Landlords could face penalties of up to 30% of unpaid tax after making ‘careless’ mistakes in their self-assessment returns, the Daily Telegraph reports. HMRC is seeking powers to decide whether an error should be treated as deliberate when a taxpayer fails to correct it. Current rules generally regard an inaccuracy as deliberate only where someone […]

Hello, I rent a house commercially to a private care company under the government-run SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) contract which began in Oct 2025. The monthly rent has always been weeks late after written prompts – June/July 2026 rent is unpaid to date. I’ve had no replies to messages from the tenant. He […]

Landlords face civil penalties of up to £7,000 where councils identify an initial Category 1 hazard, putting inspection records and repairs under closer scrutiny. Inventory Base estimates the private rented sector’s theoretical exposure could reach £3.53bn across England. Its calculation applies the maximum initial penalty to 504,808 privately rented dwellings estimated to contain at least […]

Only four in 10 English social landlords reported full compliance with required gas safety checks in 2025/26, compared with 56.9% a year earlier. Housemark’s early analysis of Tenant Satisfaction Measure (TSM) results put the latest figure at 41.7%. That’s despite an increase in the proportion of tenants who said their home was safe. The social […]

Landlords in one city could face a £1,050 selective licensing bill after the council opened a consultation. The council says that no selective licensing fee discounts are being offered – and neither is payment by direct debit or instalments. If the scheme is approved, all private landlords operating within the designated areas would need to […]

Landlords considering property purchases, refinancing or refurbishment face a fresh mix of lower rates, wider specialist criteria and one notable price rise. Paragon Bank has reduced its selected five-year fixed buy to let rates by 15 basis points for single self-contained properties, HMOs and multi-unit blocks. Its green mortgage range now starts at 4.95% for […]

A successful landlord may leave behind a property portfolio worth several million pounds, but that does not necessarily mean the family will be able to keep it. The estate may contain substantial equity while having very little accessible cash. Mortgage payments, repairs, insurance, letting costs and tenant issues will continue, while the executors may also […]

Thousands of landlords could face a rethink over how they handle tenant deposits if future reforms come into force. The government has hinted at axing insurance-backed deposit schemes, but the plans are not yet law. Now industry experts are warning landlords to understand their options and consider the risks before any changes are introduced. Two […]

Landlords will be able to manage insured and custodial tenancy deposits through one platform under a major overhaul of mydeposits administration. The firm is moving its insured-backed scheme onto Total Property; the system which is already being used for its custodial service. The move follows what it described as its largest investment in insured deposit […]

Landlords do not yet know whether they or their tenants would be responsible for paying the proposed High Value Council Tax Surcharge. Now Propertymark is calling for the liability rules to be clarified before the charge is introduced. It argues that the government has not fully considered the effect on landlords or the supply of […]

The government has claimed the Renters’ Rights Act cracks down on rental discrimination in the private rented sector. In a parliamentary written answer, housing minister Matthew Pennycook claimed the act addresses overt discriminatory practices. Under the Renters’ Rights Act, it is illegal for landlords and letting agents to discriminate against prospective tenants who receive benefits […]

London rental supply has dropped following the introduction of the Renters’ Rights Act, according to new data. Findings by SpareRoom reveal the priciest postcode area in the capital is west London, where average rents stand at £1,043 per month. The area also currently has the lowest supply of available rooms. However, the data shows a […]

One city council is claiming to have cracked down on tenancy fraud, which recovered 36 homes and stopped fraudulent housing claims to help save taxpayers nearly £5 million. Birmingham City Council said its tenancy fraud team made the savings during the past year by investigating illegal subletting, false social housing applications and fraudulent Right to […]

Renters are finding it harder than homeowners to charge electric vehicles at home due to installation costs and landlord restrictions, according to new research. Data from temporary car insurance provider Tempcover reveals that homeowners are far more likely to have access to home charging than renters. As previously reported by Property118, the government has said […]

With the summer holidays now in full swing, many landlords are finally getting the chance to take a step back and think about what comes next. The latest Property118 Landlord Sentiment Survey suggests many have already decided the direction they want to travel. More than two-thirds now expect to sell some or all of their […]

At first glance, the business considered by the Upper Tribunal in The Executors of Keith Denis Lewis Beresford v HMRC looked very different from an ordinary commercial letting operation. Four floors of a London office building were divided into serviced offices, customers received reception and telephone-answering support, offices could be reconfigured to suit their requirements, […]

Apparently, the Labour government can redesign the private rented sector, raise landlords’ taxes and remove a possession route used for decades without calculating what the whole package will cost. That is not policymaking, it is gambling, except ministers are playing with other people’s homes. Baroness Taylor of Stevenage has now admitted there was ‘no single […]

The government has claimed guidance on financial penalties for landlords is “more transparent”. The government announced will face on-the-spot fines of £7,000 for severe damp and mould, as well as for broken-down boilers during freezing temperatures. Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook claims the revised Housing Health and Safety System (HHSRS) will make it easier for councils […]

The government has confirmed that letting agents can support landlords in registering their properties on the PRS Database. Under the Renters’ Rights Act, all landlords will need to sign up for the database, which will include information about their properties that tenants can access. If a landlord lets or advertises a property without it first […]

Across two quarters, landlords have been asked what would tempt them to buy again. The answer has not budged. Ahead of falling interest rates, ahead of scrapping the Renters’ Rights Act, ahead of lower Stamp Duty, one lever sits at the top: reverse Section 24. When the Property118 Landlord Sentiment Survey asked landlords to rank […]

Record investment in build to rent (BTR) is failing to translate evenly into new homes, with regional schemes increasingly struggling to remain financially viable. Knight Frank says that just over 6,700 BTR homes have been completed so far in 2026. Nearly half were delivered in London and Tier 1 cities such as Manchester and Birmingham. […]