For landlords · July 2026

Four things worth your attention as a landlord right now

You'll already know the Renters' Rights Act came into force on 1st May 2026. It's been on the way for the best part of a year, so you'll have seen it coming.

The Act is only one of four things worth your attention as a landlord this year, and they're easier to weigh up together than one at a time. In order, they are:

1. The Renters' Rights Act: a quick refresher on what's changed
2. Making Tax Digital: the other big change that landed in April
3. How you can still make good money as a landlord
4. If you'd rather step away: how to sell

1. The Renters' Rights Act: what's changed

You'll know the headline, so here's the short version of what it means day to day:

• No-fault evictions have gone. Section 21 has been scrapped, so to end a tenancy now you need a valid legal ground. Getting the process wrong can bring a council fine of up to £7,000, rising to £40,000 for repeat or serious breaches.
• Every tenancy is now rolling. Fixed terms have gone, so tenancies run month to month from the start.
• Rent can only be increased once a year, and bidding wars on rent are banned.
• The standards you're held to have risen, and there are real penalties for getting things wrong.

None of it makes being a landlord unworkable. It does mean the margin for error is smaller, which brings us to the other three points.

2. Making Tax Digital

Making Tax Digital began in April for anyone with property income above £50,000, which means keeping digital records and reporting to HMRC every quarter rather than filing once a year. On top of that, the capital gains tax-free allowance on a sale is now just £3,000, down from £12,300 two years ago, and the general cost of staying compliant keeps climbing. It's a lot to take on at once, and it's part of the reason an estimated 93,000 landlords sold up last year.

There's no need to panic over any of this. What it does call for is a clear decision, and there are two sound answers here: stay, or sell.

3. How you can still make good money as a landlord

Being a landlord still works. The margin for error is simply smaller now: the right grounds, a compliant tenancy, and the higher standards. Done properly, it's entirely manageable, and that's the part we can take off your hands.

For the tax side, where we collect the rent for you, on rent collection or management, we supply the account statements you or your accountant need for the digital records or to file your return.

4. If you'd rather step away: how to sell

If it has stopped being worth the effort, buyer demand is still there. The route we usually recommend is to sell with vacant possession. You serve four months' notice, and we market the property once the tenant has moved out. Access is easier, it presents better, and buyers aren't put off by the uncertainty of a tenant still in place.

Two things to plan for. Using the selling ground means you can't re-let for twelve months, so if the property doesn't sell, you could be left with it empty for a year. That's why a realistic asking price matters from the start. And viewings can be harder to arrange while a tenant is still living there.

So none of this should stop you selling. It just means starting with a clear plan on notice, timing and price, which is what we'll go through with you.

Whichever way you're leaning, you don't have to work it out on your own. We manage compliant lets and we sell for landlords, so we can help you make the right call for your situation, either way.