Letting out your first home in England: a guide for new arrivals

Before you let

1. Your mortgage. A residential mortgage usually does not allow letting. Ask your lender for consent to let, or move to a buy-to-let mortgage. Letting without it can breach your mortgage.
2. Your insurance. Home insurance rarely covers a let. Tell your insurer and move to landlord insurance.
3. A leasehold flat. Check the lease: many need the freeholder's consent to let.
4. The council. Some areas need a selective licence for any let, and a home shared by three or more unrelated people can need an HMO licence. Check the council's website.

The checks and papers

• a gas safety check every 12 months and an EICR at least every five years, with copies to the tenant;
• an EPC rated E or better;
• smoke alarms on every floor and carbon monoxide alarms where the law asks;
• right to rent checks for every adult tenant;
• the written statement of terms before the tenancy starts (every tenancy is assured periodic since 1 May 2026);
• the deposit protected in a government scheme within 30 days;
• registration on the landlord database (the Private Rented Sector Database): opens 15 December 2026, region by region (West Midlands first, South West last on 15 August 2027), three months to register in each.

Tax

• If you live in the UK, declare the rent in a Self Assessment tax return. Your costs (letting fees, repairs, insurance, certificates) reduce the profit; mortgage interest gives a tax credit at the basic rate instead of being taken off.
• The first £1,000 of property income can be tax free under the property allowance; renting a room in your own home has its own Rent a Room scheme. Check the current limits on GOV.UK.
• If you later move abroad for more than six months a year, the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme applies: apply to HMRC with form NRL1i to receive the rent in full.
• When you sell a home you once lived in and then let, Capital Gains Tax may be due on part of the gain, reported within 60 days of the sale. Ask a tax adviser.

Your rights as a new landlord

Your visa status does not stop you being a landlord. The rules are the same for every landlord in England, and so are the protections.

This guide is general guidance for England, not legal or tax advice.