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Nat West have recently launched "Mettle Bank" - providing current accounts specifically tailored to small businesses. And this comes with free-of-charge accesses to the FreeAgent accounting software. I currently manage my own rentals using Excel spreadsheets and a single current account for all my transactions. I had been considering opening a separate account for rental payments. My Excel setup is increasingly time-consuming so I'd been considering moving to an accounting package. Plus, I needed an MTD solution. So I decided to kill three birds with one stone. Here are my findings so far for anyone else in a similar position...

 From April 2026, landlords with income over £50,000 must keep digital records and submit quarterly updates under Making Tax Digital (MTD), with the threshold dropping to £30,000 in 2027.

This means every landlord now needs a digital strategy—but that doesn't always mean switching to full landlord‑management software. Some will benefit more from bridging tools, others from property‑specific platforms, and others from general accounting systems.

We have laid out a full landscape overview, organised by type of solution and type of landlord – but wherever you fit on this particular matrix, one thing is true for all landlords, you will need to change the way you manage and operate your business in some way in order to comply. Hopefully, we can help you find the least painful approach or maybe, a better way to operate.

The Renters Rights Bill is well-intentioned. Protecting tenants from unfair eviction is a noble goal. But the way government is sequencing reforms is illogical — and damaging. They have put the cart before the horse, abolishing Section 21 before fixing the courts, before embedding conciliation and mediation, before ensuring arbitration is linked to resolution. 

The result? A shrinking private rented sector, rising rents, and the most vulnerable tenants pushed closer to homelessness. 

'Reform without sequencing is not reform — it is chaos.' 

 The Quix-MTD team will be at our meeting this month to demonstrate how spreadsheet users can use their product to simply upload and submit the necessary information to HMRC if they choose to go that route, rather than changing the way they operate in order to switch to a landlord software package.

We know they exist - the media and tenant groups constantly remind us - but fortunately rogue landlords are few and far between AND typically they are not uncaring, money grabbing slum landlords or like those responsible for the Highland Clearances in the 18th century, these days they are more likely to be under-resourced and badly managed local councils or social housing providers,  

This months example identified fire risks that needed to be addressed over 10 years ago and they are still unresolved.

 I have been doing a lot on MTD recently and I know many landlords are annoyed at the prospect of having to subscribe to an expensive online accounting package and in the case of husband and wife landlords like Rachel and I, paying twice!

...and How Landlord LRA Makes It Simple

There are a mountain of responsibilities that come with being a landlord and one that sometimes gets overlooked is Legionella.

So what is it, where does it come from, is it really a risk in simple water systems, do you need to assess that risk or is it just another check box that you need to tick….

Matt Etherington of  legionella specialists, Landlord LRA,  answers some of the most frequent questions you may have and that we get asked!

Instead of our usual Christmas Social, we chose to gather for brunch at Southsea Marina this year (or last year, depending on when you're reading this). It was a wonderful occasion, enjoyed by all.

Rent to rent is a growth area for the property sector. Some of those properties are rented on to the social sector for various forms of accommodation and that has caused much debate in Planning meetings here in Portsmouth. It is a solution fraught with risk for the landlord unless the contractual relationship is clear and the management levels high - and that could all get worse under the Renters Rights Act but.... renting these properties into the social sector will become more appealing.

Legal expert David Smith outlines the pros and cons....

It seems to be a perennial problem that the appropriate paperwork has been served, the local authority have a duty to house (in order to prevent homelessness) and yet the tenant believes they have been told no help will be forthcoming until the bailiffs arrive.

We asked via one of our local MP's for evidence to support our case from the House of Commons Library, this is what they said.... 

Local landlord and PDPLA Member John Hodgart wrote in anger to his local MP about the impact upon him (and his student tenants) of the Renters Rights Act if implemented as proposed. He was even less happy when he saw the Ministers response.

As winter sets in, many landlords brace themselves for the annual battle against damp, condensation, and black mould. But there's a surprisingly simple solution that could save you and your tenants a lot of hassle: small portable dehumidifiers. 

How did the Budget land with the property sector, and what are the key takeaways for landlords? Here, we look at the announcements in more detail and unpack the new opportunities for property investors in 2026.  (Article kindly written for us by our favoured mortgage broker, MFB)

What do you do when you arrive at your property and find more people living there than you expected?  In the past it was your problem and if you approached PCC they would tell you to fix the problem or risk enforcement action, as it would be you in breach of licence or planning conditions.

The good news is PCC have written a useful reminder we can all use in our tenant and licensing paperwork at the start of a tenancy and when needed thereafter to make responsibilities and legalities clear. 

Landlords across Portsmouth are reporting growing confusion and inconsistency in how council tax exemptions for student tenancies are applied.  We have created guidance based on the experience of a number of members.