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My Proper Home

Guide · 12 min read

Letting a home (landlords)

Compliance, tax, tenants — everything between buying the property and collecting rent.

Mandatory compliance certificates

  • Gas Safety (CP12) — annual, every gas appliance. ~£60–100 per visit. Copy to the tenant within 28 days.
  • EICR — electrical installation report every 5 years. ~£150–300.
  • EPC — Energy Performance Certificate, minimum band E (rising to C by 2028). 10 years validity.
  • Smoke alarms — every habitable floor; carbon- monoxide alarm in every room with a fuel-burning appliance.
  • Right-to-Rent check — physically verify every adult tenant's documents before they move in.

My Proper Home's compliance dashboard tracks every expiry and lets you download a calendar (.ics) so you never miss a renewal.

Tenancy types + agreement

Default in England/Wales is an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST). Use a model AST template (gov.uk publishes one) and have your tenant sign the prescribed information bundle before they move in.

Deposit protection

Within 30 days of receiving the deposit, lodge it with DPS, TDS or MyDeposits. Failing to do so blocks Section 21 evictions and exposes you to a 3× compensation claim.

Setting rent

Use our yield calculator to sanity-check the rent against your purchase price. Most BTL lenders want the rent to cover 125% of mortgage interest at a 5.5% stress rate.

Tax basics

Rental income is taxed at your marginal rate. Mortgage interest is no longer fully deductible — instead you get a 20% tax credit on finance costs. Everything else (insurance, repairs, letting fees, compliance) is deductible. Track it all monthly in the expenses log, then export a CSV at year-end for your accountant.

Section 21 vs Section 8

Section 21 ("no-fault") lets you regain possession at the end of a fixed term, with 2 months' notice. Section 8 covers specific grounds (rent arrears most commonly), with shorter notice on some. The Renters' Rights Bill plans to abolish S21 — keep an eye on the government's timetable.

Maintenance + repairs

You're responsible for the structure + exterior, water/gas/ electrical installations, sanitary fittings and heating. Tenants handle minor wear-and-tear. Log every issue in the maintenance dashboard so you have an audit trail.

Insurance

Standard home insurance doesn't cover lettings. Get a landlord policy that includes buildings, public liability (£2m minimum) and rent guarantee if you're risk-averse.

Useful next steps