for July to September rose to 1,862 pounds, an increase of 221 pounds or 13.5 per cent.

Rents, supply and first-time buyers

The ONS Price Index of Private Rents recorded an average UK monthly private rent of 1,383 pounds in the 12 months to May 2026, up 3.3 per cent year-on-year. England averaged 1,442 pounds, Wales 836 pounds and Scotland 1,009 pounds, where annual growth was 1.0 per cent, the lowest in almost a decade.

Rightmove reported that available homes for sale remained at the highest level for the time of year on its records, while almost a third of existing listings were seeing price reductions. For first-time buyers, the Lloyds index recorded annual growth of 0.8 per cent in June, up from 0.3 per cent in May, with the average first-time-buyer property at 240,433 pounds. Rightmove put the typical first-time-buyer property at 228,048 pounds, down 0.7 per cent year-on-year, with sales down 4 per cent from a year earlier.

Sources

We report what the data shows — no forecasts, no investment advice. For local detail, see house prices by area and the monthly market report.