Sellers and buyers
October 2026 · 2 min read
From offer to completion: what actually happens and when
An accepted offer is the middle of a sale, not the end. Between the handshake and the keys sit conveyancing, searches, the survey, the mortgage offer and exchange of contracts, and in England either side can walk away without penalty…
Sellers and buyers
October 2026 · 2 min read
Divorce and separation sales: selling when the household is dividing
Selling a home in a divorce or separation is a normal sale wrapped in an abnormal situation: two instructing clients who may not be speaking, a price that one party may want high and the other fast, and a completion that has to fit a…
Sellers and buyers
October 2026 · 2 min read
Probate and executor sales: a plain guide
Selling a property as an executor is a job with legal duties attached: you cannot usually complete a sale until the grant of probate has issued, you owe the estate the best reasonably obtainable price, and the beneficiaries are entitled…
Sellers and buyers
October 2026 · 2 min read
The modern method of auction: the costs, included honestly
The modern method of auction, properly called conditional auction, gives the winning bidder a reservation period, commonly 28 days to exchange contracts and a further 28 to complete, in return for a non-refundable reservation fee. It…
Landlord compliance
October 2026 · 2 min read
Possession after section 21: the grounds that remain
Section 21 was abolished on 1 May 2026 by the Renters' Rights Act 2025, and with it the idea that a landlord can recover a property without giving a reason. Possession now runs through section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 as amended:…
Overseas landlords
October 2026 · 3 min read
The Non-Resident Landlord Scheme: what your agent must deduct
Where a landlord's usual place of abode is outside the United Kingdom, the letting agent must deduct tax at the basic rate from the rent before paying it over, unless HMRC has approved the landlord to receive it gross. The rate is 20%…
Overseas landlords
October 2026 · 3 min read
Form NRL1 explained: applying to be paid rent gross
You apply to HMRC on form NRL1 if you are an individual. If HMRC approves, it notifies your letting agent directly and the agent stops deducting tax from your rent from that point. Approval does not reduce your tax. It moves the timing,…
Overseas landlords
October 2026 · 3 min read
HMO licensing in Nottingham for non-resident owners
Licences generally run for five years. As with any Nottingham licence, the holder must reside in the UK or be a UK registered company, so an overseas owner cannot hold it personally. An HMO is…
Landlord compliance
October 2026 · 2 min read
Rent increases after the 2025 Act: section 13 and Form 4A
Since 1 May 2026 there is one lawful way to raise the rent on an assured tenancy in England: a notice under section 13 of the Housing Act 1988, on prescribed Form 4A, no more than once a year, taking effect no sooner than two months…
Overseas landlords
October 2026 · 3 min read
Renting from an overseas landlord: the £100 a week rule
If your landlord's usual place of abode is outside the United Kingdom, you pay the rent directly to them rather than to an agent, and the rent is £100 a week or more, then you are the person who must deduct basic rate tax from that rent…
Landlord compliance
October 2026 · 2 min read
The Renters' Rights Act 2025 in practice: what Nottingham landlords must do now
Since 1 May 2026, every assured shorthold tenancy in England has become a periodic assured tenancy, section 21 no fault evictions have been abolished, and rent can rise only once a year by statutory notice. That is the Renters' Rights…
Sellers and buyers
October 2026 · 2 min read
Pricing to sell in a price-sensitive market
The asking price is the single biggest decision in a sale, and the market punishes getting it wrong in either direction. Price high and the property sits, viewings thin out, and the eventual reduction sells it for less than an honest…
Overseas landlords
October 2026 · 3 min read
The 2027 property income tax rise for landlords outside the UK
From 6 April 2027, property income carries its own rates of income tax, two percentage points above the rates on employment and trading income. They will be 22%, 42% and 47%, announced at the Autumn Budget 2025 and applying to English…
Landlord compliance
October 2026 · 2 min read
Additional and HMO licensing: house shares and the law in Nottingham
A house in multiple occupation needs a licence in two situations: everywhere in England when five or more occupants forming two or more households share facilities, which is mandatory HMO licensing, and inside Nottingham City's…
Overseas landlords
October 2026 · 8 min read
Managing a Nottingham rental property from abroad
If you live outside the United Kingdom and let a property in Nottingham, two separate rules apply to you at the same time. Your letting agent must deduct tax from your rent at the basic rate before paying it over, unless HMRC has…
Overseas landlords
October 2026 · 4 min read
Buying a Nottingham investment property from overseas
You can buy a Nottingham rental property without setting foot in the city, and a good many people do. The order matters: agree what you are looking for and what you will spend, get the lending position established before you offer, buy…
Overseas landlords
October 2026 · 3 min read
The Renters' Rights Act 2025 for overseas landlords
The Renters' Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025 and its main provisions commenced on 1 May 2026. Section 21 is abolished, assured shorthold tenancies have converted to periodic tenancies, rent increases must follow…
Landlord compliance
October 2026 · 2 min read
Selective licensing in Nottingham: who needs a licence and what it costs
If you let an ordinary house or flat inside Nottingham City Council's selective licensing area, you need a licence for it: not because of the property's condition, but because of where it stands.…
Overseas landlords
October 2026 · 3 min read
What happens if an overseas landlord appoints no UK licence holder
Letting a licensable property without a licence is a criminal offence. The council may prosecute, or may impose a civil penalty instead, and the government's statutory guidance gives starting points of £12,000 for a selective licensing…
Landlord compliance
October 2026 · 2 min read
Landlord tax from April 2027: the property income rates rise
From 6 April 2027, income tax rates on property income rise by two percentage points: 22% at the basic rate, 42% at the higher rate and 47% at the additional rate, as announced in the Autumn…
Landlord compliance
October 2026 · 2 min read
Deposits, certificates and alarms: the paperwork of a lawful tenancy
A lawful tenancy in England stands on a short list of documents and devices: a protected deposit with the prescribed information served, an annual gas safety record, a five yearly electrical report, an energy performance certificate at…
Landlord compliance
October 2026 · 2 min read
The Private Rented Sector Database: what is coming from late 2026
The Renters' Rights Act 2025 creates a national Private Rented Sector Database, with rollout beginning in late 2026: every residential landlord in England will need to register themselves and each rental property, and registration is…
Overseas landlords
October 2026 · 3 min read
Do overseas landlords have to use a letting agent in Nottingham?
No law says an overseas landlord must appoint a letting agent. Two rules make it very difficult not to. If your property is in one of Nottingham City Council's licensing areas, the licence holder must live in the UK or be a UK…
