Scotland Awaab's Law Live: What BTL Landlords Must Do
Three things changed for Scottish private landlords on 6 October 2026. The damp investigation timeline is now enforceable.
Read articleLiverpool Article 4 HMO Crackdown: What Investors Must Know
Liverpool Cabinet votes on Tuesday October 13 on five new Article 4 Directions.
Read articleBuy-to-Let Inheritance Tax 2026: What Landlords Must Know
The nil-rate band has been frozen at £325,000 per person since 2009. The Chancellor confirmed in October 2025 that it stays frozen until April 2031.
Read articleBurnham's Your First Home: What 2.5% Deposits Mean for BTL
Andy Burnham announced the Your First Home scheme at Labour Party conference on 26 September. Two and a half percent deposit. A government equity loan of up to 20% of the property value, interest-free initially.
Read articleBuilding Safety Levy Starts Today: New Supply Hit Hard
The Building Safety Levy came into force this morning, 1 October 2026.
Read articleStamp Duty Blocks 100,000 Moves a Year. The Tax System Is Broken.
The Resolution Foundation published a housing tax report this week with a number I keep coming back to: stamp duty prevents around 100,000 home purchases every year. Not slows. Not discourages. Prevents.
Read article79% of UK Landlords Now on Rolling Tenancies: The Hidden Risk
New Lendlord data published this week shows 79% of UK landlords are now running rolling tenancies exclusively, four months on from the Renters' Rights Act abolishing fixed terms.
Read articleNRLA Forces HMO Licensing U-Turn: How to Challenge a Council Scheme
On 11 September 2026, Telford and Wrekin Council voted to revoke its own additional HMO licensing designation, effective four days later.
Read articleRRA Enforcement: The £40,000 Fine and What Council Officers Can Actually Do
Since 1 May 2026, the maximum civil financial penalty for relevant Housing Act offences has been £40,000. Four months in, I am still meeting landlords who think it is £30,000.
Read articleBTL Lenders Hike After BoE Hold: November Rate Risk Builds
The Bank of England voted on 17 September to hold the base rate at 3.75%. Six members of the Monetary Policy Committee voted to hold. Three voted to raise to 4%.
Read articleMillennials and Gen Z Will Own 62% of UK BTL Within a Decade
Research published this week by Rely puts hard numbers on something anyone who has spent time at property networking events over the last few years has already noticed. The BTL market is getting younger.
Read articleCGT and the October Budget: Should Landlords Sell Before 28 October?
The NRLA submitted its pre-Budget proposal on capital gains tax to Treasury this week, and the timing could not be more pointed. The October Budget lands on 28 October, six weeks away.
Read articleCommonhold Bill in Parliament: What BTL Flat Investors Must Act On
The Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill is entering Parliament this autumn.
Read articleBTL Company Boom Ends: First Decline in New Firms Since 2008
Hamptons published its September 2026 analysis of BTL company incorporation data this week.
Read articlePRS Database Confirmed: December 2026 Launch, £65 Annual Fee
On 9 September 2026 the government confirmed the Private Rented Sector Database launch date: 15 December 2026, starting in the West Midlands. The annual fee came in at £65 per property.
Read articleThe BTL Mortgage Turns 30: Three Decades of Lessons for UK Investors
The UK's first dedicated buy-to-let mortgage went on sale on September 24, 1996.
Read articleNPPF Station Zones: The Planning Signal BTL Investors Should Watch
Angela Rayner published the revised National Planning Policy Framework on 17 August 2026.
Read articleAutumn Budget 2026: 7 Weeks to Act on Confirmed Tax Changes
The Autumn Budget is confirmed for 28 October 2026. Seven weeks. Some of what it will contain is already in statute. Some of it is newspaper speculation.
Read article73% of Letting Agents Swamped by Renters Rights Act
Three in four lettings professionals report more admin since 1 May 2026. That is the finding from Propoly's September 2026 survey of 300 letting agency staff across England.
Read articleSection 8 Possession Now Takes 33.8 Weeks. It's Getting Worse.
The Ministry of Justice published Q1 2026 possession statistics in August. The headline median figure was 26.4 weeks from landlord claim to repossession.
Read article73% of Landlord Rent Increases Cut at Tribunal
LonRes analysed 200 First-tier Tribunal decisions on rent increases served under Section 13 of the Renters' Rights Act. The headline figure: 73% of those decisions came in below the rent the landlord had proposed.
Read articleTenanted Property Auctions Up 70%: The Landlord Exit Buying Window
Auction House UK has published data showing a 70% year-on-year jump in tenanted property listings sold at its weekly online auctions.
Read article45% of UK Buy-to-Let Is Now Company-Owned (Q3 2026)
Lendlord published its Q3 2026 landlord data this week. One figure stands out: 45.1% of UK buy-to-let property is now held through limited companies, against 54.9% held privately.
Read articleHMO Additional Licensing: 70+ Councils, £40k Fines, Smaller Properties Caught
Today, 25 August 2026, Telford & Wrekin Council's new additional HMO licensing scheme went live, covering shared properties occupied by just three or four people.
Read articleVAT on Electricity Falls to 0% in October. What HMO Landlords Need to Know.
On 21 July 2026, the Andy Burnham government announced that VAT on domestic electricity would fall from 5% to 0% from 1 October 2026. The reduction runs to 31 March 2027, making it a six-month measure for now.
Read articleBTL Mortgage Possessions Fell 22% in Q2. Arrears Down for the Eighth Quarter Running.
UK Finance published its Q2 2026 Mortgage Arrears and Possessions Update on August 13.
Read articleRenters Rights Act Is Pushing Rents Up, Not Down
The Renters' Rights Act came into force on 1 May 2026. Three and a half months later, Knight Frank is calling it largely counterproductive. Not because the security improvements for tenants are wrong in principle.
Read articleCounty Durham HMO Article 4: The 17 August Planning Rule Change
From 17 August 2026, converting a house anywhere in County Durham into a small HMO for three to six people requires planning permission.
Read articlePRS Landlord Database: What Every English Landlord Must Register Before Late 2026
Phase 2 of the Renters' Rights Act arrives this autumn and it applies to every private landlord in England. No minimum portfolio size. No geographic carve-out.
Read articleCladding Fund Opens for Sub-11m Buildings: What BTL Flat Investors Must Do Now
On 9 July 2026, the government announced something many flat investors have waited years to see.
Read articleWestminster HMO Additional Licensing: 31 August 2026 Deadline
Westminster City Council formally renewed its Additional HMO Licensing Scheme on 21 April 2026. The scheme takes effect on 31 August 2026, which is 28 days from today.
Read articleHMRC Claws Back £104m from Landlords in 2025-26 Tax Crackdown
HMRC published figures last week showing it recovered £104 million from UK landlords in 2025/26 through its Let Property Campaign, a voluntary disclosure scheme for undeclared rental income.
Read articleBTL Exodus Tops 850,000 Homes – But the Sell-off Rate Has Halved
TwentyEA's Q2 2026 Property and Homemover Report landed this week with a headline that generated predictable alarm: 850,000 homes have cumulatively left the buy-to-let sector. That number is real and it matters.
Read articleMTD Quarterly Deadline: UK Landlords Must File by 7 August 2026
HMRC has written to 864,000 sole traders and landlords with a message that most people have not yet acted on. The first Making Tax Digital quarterly update is due by 7 August 2026. That is thirteen days away.
Read articleBBC Panorama Rental Fraud: Protecting Your BTL Portfolio
BBC Panorama's 'There's a Gangster in My Flat' aired on BBC One on 20 July 2026. Three landlords. One came back to a flat that had been used as a drugs factory.
Read articleSection 8 Ground 1A: The 12-Month Re-Let Trap UK Landlords Miss
If you're a UK landlord planning to evict a tenant and sell, you need to read this. Because the rules just changed, and one clause in the new Section 8 regime can lock you out of letting that property for a full year.
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