How to become a landlord in the UK: buy, refurbish, rent, repeat (BTL, HMOs, holiday lets)

Becoming a landlord gives you the opportunity to generate passive income now and build up your long-term wealth. Once you own your first property, save the rental yield to build up your cash reserves. Combine those with rising equity in the property to fund your next purchase. That cycle of income and value growth compounds over time into lasting financial independence. This successful, predictable and repeatable pattern is why most callers’ first question is about how to become a landlord.

The FTSE has grown slowly in the last 20 years and it’s not producing the returns people want to fund the lifestyle or retirement they want. As a result, the private rented sector more than doubled from 2.1 million to 4.4 million households between 1996–2019 in England thanks to its superior returns.

In this article, HMO Architects explains how you can become a landlord and achieve financial independence in a decade. The advice in this article comes from:

• Ryan Windsor: Development Director Ryan has worked on over 2,200 development projects throughout his career. He started building his own extensive property portfolio when he was 17.
• Giovanni Patania: Architect Director Giovanni balances aesthetic excellence with value engineering. That means the work he does for clients looks great, complies with regulations and stays within budget.

What types of property can you invest in?

There are three main types of property investment: buy-to-lets, holiday lets and houses in multiple occupation (HMO). Each is suitable for a new developer.

Let’s compare them. We’re using these assumptions:

• Each property costs £250,000
• Light refurb work at £10,000 which you have the cash upfront for
• You have a deposit ready and can pay for Stamp Duty Land Tax from your own money
• Assume you don’t need planning permission

Here’s how they stack up:

Some caveats: There is a lot of competition to service landlords. We’ve used mid-point ranges based on available statistics and our clients’ experiences to estimate management and other fees. Shop around and you could significantly increase your profitability.

Choosing the right properties for your portfolio

HMOs have much higher yields than buy-to-lets and holiday cottages, on average. That would seem to make it the obvious choice for a landlord. But property development is not straightforward and yield isn’t everything.

The type of property you choose presents different challenges and rewards:

Property type selection ready reckoner

When we start working with a would-be landlord, we try to find the best property and project fit for them. We consider budget, time and personality. Here’s a guide to show which property type matches different landlord goals and situations.

Picking the right type of property is a big decision. Choose the wrong type of project for yourself and you’ll not enjoy it. Choose the wrong property for your target audience and it will drain your time and cash. You’ll also find it much harder to scale from one to two properties and beyond.

Our best advice for new landlords is to build a great team around you. Yes, it will cost you money but you’ll make far more than that back in the medium-to-long term. Their involvement reduces how likely it is you’ll make a bad investment plus speed up the growth of a portfolio. Throughout this article, we let you know which team members you should choose, from brokers to builders.

HMO Architects note: Rent to rent HMO is great for landlords who want to scale but lack the cash to build their own portfolio. 

From start to finish: a 9-step blueprint for a successful landlord

Here is our nine-step guide for investors that want to start and build their own portfolio.

1. Choose your audience

Decide on a target market for each property. For example, the right tenant for you could be students, medics, families, contract workers or professionals. Each has their own advantages and disadvantages.

For example, students sign 12-month lease contracts and parents often act as guarantors. Voids are rare and you’ve got a fallback if a tenant doesn’t pay. But students pay less and can be messy so expect busy changeovers and frequent furniture purchasing.

Contract workers only stay for one-to-three-months at the most, in general. While that would normally be a bad thing, there is a constant stream of supply. Select a property near business parks, city centres and good transport links to appeal to this market. Build up a good reputation and employers may even book and pay for their own staff directly.

2. Decide on a budget

Next, how much do you have to spend? There are a few things you need to budget for like:

• A deposit (lenders insist on this)
• A build budget (to get the property up to the specs potential tenants want)
• A contingency (budget 10% of the property price to cover costs for overspends and overruns)
• Fees (budget 7-8% for finance costs, agent fees, legal fees and other professional fees)

Most importantly, you need to decide on the amount you want to make.

3. Find a broker

Finance brokers help landlords find lenders to fund their projects. You should make contact with one as soon as possible so when you find the right property, you’re ready to move.

Loans if you don’t need renovation funding

Your broker will arrange one of these types of mortgage for you:

• Buy-to-let mortgage: Best if you can buy the property outright and fund light renovations yourself. Standard residential mortgages are not suitable. Buy to let mortgage lenders require a 25% to 35% deposit for those types of mortgage.
• Holiday cottage mortgage: As above.

They will work out how much your monthly mortgage repayments are, based on current mortgage interest rates. Lenders will want to see that you can charge 125-145% of your monthly payment. So, if you repay £500 a month on your mortgage, they’ll want evidence you can rent it out for £625-725 a month.

[Related article: HMO Mortgage Guide: How to fund your HMO]

Loans if you need renovation funding

If you need to renovate or overhaul the property before renting, your broker will arrange:

• A light refurbishment bridging loan: For minor jobs like new carpets and floors, updating fixtures and fittings and so on
• A heavy refurbishment bridging loan: For major work like kitchen and bathroom refits, electrical rewiring and so on

For bridging loans, you’ll need a 35%+ deposit for buying the property. The lender will finance up to 100% of the build.

Development finance is for new build projects, change of use projects, major conversions and so on. For that, the lender will advance you 70% of the value of the property once you’ve completed the project. Or they may also lend 90% of the land/property and build costs. If they provide both options, they offer you the lesser of the two. [Related articles: What you must know before converting a house into flats: The pros, the cons and the hows (is planning permission necessary?) and HMO Conversion Guide – How To Turn Any Property Into An HMO]

Three important things to know about bridging loans and development finance are:

• No monthly repayments: You repay the loan and interest in full at the end of the loan. You make no monthly repayments.
• Exit strategy: The lender needs to know how you’ll repay the loan. In most cases, your broker arranges buy-to-let or holiday cottage mortgages. The funds from that settle the bridging or development loan.
• Staged drawdowns: You don’t get all the build costs at once. You get the original tranche when you purchase the property. The remaining tranches come to you at milestones in the job. An inspector will visit the site to confirm you have reached the milestone. If they’re happy with your work, they instruct the lender to release the next tranche.

Get ready to buy

Ask your broker to set up an Agreement in Principle (AIP) for you. An AIP is a letter that confirms how much a finance company will lend and on what terms. It’s proof to the person you buy your property from that you’re serious.

4. Find a property

Now it’s time to find the property you’ll be renting out.

Shortlist areas your prospective tenants will want to live in. Look for reasons for and reasons against particular streets. Sometimes, being on the other side of the road can negatively impact you. 

Ask your estate agent how much rent you can expect on that particular street. Look at what other local landlords are charging for similar properties. If a street or area can’t deliver the monthly rent you need, move onto another area.

Check with the local council on any potential restrictions. That includes Article 4 Directions, conservation areas or conditions that remove permitted development rights. This is particularly important for C3 to C4 HMO conversions because it could tie up a relatively simple conversion project in planning red tape. C3 properties are normal dwellinghouses and C4s are small HMOs with three to six people.

If you’re interested in a leasehold property, check the lease for any bans on letting.

Take your architect or builder with you on each viewing. Discuss with them on site the improvements that need making and get a rough estimate.

Don’t bid on any property where the amount you spend on the project breaks the ceiling limit. The ceiling limit is the maximum amount a type of property will sell for in a given area. 

The quickest way to work this out is add together the cost of the property, build costs, contingency, professional fees and your target profit. If they come to more than your ceiling limit, walk away.

On each property of interest, get a quick desktop valuation from your broker. This will tell you if a lender thinks property in a local market is worth as much as the seller. If they don’t, move onto the next property.

5. Securing your property

You now have a shortlist of likely properties. Try to get each seller to drop the price as much as you can. Use estimates to show how much work you need to do and how much it costs. Prove you’re a serious buyer by showing the AIP your broker gave you.

When you have a deal, get in touch with your broker to start the full finance application process moving. Contact your solicitor to run searches and commission a RICS home survey to check for any hidden surprises.

Make any offer conditional on satisfactory survey results and legal searches. Set a target date for exchange of contracts and take out buildings insurance to run from the day of expected completion.

6. Project design and build

This section really only applies if you plan to make major changes to the property.

• Define your project scope: Agree with your architect the cosmetic improvements you want to make, like new fixtures, fittings and furnishings. Decide if you’ll let the property furnished. In many towns, a smart furnished property lets faster. Decide on building improvements like a new boiler, fire escape doors and ventilation. If you change the structure to your property, ask your architect to get an engineer in. They check the load-bearing capacity and confirm the works meet Building Regulations.
• Quote and scheduling: Get quotes in for the work from two or three builders. Tell them you’ll pay by milestone and expect the job to start and finish on the dates you specify. For gas appliances, make sure your builder subcontracts a Gas Safe registered engineer. Decide what work is going to take place on site week by week.
• Check approvals: When the plans are complete, check whether your project needs Building Regulations approval. This is work that affects structure, fire safety, electrics, drainage, windows, doors or insulation. It also applies to any material change of use in a building.
• Building Control note: Pure like-for-like cosmetics (paint, same-spec kitchen doors) with no structural changes and no notifiable electrics or gas may not require Building Control. Conversions to HMO usually count as a material change of use, so Building Control will be involved. Notifiable electrical work must meet Part P (use a registered electrician or notify the council).
• Choose the route: If you do require their involvement, you can send in Full Plans where Building Control checks your drawings upfront. This reduces the risk of onsite surprises. Choose a Building Notice if the work is smaller scale and you want faster approval without having to submit detailed plans. Before you start, notify Building Control and they’ll give you dates for key inspections. Inspections are by your local authority or a Registered Building Control Approver (RBCA).
• Set delivery roles: If you’ve got no experience in running a building site, appoint a project manager or architect. They’ll oversee the programme and handle contractors.
• Run weekly control: You’ll have weekly meetings with your manager to monitor progress. Make sure you only pay builders once you have approved the work. Test electrics and alarms at the right time so you don’t rip out finished work later.
• Close out and evidence: At project sign-off, build a compliance pack. It should contain the final drawings and the Building Control completion certificate. Also included are Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) and Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR). You should also retain your gas certificate, warranties, manuals and a photo record.

7. Letting your property

With the property complete, you’re now ready to start renting.

Before you start advertising your property, get the basic in place:

• Tenancy agreements: Most landlords choose assured shorthold tenancies for their tenancy agreement. You can choose a fixed term tenancy that runs for a set period but you lose flexibility if you or your tenant want to end it early.
• Deposits: Take the tenant’s deposit and put it in a deposit protection scheme. It’s your legal responsibility to do this within 30 days. (Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own deposit schemes.)
• Tenant checks: It’s a good idea to reference tenants for ID and affordability. You can run a rent check or speak to their previous landlords.
• Getting paid: Set up a standing order or Direct Debit. This means tenants pay rent automatically at the same point of every month.
• Agency fees: Get quotes on letting agent fees if you don’t want to manage tenants yourself. Ask them for a full list of the services they provide so you know what you’re paying for.
• Insurance: Take out a landlord insurance policy to protect you against damage, liability or rent arrears. For furnished property, you can also buy contents insurance.

When you have tenants in your property, stay compliant and organised:

• Evidence: Reduce the risk of tenant disputes and legal action. Keep copies of tenancy agreements, rent checks, inspection reports and communications.
• Responsiveness: Replace domestic items when they break or become unsafe.
• Deposit paybacks: When a tenant moves in, take photos of the room and its condition. Record these details in the deposit protection scheme. When they move out, take photos again to discover any changes in condition. This will help you justify keeping back part of their deposit for damage, cleaning or unpaid rent.

8. Paying taxes

If you rent out your property and make profit, you have to pay tax on it. But, uniquely to property ownership, you make a profit while at the same time making a cash loss. It’s always best to work with an accountant on your Self Assessment tax return.

You’ll owe income tax on how much profit you made on renting (past the Personal Allowance). There are tax deductible allowable expenses you can use to reduce your profitability. Ask your accountant early how much tax you owe so when the time comes to pay tax, you’ve already set aside the right amount.

If you sell your property, Capital Gains Tax (CGT) will be payable on the profit. However, there is a form of tax relief on CGT in the form of the Capital Gains Tax allowance. This lets you earn a set amount of gain each year before any CGT is due.

9. Using property to build a property empire

You can use the rental properties you own to buy even more rental properties. Here are three of our top tips on how to get your equity and rental yield working (x):

• Add value then recycle: Buy a property below its potential, fix it up, and then get the lender to revalue it. You can then remortgage the property to extract cash out of your property and buy another one.
• Adapt to lenders’ rules: Once you have four or more properties, lenders treat you as a portfolio landlord. When you apply for finance, they check everything. That includes your properties, ongoing loans and income, not just the property you want to buy. Keep spare cash and make good margins on your rental income to pass lender stress tests.
• Use one playbook: Pick a single model (like 4–5 bed HMOs or simple BTLs) and stick to one council area. With every new property, you can use the same layouts, finishes, cleaners and tradesmen. Using one letting agent keeps management simpler and cuts down on duplicated costs. [Related article: Why You Need HMO Management and How to Do It Right]

HMO Architects: partners to new and experienced landlords

Investing in property makes sense. Although full mortgage interest deduction ended for individuals in 2020 and is now a 20% tax credit, CGT on property disposals has dropped from 28% to 24%. You can claim replacement of domestic items relief to cut the cost of new furniture, appliances, carpets or curtains. Private rents are going up, well ahead of inflation. While property is not easy, the numbers add up. With our BRRR model (buy, refurbish, rent, repeat), you can build serious wealth as a landlord over time.

Here are some recent success stories showing how HMO Architects has helped landlords start and build their portfolios:

• Grange Road, London (4 units): We turned a terraced house into a compliant, accessible 4-bed HMO by widening corridors, adjusting doorways and adding a rear ramp.The value of the property rose from £85,000 to £260,000 and the rental income from £350pcm to £2,500.
• High Street, Cambridge (2 units): We converted a semi-detached cottage into a high-performing Airbnb with a vibrant interior scheme and full Building Control compliance. The client asked us to design the property so that they could switch it to an HMO easily if that became the better rental option. Property value rose from £550,000 to £900,000 and the rental income from £1,800pcm to £3,800.
• Furtherwick, London (6 units): We designed an airspace scheme above a High Street retail unit to create six lettable flats. By resolving rights-to-light with green-roof zones and an inner courtyard, and adding a communal roof terrace, we delivered high-appeal rental homes in a constrained urban plot. The value of the building increased to £2.9m from its initial £850,000.

We help new and experienced landlords start and grow their portfolio with our range of services:

• Investment advice from Ryan Windsor: Get personal advice on becoming a landlord from Ryan. Ask him about our portfolio building service and joint venture opportunities.
• Feasibility study from Giovanni Patania: Pre-buy and design renovation options reviews £197+VAT. Full bespoke reports are also available.
• Planning permission experts: Planning permission gained for our clients across 200 councils. [Related article: HMO Planning Permission in 2024 (How To Get Approved Faster)]
• Interior design and exterior planning: Investment-led architects who balance design with tenant appeal and yield maximisation.
• On-site management: We can act as your Building Regulations Principal Designer (where required) to keep your project on track and compliant.

View our range of development finance case studies to see how we’ve helped clients turn their ideas into sound investments. Read customer stories on HMO, flat, holiday let and housing projects.

Call our experienced team on 01223 776 997 or email us.

Frequently asked questions

H3: What are my core legal duties before and during a let?

You must meet your landlord responsibilities and wider legal obligations like keeping the property fit for human habitation (safe, warm, dry). This includes providing an annual gas safety certificate (after a check by a qualified engineer) and fitting a carbon monoxide alarm where required.

How do house prices affect my plan?

House prices set your deposit size and borrowing, and cap future valuations. Sense-check yield at today’s price, not yesterday’s. Don’t overpay for “done” work twice. Make sure rent covers costs with a buffer so your numbers still work if values move.

When is the tax year and what should I do about it?

The tax year runs 6 April to 5 April. Track rent and costs monthly, keep receipts, and file on time. Set money aside through the year so your bill never hurts.Becoming a landlord gives you the opportunity to generate passive income now and build up your long-term wealth. Once you own your first property, save the rental yield to build up your cash reserves. Combine those with rising equity in the property to fund your next purchase. That cycle of income and value growth compounds over time into lasting financial independence. This successful, predictable and repeatable pattern is why most callers’ first question is about how to become a landlord.

The FTSE has grown slowly in the last 20 years and it’s not producing the returns people want to fund the lifestyle or retirement they want. As a result, the private rented sector more than doubled from 2.1 million to 4.4 million households between 1996–2019 in England thanks to its superior returns.

In this article, HMO Architects explains how you can become a landlord and achieve financial independence in a decade. The advice in this article comes from:

• Ryan Windsor: Development Director Ryan has worked on over 2,200 development projects throughout his career. He started building his own extensive property portfolio when he was 17.
• Giovanni Patania: Architect Director Giovanni balances aesthetic excellence with value engineering. That means the work he does for clients looks great, complies with regulations and stays within budget.

What types of property can you invest in?

There are three main types of property investment: buy-to-lets, holiday lets and houses in multiple occupation (HMO). Each is suitable for a new developer.

Let’s compare them. We’re using these assumptions:

• Each property costs £250,000
• Light refurb work at £10,000 which you have the cash upfront for
• You have a deposit ready and can pay for Stamp Duty Land Tax from your own money
• Assume you don’t need planning permission

Here’s how they stack up:

Some caveats: There is a lot of competition to service landlords. We’ve used mid-point ranges based on available statistics and our clients’ experiences to estimate management and other fees. Shop around and you could significantly increase your profitability.

Choosing the right properties for your portfolio

HMOs have much higher yields than buy-to-lets and holiday cottages, on average. That would seem to make it the obvious choice for a landlord. But property development is not straightforward and yield isn’t everything.

The type of property you choose presents different challenges and rewards:

Property type selection ready reckoner

When we start working with a would-be landlord, we try to find the best property and project fit for them. We consider budget, time and personality. Here’s a guide to show which property type matches different landlord goals and situations.

Picking the right type of property is a big decision. Choose the wrong type of project for yourself and you’ll not enjoy it. Choose the wrong property for your target audience and it will drain your time and cash. You’ll also find it much harder to scale from one to two properties and beyond.

Our best advice for new landlords is to build a great team around you. Yes, it will cost you money but you’ll make far more than that back in the medium-to-long term. Their involvement reduces how likely it is you’ll make a bad investment plus speed up the growth of a portfolio. Throughout this article, we let you know which team members you should choose, from brokers to builders.

HMO Architects note: Rent to rent HMO is great for landlords who want to scale but lack the cash to build their own portfolio. 

From start to finish: a 9-step blueprint for a successful landlord

Here is our nine-step guide for investors that want to start and build their own portfolio.

1. Choose your audience

Decide on a target market for each property. For example, the right tenant for you could be students, medics, families, contract workers or professionals. Each has their own advantages and disadvantages.

For example, students sign 12-month lease contracts and parents often act as guarantors. Voids are rare and you’ve got a fallback if a tenant doesn’t pay. But students pay less and can be messy so expect busy changeovers and frequent furniture purchasing.

Contract workers only stay for one-to-three-months at the most, in general. While that would normally be a bad thing, there is a constant stream of supply. Select a property near business parks, city centres and good transport links to appeal to this market. Build up a good reputation and employers may even book and pay for their own staff directly.

2. Decide on a budget

Next, how much do you have to spend? There are a few things you need to budget for like:

• A deposit (lenders insist on this)
• A build budget (to get the property up to the specs potential tenants want)
• A contingency (budget 10% of the property price to cover costs for overspends and overruns)
• Fees (budget 7-8% for finance costs, agent fees, legal fees and other professional fees)

Most importantly, you need to decide on the amount you want to make.

3. Find a broker

Finance brokers help landlords find lenders to fund their projects. You should make contact with one as soon as possible so when you find the right property, you’re ready to move.

Loans if you don’t need renovation funding

Your broker will arrange one of these types of mortgage for you:

• Buy-to-let mortgage: Best if you can buy the property outright and fund light renovations yourself. Standard residential mortgages are not suitable. Buy to let mortgage lenders require a 25% to 35% deposit for those types of mortgage.
• Holiday cottage mortgage: As above.

They will work out how much your monthly mortgage repayments are, based on current mortgage interest rates. Lenders will want to see that you can charge 125-145% of your monthly payment. So, if you repay £500 a month on your mortgage, they’ll want evidence you can rent it out for £625-725 a month.

[Related article: HMO Mortgage Guide: How to fund your HMO]

Loans if you need renovation funding

If you need to renovate or overhaul the property before renting, your broker will arrange:

• A light refurbishment bridging loan: For minor jobs like new carpets and floors, updating fixtures and fittings and so on
• A heavy refurbishment bridging loan: For major work like kitchen and bathroom refits, electrical rewiring and so on

For bridging loans, you’ll need a 35%+ deposit for buying the property. The lender will finance up to 100% of the build.

Development finance is for new build projects, change of use projects, major conversions and so on. For that, the lender will advance you 70% of the value of the property once you’ve completed the project. Or they may also lend 90% of the land/property and build costs. If they provide both options, they offer you the lesser of the two. [Related articles: What you must know before converting a house into flats: The pros, the cons and the hows (is planning permission necessary?) and HMO Conversion Guide – How To Turn Any Property Into An HMO]

Three important things to know about bridging loans and development finance are:

• No monthly repayments: You repay the loan and interest in full at the end of the loan. You make no monthly repayments.
• Exit strategy: The lender needs to know how you’ll repay the loan. In most cases, your broker arranges buy-to-let or holiday cottage mortgages. The funds from that settle the bridging or development loan.
• Staged drawdowns: You don’t get all the build costs at once. You get the original tranche when you purchase the property. The remaining tranches come to you at milestones in the job. An inspector will visit the site to confirm you have reached the milestone. If they’re happy with your work, they instruct the lender to release the next tranche.

Get ready to buy

Ask your broker to set up an Agreement in Principle (AIP) for you. An AIP is a letter that confirms how much a finance company will lend and on what terms. It’s proof to the person you buy your property from that you’re serious.

4. Find a property

Now it’s time to find the property you’ll be renting out.

Shortlist areas your prospective tenants will want to live in. Look for reasons for and reasons against particular streets. Sometimes, being on the other side of the road can negatively impact you. 

Ask your estate agent how much rent you can expect on that particular street. Look at what other local landlords are charging for similar properties. If a street or area can’t deliver the monthly rent you need, move onto another area.

Check with the local council on any potential restrictions. That includes Article 4 Directions, conservation areas or conditions that remove permitted development rights. This is particularly important for C3 to C4 HMO conversions because it could tie up a relatively simple conversion project in planning red tape. C3 properties are normal dwellinghouses and C4s are small HMOs with three to six people.

If you’re interested in a leasehold property, check the lease for any bans on letting.

Take your architect or builder with you on each viewing. Discuss with them on site the improvements that need making and get a rough estimate.

Don’t bid on any property where the amount you spend on the project breaks the ceiling limit. The ceiling limit is the maximum amount a type of property will sell for in a given area. 

The quickest way to work this out is add together the cost of the property, build costs, contingency, professional fees and your target profit. If they come to more than your ceiling limit, walk away.

On each property of interest, get a quick desktop valuation from your broker. This will tell you if a lender thinks property in a local market is worth as much as the seller. If they don’t, move onto the next property.

5. Securing your property

You now have a shortlist of likely properties. Try to get each seller to drop the price as much as you can. Use estimates to show how much work you need to do and how much it costs. Prove you’re a serious buyer by showing the AIP your broker gave you.

When you have a deal, get in touch with your broker to start the full finance application process moving. Contact your solicitor to run searches and commission a RICS home survey to check for any hidden surprises.

Make any offer conditional on satisfactory survey results and legal searches. Set a target date for exchange of contracts and take out buildings insurance to run from the day of expected completion.

6. Project design and build

This section really only applies if you plan to make major changes to the property.

• Define your project scope: Agree with your architect the cosmetic improvements you want to make, like new fixtures, fittings and furnishings. Decide if you’ll let the property furnished. In many towns, a smart furnished property lets faster. Decide on building improvements like a new boiler, fire escape doors and ventilation. If you change the structure to your property, ask your architect to get an engineer in. They check the load-bearing capacity and confirm the works meet Building Regulations.
• Quote and scheduling: Get quotes in for the work from two or three builders. Tell them you’ll pay by milestone and expect the job to start and finish on the dates you specify. For gas appliances, make sure your builder subcontracts a Gas Safe registered engineer. Decide what work is going to take place on site week by week.
• Check approvals: When the plans are complete, check whether your project needs Building Regulations approval. This is work that affects structure, fire safety, electrics, drainage, windows, doors or insulation. It also applies to any material change of use in a building.
• Building Control note: Pure like-for-like cosmetics (paint, same-spec kitchen doors) with no structural changes and no notifiable electrics or gas may not require Building Control. Conversions to HMO usually count as a material change of use, so Building Control will be involved. Notifiable electrical work must meet Part P (use a registered electrician or notify the council).
• Choose the route: If you do require their involvement, you can send in Full Plans where Building Control checks your drawings upfront. This reduces the risk of onsite surprises. Choose a Building Notice if the work is smaller scale and you want faster approval without having to submit detailed plans. Before you start, notify Building Control and they’ll give you dates for key inspections. Inspections are by your local authority or a Registered Building Control Approver (RBCA).
• Set delivery roles: If you’ve got no experience in running a building site, appoint a project manager or architect. They’ll oversee the programme and handle contractors.
• Run weekly control: You’ll have weekly meetings with your manager to monitor progress. Make sure you only pay builders once you have approved the work. Test electrics and alarms at the right time so you don’t rip out finished work later.
• Close out and evidence: At project sign-off, build a compliance pack. It should contain the final drawings and the Building Control completion certificate. Also included are Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) and Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR). You should also retain your gas certificate, warranties, manuals and a photo record.

7. Letting your property

With the property complete, you’re now ready to start renting.

Before you start advertising your property, get the basic in place:

• Tenancy agreements: Most landlords choose assured shorthold tenancies for their tenancy agreement. You can choose a fixed term tenancy that runs for a set period but you lose flexibility if you or your tenant want to end it early.
• Deposits: Take the tenant’s deposit and put it in a deposit protection scheme. It’s your legal responsibility to do this within 30 days. (Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own deposit schemes.)
• Tenant checks: It’s a good idea to reference tenants for ID and affordability. You can run a rent check or speak to their previous landlords.
• Getting paid: Set up a standing order or Direct Debit. This means tenants pay rent automatically at the same point of every month.
• Agency fees: Get quotes on letting agent fees if you don’t want to manage tenants yourself. Ask them for a full list of the services they provide so you know what you’re paying for.
• Insurance: Take out a landlord insurance policy to protect you against damage, liability or rent arrears. For furnished property, you can also buy contents insurance.

When you have tenants in your property, stay compliant and organised:

• Evidence: Reduce the risk of tenant disputes and legal action. Keep copies of tenancy agreements, rent checks, inspection reports and communications.
• Responsiveness: Replace domestic items when they break or become unsafe.
• Deposit paybacks: When a tenant moves in, take photos of the room and its condition. Record these details in the deposit protection scheme. When they move out, take photos again to discover any changes in condition. This will help you justify keeping back part of their deposit for damage, cleaning or unpaid rent.

8. Paying taxes

If you rent out your property and make profit, you have to pay tax on it. But, uniquely to property ownership, you make a profit while at the same time making a cash loss. It’s always best to work with an accountant on your Self Assessment tax return.

You’ll owe income tax on how much profit you made on renting (past the Personal Allowance). There are tax deductible allowable expenses you can use to reduce your profitability. Ask your accountant early how much tax you owe so when the time comes to pay tax, you’ve already set aside the right amount.

If you sell your property, Capital Gains Tax (CGT) will be payable on the profit. However, there is a form of tax relief on CGT in the form of the Capital Gains Tax allowance. This lets you earn a set amount of gain each year before any CGT is due.

9. Using property to build a property empire

You can use the rental properties you own to buy even more rental properties. Here are three of our top tips on how to get your equity and rental yield working (x):

• Add value then recycle: Buy a property below its potential, fix it up, and then get the lender to revalue it. You can then remortgage the property to extract cash out of your property and buy another one.
• Adapt to lenders’ rules: Once you have four or more properties, lenders treat you as a portfolio landlord. When you apply for finance, they check everything. That includes your properties, ongoing loans and income, not just the property you want to buy. Keep spare cash and make good margins on your rental income to pass lender stress tests.
• Use one playbook: Pick a single model (like 4–5 bed HMOs or simple BTLs) and stick to one council area. With every new property, you can use the same layouts, finishes, cleaners and tradesmen. Using one letting agent keeps management simpler and cuts down on duplicated costs. [Related article: Why You Need HMO Management and How to Do It Right]

HMO Architects: partners to new and experienced landlords

Investing in property makes sense. Although full mortgage interest deduction ended for individuals in 2020 and is now a 20% tax credit, CGT on property disposals has dropped from 28% to 24%. You can claim replacement of domestic items relief to cut the cost of new furniture, appliances, carpets or curtains. Private rents are going up, well ahead of inflation. While property is not easy, the numbers add up. With our BRRR model (buy, refurbish, rent, repeat), you can build serious wealth as a landlord over time.

Here are some recent success stories showing how HMO Architects has helped landlords start and build their portfolios:

• Grange Road, London (4 units): We turned a terraced house into a compliant, accessible 4-bed HMO by widening corridors, adjusting doorways and adding a rear ramp.The value of the property rose from £85,000 to £260,000 and the rental income from £350pcm to £2,500.
• High Street, Cambridge (2 units): We converted a semi-detached cottage into a high-performing Airbnb with a vibrant interior scheme and full Building Control compliance. The client asked us to design the property so that they could switch it to an HMO easily if that became the better rental option. Property value rose from £550,000 to £900,000 and the rental income from £1,800pcm to £3,800.
• Furtherwick, London (6 units): We designed an airspace scheme above a High Street retail unit to create six lettable flats. By resolving rights-to-light with green-roof zones and an inner courtyard, and adding a communal roof terrace, we delivered high-appeal rental homes in a constrained urban plot. The value of the building increased to £2.9m from its initial £850,000.

We help new and experienced landlords start and grow their portfolio with our range of services:

• Investment advice from Ryan Windsor: Get personal advice on becoming a landlord from Ryan. Ask him about our portfolio building service and joint venture opportunities.
• Feasibility study from Giovanni Patania: Pre-buy and design renovation options reviews £197+VAT. Full bespoke reports are also available.
• Planning permission experts: Planning permission gained for our clients across 200 councils. [Related article: HMO Planning Permission in 2024 (How To Get Approved Faster)]
• Interior design and exterior planning: Investment-led architects who balance design with tenant appeal and yield maximisation.
• On-site management: We can act as your Building Regulations Principal Designer (where required) to keep your project on track and compliant.

View our range of development finance case studies to see how we’ve helped clients turn their ideas into sound investments. Read customer stories on HMO, flat, holiday let and housing projects.

Call our experienced team on 01223 776 997 or email us.

Frequently asked questions

What are my core legal duties before and during a let?

You must meet your landlord responsibilities and wider legal obligations like keeping the property fit for human habitation (safe, warm, dry). This includes providing an annual gas safety certificate (after a check by a qualified engineer) and fitting a carbon monoxide alarm where required.

How do house prices affect my plan?

House prices set your deposit size and borrowing, and cap future valuations. Sense-check yield at today’s price, not yesterday’s. Don’t overpay for “done” work twice. Make sure rent covers costs with a buffer so your numbers still work if values move.

When is the tax year and what should I do about it?

The tax year runs 6 April to 5 April. Track rent and costs monthly, keep receipts, and file on time. Set money aside through the year so your bill never hurts.