The Intermediary – December 2025 - Flipbook - Page 26
BUY-TO-LET
Opinion
What the Budget
T
he pre-Budget noise we
all heard was perhaps
louder in the lead up
to this announcement
than any in recent
memory.
Certainly, the sheer range of options
and potential policies that were being
‘tested’ out in the marketplace made
it feel like we would see some sizeable
changes, not least for landlords.
The rumours for our sector
centred on the Chancellor planning
to introduce payment of National
Insurance (NI) contributions on
individual landlords’ rental income,
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The Intermediary | December 2025
but instead she opted to raise property
Income Tax rates on rental income
from April 2027.
From then, basic, higher and
additional rates will rise to 22%, 42%
and 47%. This is expected to bring
in around £0.5bn a year once fully
in place.
For landlords, it means another cost
to plan for at a time when many are
already dealing with higher outgoings.
This announcement, of course sits
alongside the work landlords will
be carrying out to get ready for the
Renters’ Rights Act, and as we know,
this work is not small in scale and will
add further costs for them. Our Guide
has now been updated to reflect the
recent timing announcements, with a
significant number of implementation
required from the 1st May 2026, not
least the move of ASTs to Assured
Periodic Tenancies, the abolition of
S21 evictions, rent increases only be
allowed once a year, for example.
Other requirements – such as the
launch of a new private rented sector
(PRS) Landlord Database, and the
establishment of a Private Landlord
Ombudsman – won’t happen until
late next year, while the introduction
of the Decent Homes Standard
