The journal
Property research, written from the deals desk.
Market analysis, policy changes and buyer guides, published four times a week. Built from the stock and transactions we see, with the data shown so you can check the working.
The journal
Every analysis we publish
41 articles · updated 11 Aug 2026
Making Tax Digital for Landlords: The Penalties Now
Making Tax Digital: the first deadline has passed and the penalty rules are narrower than they look. What late payment costs, and the falling thresholds.Read the analysisProperty Investment
Leasehold Flats Are Taking Longer to Sell: Underwrite a Longer Exit
Zoopla data shows 80.5% of leasehold flats listed in England were unsold after six months, 87% in London. What that does to entry pricing and exits.Read Investment FinancingThe buy to let stress test decides your remortgage, not the rate
The buy to let stress test, not the headline rate, decides your remortgage. The 5.5% floor, the 125% ratio, and why applications fail on rent.Read Property InvestmentAwaab’s Law will put a legal clock on damp in private rentals
Awaab's Law gives landlords fixed deadlines to fix damp and mould. The social sector timescales, and what is still undecided for private rentals.Read Property InvestmentLandlord tax changes in 2027 add two points to every band
From 6 April 2027 landlords pay 22, 42 and 47 per cent on rental profit. What the new rates cost, who is excluded, and whether a company helps.Read Property InvestmentRenters’ Rights Act Information Sheet: Landlord Duties
Landlords must give tenants the official Renters' Rights Act information sheet. What it is, when to serve it, and the cost of getting it wrong.Read Market InsightsRenters’ Rights Act Three Months On: What Rents Did
Three months after the Renters' Rights Act took effect, early data points to faster rent inflation on new lets. What it means for landlords and buyers.Read Investment StrategiesBest Places to Invest in UK Property in 2026
The best places to invest in UK property in 2026 on the published data. Where rents run high against price, and what a high gross yield is really pricing.Read Investment FinancingUnmortgageable Homes: What Cash Buyers Should Know
A lender puts 1.5m UK homes outside mainstream mortgage criteria. What makes a property unmortgageable, and how cash buyers price the discount.Read Property InvestmentUK house prices grew 1.8% in the year to July 2026
Nationwide put UK house price growth at 1.8% in the year to July 2026, average home £277,542. What a flat market means for property investors.Read Property InvestmentLandlords Selling Up in 2026: Lettings Held, Sales Fell
Foxtons and Connells both posted poor half year results. The numbers show the damage is in sales, not lettings, and that matters for buyers.Read Property Investment£2m Council Tax Surcharge: Owners Pay, Not Tenants
England’s proposed £2m council tax surcharge starts in April 2028. The consultation says owners pay, not tenants. What it means for landlords.Read Investment FinancingUK Interest Rates: What to Do Before September
The Bank held Bank Rate at 3.75% but three of nine members voted to raise it. What property investors should do before the 17 September decision.Read Investment StrategiesIs Buy to Let Worth It in 2026: The Honest Numbers
Record landlord exits and record rents are both true. The conflicting data, the arithmetic at 3.75% money, and who buy to let still works for in 2026.Read Investment FinancingCapital Gains Tax and Property: Law, Dates and Rumour
Capital gains tax talk is moving property to market. What is already law at 18% and 24%, what is dated for 2027 and 2028, and what is Budget rumour.Read Property InvestmentRent Controls in England: What Is Actually Proposed
Rent controls flared and cooled within days of the new government. What was said, what Scotland's cap really did to rents, and how buyers price it.Read Property InvestmentPossession After Section 21: What Owners Face Now
Section 21 is gone and the last claims are in. Ground 1A's four month notice, the 12 month shield and re-let ban, and why tenanted stock got cheaper.Read Investment StrategiesTrading Property Valuations: Profit, Not Turnover
Hotels, care homes and serviced blocks are valued on maintainable profit, not revenue. How the trading method works and the accounts to demand.Read Property InvestmentHMO Licences Do Not Transfer: What Buyers Must Do
An HMO licence dies at completion. Section 68, the day one application defence, the £40,000 penalty regime and the checks to run before you offer.Read Investment FinancingHMO Valuations: Bricks and Mortar or Commercial Basis
The same HMO can carry two valuations six figures apart. What moves a property to the commercial basis, and why BRRR refinances fail without it.Read Investment FinancingShare Sale or Asset Sale: Buying Property SPVs
A share sale buys the SPV at 0.5% stamp duty. An asset sale buys the buildings with SDLT. The six dwelling rule, latent gains and warranty cover.Read Property InvestmentBuying a Tenanted Property: The Handover Checklist
Tenanted purchases transfer the tenancy's whole history. Deposits, certificates, notices, the post section 21 exit and the PRS database duty, in order.Read Investment StrategiesHigh Yield Property: What the Gross Number Hides
Double digit gross yields on cheap terraces are real and misleading. The costs the listing leaves out, and the five minute net yield check to run.Read Investment StrategiesShort Lease Flats: Pricing a Lease Under 80 Years
Short lease discounts are arithmetic, not sentiment. The 80 year cliff, extension premiums, the two year rule change and what reform has not done yet.Read Property InvestmentThe Building Safety Act for Block Buyers
The Building Safety Act draws money lines at 11 metres, and qualifying status froze in 2022. The checks to run before buying a block of flats.Read Property InvestmentWhen Supported Accommodation Needs No HMO Licence
Schedule 14 of the Housing Act 2004 takes many supported housing buildings outside HMO licensing. The legal test, its limits and the proof to ask for.Read Property InvestmentSupported Living Leases: What the Covenant Is Worth
The lease is the asset in a supported living deal. How to read the term and breaks, check the provider at Companies House and CQC, and price the covenant.Read Property InvestmentShort-Term Lets: Registration and the New Planning Rules
England is introducing a register for short-term lets and a new planning use class. Councils could require permission. What it means for holiday lets.Read Property InvestmentRecord Rents as Rental Supply Falls First Time Since 2022
Asking rents hit new records in Q2 2026 while available rental homes fell 1% year on year. But competition per property is easing. What that means.Read Property InvestmentThe Decent Homes Standard Is Coming to Private Rentals
The Decent Homes Standard will apply to private rentals for the first time, targeted for 2035. It is a policy statement, not law yet. What it will require.Read Investment FinancingSection 24 and Why Landlords Buy Through Companies
Individual landlords get mortgage interest relief only at the basic rate. Companies deduct it in full. Why that gap drives how portfolios are structured.Read Property InvestmentCommonhold and the End of New Leasehold Flats
The draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill would cap ground rents, abolish forfeiture and ban new leasehold flats. It is a draft. Where it stands.Read Property InvestmentThe PRS Database arrives from late 2026 with the fee still unset
England's national landlord register rolls out from late 2026. What you must register, why no fee is set yet, and the £7,000 penalty for missing it.Read Property InvestmentEPC C by 2030: What Landlords Must Actually Do
Government has confirmed EPC C for landlords by 1 October 2030, capped at £10,000 a property. It is not law yet. What it means for investors.Read Property InvestmentWhy Yield Has to Carry the Return in a Flat Market
Nationwide reports annual house price growth slowed to 1.8% in July. With borrowing above 5%, income has to carry the return. What that means for buyers.Read Investment FinancingBank Rate Held at 3.75% but Mortgage Costs Keep Rising
The Bank of England held Bank Rate at 3.75% in July, yet average mortgage pricing has climbed to 5.59%. What the widening gap means for property investors.Read Property InvestmentLandlord Licensing Costs Rise as Courts Back Councils
Selective licensing fees are passing £1,000 per property and the High Court has upheld a council scheme. What rising licensing costs mean for investors.Read Property InvestmentSection 21 Deadline: What It Means for Property Buyers
The Section 21 transition ends on 31 July 2026. What the Renters' Rights Act means for investors buying tenanted property, plus the base rate hold.Read Investment FinancingArticle 4 directions and HMO investing: 2026 buyer’s guide
Article 4 directions decide whether you can create a small HMO at all. Not the licence, the planning. Buy a […]Read Investment StrategiesThe England Off-Market Property Report 2026: What the Data Actually Shows
There’s a parallel off-market property UK investors rarely see, running alongside the one on Rightmove and Zoopla. It’s bigger than […]Read Investment FinancingStamp Duty on Investment Property: What You Will Actually Pay
Stamp duty investment property 2026 costs have changed dramatically, if the last time you bought a buy-to-let was in 2022 […]ReadNothing published on that topic yet.
Meanwhile
The stock the research
is written from
HMOs, blocks, supported-living income, development sites. Every deal we publish carries the figures the analysis is built on.