£40,000 fines to landlords? No thank you. We’ll help you sell in less than 3 months

Just one month from now, the Renters’ Rights Act will be in full force, Section 21 will be gone and civil penalties of up to £40,000 will be live.

It’s no surprise, therefore that according to the Property118 Landlord Sentiment Survey, 57% of landlords plan to sell or exit entirely within the next year.

For every one landlord planning to buy, more than eight are heading for the exit.

The fact of the matter is, the regulatory environment has changed. Enforcement has become sharper, faster, and more financially damaging. A missed compliance step that once drew a polite letter will now trigger a £7,000 fine, or up to £40,000 for repeated breaches, according to MHCLG guidance. Councils will have a legal duty to enforce, and a new law firm backed by a hefty amount of funding is reportedly getting ready to chase unpaid penalties on their behalf.

These risks go beyond what’s fair and reasonable. Something as simple as a small, accidental documentation error in any of our landlord paperwork can escalate into a penalty that wipes out a year’s rental income.

In the most serious cases, councils will now be able to apply for a banning order that prevents a landlord from letting any property at all.

The Renters Rights Act turned up the heat, but really, being a private landlord as a whole has run its course.

Research from Goodlord, surveying over 1,200 landlords, found almost one in four are actively selling. Only 4% are buying. In 2025, approximately 93,000 buy-to-let landlords left the market. With over three quarters now aged 56 or older, the exit pressure is only growing.

And before you think: “but I don’t want to rush into selling,” consider this, especially with tenants: if your Section 21s go out in April, it is going to be a lot better than a Section 8 in May. Put bluntly: it’s time to jump into action now, and we’ve only got 3 more weeks to do it.

This is where our incredible team at Landlord Sales Agency offer a critical service. Set up by landlords for landlords, we’re here to help anyone who wants to get out in the next 3 months and get cash in the bank. Working with over 30,000 active buyers, portfolio investors, and cash purchasers, many sellers receive serious offers within days. Our maximum average time to sell is just 28 days.

We work with motivated landlords who don’t want to wait anymore. We’ve helped over 4,000 landlords so far, and we’re helping the 80 more who are coming to us every week to sell.

With so many landlords approaching us to get started in the next 3 weeks we are now currently only taking on freehold houses in the North West and Midlands priced between £70,000 and £150,000.

The process is straightforward, confidential, and designed to protect the landlord’s financial position. Whatever the motivation, the logic is consistent. Selling before enforcement begins keeps control in the hands of the landlord, and crucially gets you the highest price possible before we enter into what’s clearly becoming increasingly uncertain economic and political times.

You can sell now, while the choice is still yours. Or you can hold on and risk the fines, the bans and the financial consequences.

Either way, it’s time to act.

So if you are a landlord who wants to explore a fast and safe exit, and your properties are freehold houses in the North West and Midlands priced between £70,000 and £150,000, contact us for a confidential discussion.

It may be the most important financial decision you make in the next decade.