HMRC says more than 400,000 sole traders, landlords and small business owners missed the first Making Tax Digital for Income Tax deadline. The article explains the current reporting requirements, the soft-landing period for late quarterly updates in 2026/27, and the planned expansion of the regime to lower income thresholds from next year.
Lewisham Council has launched an intelligence-led taskforce to target non-compliant landlords in the private rented sector, using data, local intelligence and targeted inspections. The council says the approach will focus on licensed and suspected unlicensed properties, with enforcement action including civil penalties, statutory notices and prosecution where justified.
The Property Care Association has warned that more than 50 companies have been found using its logo without permission, prompting advice for landlords and other property owners to verify contractor credentials before commissioning work. The PCA says false claims of membership are being used to create a misleading impression of professionalism and to win work.
Bath & North East Somerset Council is consulting on a revised housing enforcement and financial penalty policy aimed at landlords, with tougher starting penalties for issues including electrical safety breaches and HMO fire standard failures. The update follows new duties and powers under the Renters Rights Act and includes the possibility of increasing penalties by 50% where aggravating factors are present.
The article reports that lettings professionals are seeing more tenant complaints drafted with the help of AI, often making them longer, more complex and sometimes factually inaccurate. Industry figures say firms are adapting their complaints handling processes and using AI internally to summarise correspondence, while still relying on human review for responses.
HMRC says more than 570,000 sole traders and landlords have now signed up to Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax, with over 436,000 having submitted their first quarterly update. From September 2026, HMRC will begin contacting customers who should be using MTD for the 2026 to 2027 tax year but have not yet signed up, and new guidance is due in late August for those who receive a letter.
The article warns that landlords using properties as short lets may invalidate standard home insurance if they do not disclose the use to their insurer. It notes that platform-provided protections such as Airbnb’s AirCover are not a substitute for appropriate specialist insurance cover.
Awaab’s Law is set to expand from 30 November, extending existing response timeframes beyond damp and mould to a wider range of hazards in social housing, including excess cold and heat, falls, structural collapse, fire and explosion, electrical hazards, and domestic hygiene. The article also highlights that the new guidance places strong emphasis on the landlord’s initial triage judgment and on addressing root causes rather than temporary fixes.
A landlord has been fined after failing to remove waste from three rental properties in Blackburn with Darwen, despite repeated advice, warnings and formal notices from the council. The accumulated rubbish was reported to have attracted vermin and caused nuisance to neighbours, leading to prosecution and a court order for more than £4,500 in fines, costs and surcharge.
Burnley Council is consulting on proposals for selective licensing in three areas of the borough, with the consultation open until 18 October. The council says no final decision has been made and that the scheme is intended to improve standards in privately rented housing, address antisocial behaviour and support neighbourhood stability.
A landlord was prosecuted after failing to comply with an Improvement Notice served by South Holland council following an inspection that identified serious hazards in a rental property in Long Sutton. The hazards included excess cold, stair-related fall risk, fire hazards, and damp and mould, and the landlord was fined after officers found the required works had not been completed.
The Lettings Industry Council is urging the government to make the forthcoming compulsory Private Rental Sector database robust enough to improve compliance, transparency and tenant safety. The body warns that without a clear strategy and strong engagement from stakeholders, the database could fail to meet its aims and become an ineffective cost burden.
