First Court Date Secured for £1.5Bn Rightmove Lawsuit

Rightmove will head to court in November after an initial hearing was scheduled for a billion-pound lawsuit brought against the British market leader earlier this year.

The Competition Appeal Tribunal has set a hearing for 2 to 3 November 2026 in the £1.5 billion collective action against Rightmove, the first major procedural milestone in a flagship legal case that puts Rightmove's market leadership position under the microscope.

The hearing will determine whether the Tribunal grants a Collective Proceedings Order, certifying the claim and allowing it to advance to a full trial.

The action is led by Jeremy Newman, a former panel member at the Competition and Markets Authority. His claim alleges that Rightmove abused its dominant position in the online property portal market by charging excessive and unfair subscription fees to estate agents and new home developers between 1 April 2020 and 1 April 2026. The action is fully funded by litigation specialist Innsworth Capital and run by Scott+Scott UK, a firm that has acted in several other high-profile competition class actions before the Tribunal.

The lawsuit also accuses Rightmove of exclusionary conduct that prevented rivals from competing on a level footing. Damages are pegged at roughly £1.5 billion, a figure underpinned by Rightmove's operating margin of close to 70%, among the highest in the FTSE 100.

Rightmove now has until 29 July to file its response to the claim.

The case puts a precise legal price tag on a longstanding gripe between agencies and Rightmove, the driver of the majority of leads to their businesses. The portal accounts for more than 80% of consumer time spent on UK property portals, a position rivals have struggled to dent.

The legal escalation comes against a backdrop of growing industry pressure. A 2025 petition calling for a CMA investigation into Rightmove's market power gathered thousands of signatures, and OnTheMarket revived its agent-led Resistance Tour in January 2026 to capitalise on the unrest.

Rightmove has so far defended its pricing on the basis of the audience and lead volume it delivers. A Collective Proceedings Order in November would open the door to a substantive trial in 2027, putting Rightmove's pricing power under judicial scrutiny for the first time.

Estate agents and new home developers that paid fees to Rightmove during the relevant period can register their interest at rightmovefeesclaim.com.