Becoming a landlord looks simple from the outside. You buy a property, find a tenant, collect the rent, and watch the investment grow. In practice, letting a property in England comes with a set of legal duties, costs and process quirks that catch out even experienced investors. Whether you own one flat in Maidstone or a small portfolio across Kent, here are seven things worth knowing before you hand over the keys.
1. Evicting a tenant is no longer quick, and it is never guaranteed
Many landlords still assume they can serve a no-fault notice and regain their property within a couple of months. That assumption is now out of date. Landlords will need to use a Section 8 notice, citing one or more legal grounds to end a tenancy, with fixed-term assured shorthold tenancies removed and replaced by rolling periodic contracts from the outset. Landlords are no longer able to evict tenants without giving a valid legal reason, and all evictions must now be based on evidence-supported Section 8 grounds or new statutory grounds. That means keeping careful records of rent arrears, breaches of tenancy or antisocial behaviour, because a court will expect evidence, not just an intention to move a tenant on.
2. You may need council permission just to let your own home
In many parts of Kent and across England, letting a property without checking local licensing rules first is a genuine trap. Part III of the Housing Act 2004 enables councils to implement a selective licensing scheme covering private rented properties within a defined geographical area, extending licensing beyond HMOs to all private rented homes occupied by a single household or two unrelated sharers within the designated area. This is not theoretical. In Ashford, a landlord was fined £12,500 after it was discovered he was running an unlicensed HMO above a restaurant in the town centre. Licensing zones can also change with little warning, and boundaries can differ street by street, so it pays to check with the relevant borough or district council before you advertise a property, not after.
3. The taxman does not treat mortgage interest the way you expect
New landlords are frequently surprised to learn that mortgage interest is no longer deducted from rental income before tax is calculated. Since April 2020, individual landlords pay income tax on their full rental income and instead claim a flat 20% basic-rate tax credit on finance costs. This can push higher-rate landlords into a bigger tax bill, because your gross rental income now counts towards total taxable income, sometimes tipping an otherwise basic-rate taxpayer into a higher band. Crucially, this restriction does not apply to limited companies, which is why some landlords with larger portfolios choose to hold property through a company structure. That decision carries its own costs and should never be made without professional tax advice.
4. Energy efficiency rules are tightening, and the goalposts keep moving
Landlords must ensure their rental property has a valid EPC with a minimum rating of Band E before letting it out, and properties rated F or G cannot be legally let unless a valid exemption is in place. That is the current legal minimum, but it is not the end of the story. Landlords will need to make sure rental properties have a minimum EPC rating of C by October 2030, a significant jump for many older homes. Under today's rules, landlords are currently required to spend up to £3,500, including VAT, on relevant energy-efficiency improvements before an exemption can be registered, though the government has previously proposed a higher cap of £15,000 for these future upgrades. That higher figure has not been enacted, so treat it as a signal of direction rather than a current obligation. Landlords letting period properties, common across much of Kent, should get an up-to-date EPC assessment early and budget for improvements well before any future deadline arrives.
5. Protecting the deposit correctly is not optional, and mistakes are expensive
Every landlord in England letting on an assured shorthold or assured tenancy must place a tenant's deposit into one of the government-approved tenancy deposit protection schemes and give the tenant the prescribed information within the statutory timeframe. Missing this step, or getting the paperwork wrong, can leave a landlord unable to serve a valid possession notice and exposed to a court claim for compensation of several times the deposit value. It is one of the most common compliance failures among first-time landlords, usually because the deadline is missed in the rush of moving a tenant in, not because the landlord was trying to avoid the rules.
6. Right to Rent checks apply to you even if you never meet the tenant
Before granting a tenancy, a landlord (or their managing agent) is legally required to check that every adult occupier has the right to rent in the UK, and to keep copies of the documents used to verify this. This applies regardless of how the tenant was found, whether through a letting agent, a portal listing or a personal introduction. Landlords who let through an agent should confirm in writing exactly who is responsible for carrying out and recording these checks, because ultimate liability for a civil penalty can still rest with the property owner if the check was never properly completed.
7. The costs do not stop at the mortgage
New landlords often budget for the mortgage, letting agent fees and maybe a lick of paint between tenancies, then discover the real running costs are considerably wider. A gas safety check is a legal requirement every year on any property with gas appliances. An Electrical Installation Condition Report is generally required on a five-yearly cycle. Standard home insurance will not cover a rented property, so a specific landlord insurance policy is needed, covering buildings, and usually rent guarantee or legal expenses cover too. Add to this the inevitable void periods between tenancies, routine maintenance, and the administrative cost of compliance paperwork, and the real net yield on a rental property is almost always lower than the headline rent suggests.
Building a compliant, resilient letting business
None of these seven points are reasons to avoid letting property. They are reasons to go in with your eyes open. Depending on the breach, landlords and agents may face financial penalties and other enforcement action, and the scope of Rent Repayment Orders has also been expanded, with tenants potentially able to recover up to two years' rent for certain offences, which makes good record keeping, correct documentation and a clear audit trail an increasingly important part of professional property management. The landlords who do well over the long term are rarely the ones who take the biggest risks. They are the ones who treat letting as a regulated business from day one: licensing checked, tax structure reviewed, safety certificates diarised, deposit protected correctly, and a realistic budget for the costs that sit outside the mortgage. A good local letting agent earns their fee by managing exactly these details, so that landlords can focus on the investment rather than the paperwork, and tenants get the safe, well-managed home they are entitled to.