10 practical tips for accidental landlords

Are you thinking of letting your own house or flat, instead of selling it? Or perhaps you’ve inherited a property and would like to let it out. If so, you’re about to become what’s called an “accidental landlord”.

You’re not alone. According to the 2021 English Private Landlord Survey, 42% of landlords first became landlords “accidentally”. 35% originally bought their property to live in themselves, and 8% had either inherited or received it as a gift. I’m in that 42% as I first became a landlord when I decided to let a flat I already owned.

It’s a steep learning curve when you’re a newbie landlord, accidental or otherwise, and there’s even more to learn now the Renters’ Rights Act is in force.

This blog post gives you 10 practical tips on how to go about becoming a successful accidental landlord. You can find a more comprehensive explanation of what being a landlord involves in my bestselling book, The Good Landlord Handbook. 

If you have questions, you can ask me at twice-monthly livestreams in my membership, The Independent Landlord Hub.

Last updated: 18 May 2026

Tip 1: Sort out your mortgage

The first thing accidental landlords need to do before going any further is to talk through their options with a mortgage broker. Why is this? Most residential mortgages don’t allow lettings, so you will need to check the situation with your mortgage. Although some lenders do provide consent to let, this is normally for a limited time.

Accidental landlords consequently are likely to need to switch to a buy to let mortgage. Your lender will apply a stress test to see if you will receive enough rent to cover the mortgage.

The standard affordability test is whether the rent is 125% of the interest payments at a set rate. Lenders often use a “stress test” rate that’s higher than the actual amount you’ll be paying during your fixed rate period. This is to ensure there is enough margin to take account of future increases.

It’s also likely that you’ll need at least 25% equity in the property to qualify for a buy to let mortgage. Equity is the amount you “own” of the property, after deducting the mortgage from the value of the property.

Tip 2: Take out specialist landlord insurance and home emergency cover

Standard residential buildings (and contents) insurance won’t be suitable for letting. You should therefore arrange for landlord insurance with a specialist provider.

If you are not furnishing the property, you’re unlikely to need contents insurance.

It’s also possible to take out insurance to cover home emergency repairs.

I personally don’t use home emergency insurance as I have new boilers and prefer to use local trades people as and when I need them.

Tip 3: If it’s a flat, get consent to let

If your property is a flat, or a leasehold house, it’s likely you’ll need to get consent from the freeholder to let the property. This is technically sub-letting under the lease with the freeholder.

Consequently, it’s really important to check your lease to see what your obligations are. I had to obtain freeholder consent to let from RMG, the property manager of the development my flat was on using the above form. It cost £60 in 2019 and was purely an administrative exercise. Some even ask for an annual payment.

This is one of the downsides of owning leasehold property on a development.

Tip 4: Carry out landlord safety checks

Landlords need to carry out a number of safety checks before letting a property.

It is important that you give the tenants copies of the EPC, EICR and Gas Safety Certificate.

Although it’s not technically required as part of the Gas Safety Certificate testing, I strongly recommend having the boiler serviced each year. It extends the life of the boiler, and shows you take your renters’ safety seriously.

Rental properties must have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of E or better. There are plans to require all rental properties to have an EPC of C or better in 2030, but we are waiting for confirmation of the final details of the Home Energy Model that is due to replace the current system.

>> Related Post: The proposed EPC minimum energy efficiency standards for landlords for 2030

Tip 5: Decide what you’re going to provide

One of the decisions you’ll need to make is whether or not to let your property furnished or unfurnished. A lot depends on your local area and target market. Young renters in city centres tend to prefer properties to be furnished, and longer-term renters often have their own furniture.

When I let my flat as an accidental landlord, I offered the renters the choice of it being furnished and unfurnished, for the same rent. As I’d been living there, it was already furnished. However, not one of the people who viewed the property wanted it to be furnished. Not even the good quality beds. So I paid for it to be put into storage.

The downside of furnishing a property is that the ongoing costs are higher, as you’ll need to replace furnishings that wear out. There is more to go wrong, which means the property will take more to manage.

Landlords are required to provide smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms, light fittings, flooring and secure external doors. Everything else is optional for unfurnished properties. However, many landlords do provide some basic appliances such as fridge freezers, and useful items like curtain rails or blinds. Be aware that the more you supply, the more there is to go wrong and for you to replace.

The legislation doesn’t say either way whether the landlord needs to provide a cooker or an oven and hob, just that the court must have “regard” to the condition of cooking facilities. Most landlords do provide these as standard. I do.

If you already have appliances in your property, you can add a clause to the tenancy agreement to say that the landlord is not responsible for repairs or replacements- click here for the no replacement/repairs white good clause. Note that if a kitchen has integrated appliances, the landlord must supply them.

From a practical point of view, whilst it’s not a legal requirement, it’s wise to supply a vented extractor system in the kitchen as that will reduce condensation and, potentially, mould.

If you’d like to read more about what landlords usually provide renters, take a look at my blog post on what landlords should provide in unfurnished properties.

Tip 6: Decide how to let your property

As a first-time landlord, the prospect of finding renters for your property can be daunting. However, with renter demand being at an all-time high, and on-line letting services like OpenRent, it has never been easier to do it yourself.

I used letting agents four times before I became confident enough, and then wondered why I had waited so long!

Firstly, it saved me a lot of money. The last ‘find only’ letting fee I paid was an up-front cost of £2,100 for a rent of £1,300 pcm. This meant that I’d be approaching the third month’s rent payment before earning anything. OpenRent, by contrast, is a fraction of that. You can find out more about OpenRent’s RentNow Service here.

Also, I much preferred choosing who would be living in my property myself. I was able to see their reaction to questions, and get a feel for whether they’d be suitable. As I self-manage, it makes sense to start building the relationship with the renters myself from Day One, rather than relying on someone else to do it.

Finally, I actually found it easier, as there was no chasing the agent for feedback. Everything was under my control.

>> Related Post: How to let properties without high street agents

>> Related Post: Guide to using OpenRent to find tenants

Tip 7: Decide how to manage your property

The next big question is whether you’ll manage the property yourself.

If anything, it’s easy for accidental landlords to manage their own properties when they let them. After all, it’s what you’ve been doing while you’ve been living there. To make sure they don’t miss anything, or forget to tell you, it’s sensible to do six monthly inspections to spot maintenance issues. That way you can see yourself, and you already know the property’s quirks!

If you manage your property yourself, you’ll save the 10-20% of the gross rent that managing agents normally charge. Given how tight margins are, that’s a huge amount.

However, you do need to understand the many obligations that landlords have. That’s where my bestselling book comes in, The Good Landlord Handbook, as it goes through every stage of a tenancy and sets out the rules. If you have questions, you can join my membership, The Independent Landlord Hub, for more support.

If you do decide to appoint agents, make sure you read the contract properly, and look out for unfair contract terms that tie you in beyond the first fixed term. I’ve written blog posts on what to look out for in the contracts, and how to avoid rogue agents – the links are below.

>> Related Post: What to look out for in the small print of contracts with letting agents

>> Related Post: How to avoid rogue or fake letting agents

Tip 8: Prepare the property for letting

Prevention is better than cure. It’s important to fix all the little things that are wrong with the property, before your renters move in. This will save you and your renters a lot of hassle. Things like dripping taps, dodgy flushing mechanisms in the loo, and that door that doesn’t shut properly. You’ll know what they are if you’ve been living in the property. They’re so much easier to fix when the property is empty.

Do give the property a coat of paint, and clean the carpets. If your property is in good condition when they move in, they’re more likely to look after it. Also, the fewer problems in the inventory, the easier it’ll be to show changes to the property’s condition in a dispute.

I leave a little gift and a Property Manual, with useful information for the property. I also put useful information for each property on a password-protected page on my website.

Tip 9: Tell HMRC about your rental income

Rental income is taxable, and HMRC needs to know about it. If you haven’t filed a self-assessment tax return before, you’ll need to register by 5 October following the tax year you started letting.

For example, if your first rental income was in the 2026-27 tax year (6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027), you’ll need to register for self-assessment by 5 October 2027, and file your return by 31 January 2028.

You can deduct allowable expenses from your rental income, including letting agent fees, insurance, maintenance, accountancy fees and ground rent. However, since 2017, mortgage interest is no longer deductible from rental income. Instead, you get a 20% tax credit on the interest payments, which is less generous for higher-rate taxpayers.

If your rental income is straightforward and you’re comfortable with numbers, you can file your return yourself. Otherwise, a property accountant is a worthwhile investment.

The Good Landlord Handbook

This blog post gives you an overview of what landlords need to do.

For the full picture, read my book ‘The Good Landlord Handbook’:

🔹 #1 bestseller on Amazon
🔹 Covers every stage of a tenancy
🔹 Renters’ Rights Act integrated throughout
🔹 “A true landlording bible“

Buy the book

Tip 9: Tell HMRC about your rental income

Rental income is taxable, and HMRC needs to know about it. If you haven’t filed a self-assessment tax return before, you’ll need to register by 5 October following the tax year you started letting.

For example, if your first rental income was in the 2026-27 tax year (6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027), you’ll need to register for self-assessment by 5 October 2027, and file your return by 31 January 2028.

You can deduct allowable expenses from your rental income, including letting agent fees, insurance, maintenance, accountancy fees and ground rent. However, since 2017, mortgage interest is no longer deductible from rental income. Instead, you get a 20% tax credit on the interest payments, which is less generous for higher-rate taxpayers.

If your rental income is straightforward and you’re comfortable with numbers, you can file your return yourself. Otherwise, a property accountant is a worthwhile investment.

Be aware that if your rental income and any income from self-employment as a sole-trader are £50,000 or more, you will need to keep digital records and make quarterly electronic submissions to HMRC for Making Tax Digital. The threshold drops to £30,000 for the 2027-28 tax year.

>> Related Post: Making Tax Digital (MTD) for UK landlords

Tip 10: Register with the ICO

The Information Commissioner’s Office is the independent body responsible for making sure organisations comply with UK data privacy law.

As a landlord, you’ll be handling tenants’ personal data (names, contact details, bank details, references and so on). Unless you’re entirely “hands-off” and your agent handles everything, you’ll need to register with the ICO and pay the annual data protection fee.

For most landlords, this is £40 a year. It’s not optional, and the ICO can issue civil penalties for non-registration.

You should also have a data protection notice to give to your tenants, explaining how you’ll use their personal data.

>> Related Post: What data protection rules do landlords need to comply with?

>> Related Post: Example of Landlord Data Protection Notice for Tenants

Get extra support from The Independent Landlord Hub

As an accidental landlord, you’re bound to have questions and will want to check things from a reliable source. It’s also really important to get educated and understand your legal obligations.

This doesn’t mean going on an expensive property course. Instead, you can join my membership, The Independent Landlord Hub, for easy to follow guidance, checklists, templates, courses, and the ability to ask me questions twice a month in a live Q&A, all in a supportive community.

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Good luck!