Property Investors & Developers

Our July 2026 newsletter with updates including: Parliament Housing Committee: Reform SDLT to help first-time buyers, Will the government deliver its promised 1.5 million new homes? And finally how the Iran conflict could affect mortgage rates.

Property news for June 2026 including - The Renters Rights act - what landlords need to know, and ways to protect yourself as a landlord. How the Renters’ Rights Act affects SDLT and will holiday lets remain popular following implementation of the act?

Inheritance Tax Planning can be an intricate process and there really is no one size fits all. We take a look at the use of trusts and family investment companies as part of your strategy.

Property often represents a large portion of a family estate. We take a look at strategies available to reduce Inheritance Tax on the family home and rental properties.

Property updates for May 2026 including: Mandatory MTD, EPC reform delayed, renters rights comes into effect, rent trends, Landlord Registration Under Review in Northern Ireland and the Scottish Rental Market.

Property companies don't always turn a profit. We explore what you can and can't do when it comes to using losses to reduce your tax bill and the intricate rules around this.

Property updates for April 2026 including the long awaited arrival of MTD, the discrimination rules for landlords to consider in the renters rights act, the outlook for buy-to-let mortgages in 2026, and potential new towns in the UK.

In our March 2026 Property Sector update we take a look at the Spring update, MTD, New rules on building products, the rise of the older buyer and more on renters rights.

We take a look at MTD for income tax and what this means for landlords, The renters rights act due for publication in May and expectations for the mortgage market.

January 2026 updates in the property sector including delays to the implementation of the leasehold & freehold act, VAT on flat maintenance, the High Value council tax surcharge, visitor levy in the UK and victory for campaigners in Gwynedd.

Property updates for December 2025 following the Autumn Budget announcement. We take a look at the income tax changes including MTD along with Mansion and Tourism Tax and the Renters Rights act implementation plan.

If you are a property trader purchasing a probate property, you could be eligible for SDLT relief. We take a look at the qualifying conditions and what you need to do to reclaim the SDLT.

Our December 2025 newsletter with all the updates from the Autumn Budget Announcement. We take a look at the tax implications for both businesses and individuals.

Updates including the draft legislation for Inheritance Tax relief for business and agricultural property from April 2026, MTD HMRC guidance for digitally excluded taxpayers, Recent tribunal rulings clarify VAT on Chocolate covered biscuits and SDLT/ATED tribunal partial win and advisory rates for electric cars.

Articles for November 2025 including Renters’ Rights Bill becomes law and MTD for Income Tax: Guidance for digitally excluded individuals.

Thinking about setting up a trust? Learn what a trust is, how it can help with tax planning and wealth protection.

Articles for October 2025 including: Renters Rights Bill: an update and Autumn Budget 2025 – how could it affect landlords?

Top tips for landlords to protect property, select tenants, manage taxes, and maximise rental income, read on for practical advice.

Articles including: Advantages & Disadvantages of holding property in a limited company, expected council tax rises, the outcome from the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee meeting in July and Scottish Housing tax changes.

Principal Private Residence (PPR) relief protects homeowners from Capital Gains Tax when selling their main home — but it isn’t always guaranteed. The Eyre v HMRC case shows how easily claims can be challenged. Discover what counts as genuine occupation, when HMRC may intervene, and how to protect yourself.

The term “new build” might sound straightforward, but for HMRC, lenders, and insurers, it can mean very different things. Get it wrong, and you could face unexpected VAT bills, higher insurance premiums, or even problems securing finance when it comes time to refinance or sell.

Articles for August 2025 including: Will interest rates drop again? House prices drop significantly in July

We cover five essential steps property developers should take to get finance-ready, including choosing the right structure, early broker engagement, lender expectations, documentation, and insurance.

Articles for July 2025 including: MTD for Income Tax: It’s just around the corner! property business or a second home? Scotland: Continued Progress on Housing Bill

We explore the tax treatment of HMOs in relation to the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS), highlighting what landlords need to be aware of and when registration may be required. We also examine the fine line between property investment and development and why it matters.

Property updates for June 2025 including spotlight 69, council tax on second homes, AI and landlord decision making, Possible exemptions from rent controls in Scotland and the renters rights bill 2025.

Discover 4 smart ways to structure and future-proof your property portfolio, from incorporation and Family Investment Companies to using pensions and group structures. Advice for landlords and property investors.

Our May 2025 Newsletter including the following articles : MTD for Income Tax - FAQs, Changes To The Taxation Of Non-UK Domiciled Individuals, Holiday Lettings And Property and VAT: ‘Food’ or ‘Confectionery’?

Articles for May 2025 including: Furnished Holiday Lets: A New Era, Number of buy-to-let companies steadily growing and Scotland: Housing Bill Amendments Lodged

Articles including, the Commonhold White Paper, the renters rights bill completes house of commons, the introduction of the planning & infrastructure Bill, and finally councils in Northern Ireland are set to take over Landlord Registration Scheme

The BRR (Buy, Refurbish, Refinance) strategy is a powerful way to build a scalable property portfolio, but success depends on smart planning and tax efficiency. The right accountant can help you structure deals, track costs, and maximise returns. Here’s how expert financial support can make your investments more profitable and sustainable.

Articles for March 2025 including: Major new plans to modernise home buying Sonder Europe: An Update Scotland: Edinburgh tourist tax

We explore the pros and cons of leaving your property development portfolio to your family and developing a tax efficient strategy for passing on family wealth.

Articles for February 2025 including: There’s Still Time For Some Year End Tax Planning and Avoid Any Double Cab ‘Hiccups’!

Articles for February 2025 including: Renters’ Rights Bill continues to progress and The Outlook for Mortgages

Deciding whether to buy or lease new plant or equipment is a crucial choice for manufacturing and engineering businesses. Each option impacts cash flow, flexibility, and long-term costs. Understanding the advantages of both can help you make the right financial decision to support your business growth and operational needs.

Articles for January 2025 including: MTD for Income Tax, House prices hit record high and Scotland & Wales Budgets

Efficient tax strategies in your journey as a property developer takes careful consideration and with the right planning can be the difference in a good profit to a great one. See our top 5 Tax Strategies for property developers.

VAT significantly impacts property development and investment, affecting costs, tax recovery, and compliance. Understanding VAT rules for residential, commercial, and holiday properties is essential for avoiding costly mistakes and maximising benefits. This guide offers practical insights and key strategies to help developers and landlords confidently navigate VAT complexities in their projects.

Articles for December 2024 including: FHLs abolition - Clarification and more protections announced for leaseholders

The Autumn Statement 2024 introduced changes to Capital Gains Tax rates, impacting residential, business, and other chargeable assets. With gradual rate increases for business assets starting April 2025, there are key planning opportunities to secure lower tax rates.

Articles for November2024 including: Autumn Budget 2024 – a summary for property landlords and Renters Rights Bill 2024 – an update

We explore the key details of the Chancellor’s property announcements and highlight strategies that will help property investors and developers effectively navigate the challenges ahead

Articles for Autumn Budget 2024 including Capital Gains Tax and National Minimum Wage (NMW) And Employers National Insurance

Articles for October 2024 including: Renters Rights Bill and Wales: controls on second homes and holiday lets

Articles for September 2024 including: Interest Rate Cut to 5% - impact on mortgages Stamp Duty Land Tax: Incorporation Pitfalls The Housing Scotland Bill

In spring 2024, the government announced the abolition of the Furnished Holiday Lettings (FHL) tax regime. To help lessen the impact of these changes, we review key areas such as capital gains tax, mortgage interest relief, and profit splits for couples, offering insight into strategies to minimise financial consequences and optimise tax efficiencies.

Thinking of selling part of your Principal Private Residence? In our latest blog we take a look at two cases with different outcomes in relation to the tax treatment, and the key considerations for homeowners considering a partial sale.

Our August 2024 update including the confirmation that FHL's will be abolished, The Kings speech and what's in store for property landlords, Stamp Duty rises in England and Northern Ireland from 2025 for first time buyers, Gwynedd issues first Article 4 and homes in Scotland becoming less affordable.

Our July 2024 update including, a reminder of the Labour manifesto and what this might mean for property investors & developers, Bank of England interest rate to remain at 5.25%, Furnished Holiday Lets and New requirements for private rental properties in Northern Ireland.

Our June 2024 update including, The Bank of England interest rate and potential impact on mortgages, Information around the Construction Industry Scheme: 2024/25, the forthcoming general election What does this mean for property landlords? and finally the Scottish housing bill

Updates on the Furnished Holiday Lettings announcement, Scottish Private sector rents increase in the past year, The Public consultation on Land Transaction Tax reliefs in Wales and an overview of UK Private rents and house prices: April 2024.

Everyone knows that you can invest your pension in various stocks and shares, however you can also invest it in commercial property! Whether that be your company premises, an industrial unit, a pub or a shop, there are some very valuable tax reliefs to be had.

The latest updates for the property market for April 2024 including the Key measures for landlords from the budget, Housing Cladding Remediation in Scotland and the housing market forecast for Wales.

In our April 2024 newsletter we look at the changes to child benefit and why many couples may now be able to restart claims, cash accounting from 2024, changes to the basis of assessment, details of MTD for income tax reports, furnished holiday lettings from 6th April, camping pods and capital allowances and more changes to R&D!

Thinking of purchasing a commercial property? Planning ahead offers the potential opportunity for huge tax savings! We share 5 top tips to consider when purchasing a commercial property.

The saying goes: "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!" This applies to landlords who trusted advice from entities like Property 118 or Less Tax 4 Landlords. Both have gained attention in the property sector and received DOTAS numbers from HMRC for tax avoidance schemes. If you're affected, take action now to address your tax situation.

Updates for the property sector in March 2024 including new rules proposed for short term lets in England, and higher costs leading to mortgage rate increases, Rent increases from April 2024 in Scotland and the new zero carbon development in Wales.

Overall summary of the budget which includes a Capital gains Tax Reduction, Changes to domicile and residency and more...

The latest updates for the property market for February 2024 including the housing market and mortgage outlook for 2024, CIS Changes and the future of the Welsh housing market.

Our property roundup for January 2024 including the effects of the autumn statement into the new year, energy efficiencies in rental properties, the heat in buildings strategy in Scotland and the outlook for the rental market.

Taking out personal borrowings to invest in your own company can be tempting but you could be disadvantaged from a tax perspective if you do not proceed with caution.

Yesterday, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt presented his second Autumn Statement, but with a very different tone to the gloomy announcements made this time last year. The Chancellor announced initiatives with a massive focus on pushing growth in the economy. The main question you’ll all no doubt have is… “how does it affect me?”, let’s take a look…

We share the latest updates in the property sector including: Expected house price falls in 2024, Britain’s best locations for student landlords, Charities concerns over delays to Renters Reform Bill, Agreement between Wales and Cornwall, Scotland: More Council Tax for large homes

With demand for rental property being at an all time high we explore considerations if you are thinking of getting into property investment and how to ensure you are compliant from the offset of your journey as a property investor.

Trusts are often overlooked by many as being too complicated or something only for the rich, whilst the former may be partially true the latter definitely is not. With proper professional advice the benefits of trusts can be demystified, and both the tax and practical benefits realised.

Property updates for October 2023 including - Record numbers of landlords making next purchase via Ltd companies, rocketing rent predictions, Possible rent controls increasing rent in Scotland and Proposed planning permission required for second homes in Wales.

Raising finance to fund property development can be one of the most challenging parts of the project. This blog highlights specialist lenders, explores how they operate and how Friend & Grant can help with the journey.

Property updates for September 2023 including - VAT on rent to serviced accommodation supplies, UK house price update, Heat Pump Plans in Scotland and the Northern Ireland housing market.

Property updates for August 2023 including house price affordability, more on the renters reform bill, plans around holiday lets licencing in Wales and the potential housing emergency in Scotland.

We take a look at the ins and outs of VAT in the property & construction world with examples and tips to help you maximise your reclaims, steer clear or unexpected bills and make your property ventures a breeze.

The Renters Reform Bill  After several delays, The Renters Reform Bill was published on 17 May 2023. A White Paper, published in June 2022, set out proposals to be legislated in the bill, which will change the way in which the relationship between landlords and tenants will work. The bill only applies in England. Key...

Protection insurance is key to protecting your future. Are you aware of the options available to you and are you certain there are no loopholes of gaps in your cover? We explore the differences between Life Cover, Critical illness cover and income protection and the benefits of seeking guidance from an independent financial advisor can help you to ensure you have sufficient cover.

As a property investor, ensuring you have your property tax affairs structured in the most tax efficient way is vital. Ill-thought-out structuring and negligent planning can be very costly down the line. We recognise that everyone has unique situations and goals when it comes to their property affairs, so we’ve decided to take a 360 all-inclusive approach to tax planning to help you realise your goals.

If your business falls within the realm of property consultancy, property/land sourcing, property finding, estate agency, or similar activities, registration for Anti-money laundering supervision will be necessary, we explore the responsibilities and consequences for non compliance.

The latest updates for landlords and property investors including regulation for short-term lets, risks around lead generation services, calls for a renters charter and retiring landlords fuelling the rental property crisis.

Registering for VAT isn’t always a black & white option, here we go through scenarios where VAT registration may or may not be beneficial to your business.

Finding any sort of contamination on your property can easily burn a hole in your pocket, but this valuable tax relief may help you recover some of your money!

Property investors are often keen to understand the options for structuring their portfolio. Is a limited company the best option? We look at some of the advantages of using a limited company or a special purpose vehicle for your investment portfolio.

Sometimes the rules regarding VAT are not quite what you expect! Here we go into detail on 5 VAT rules that you may not have known existed.

Keep reading to find out what Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s “Back to Work” Budget means for you. Is 2023 a year of opportunity?

Property investors often fail to realise that they have a duty to register under CIS if they carry out certain activities. Failure to register could be costly as it is likely to result in significant penalties being levied for non-compliance.

What do you do if your subcontractor or professional disagrees with your treatment of their income under CIS? You have basically three actions you can take.

If you carry out any sort of building works on a property and engage labour you have to be wary of the rules under the construction industry scheme where tax has to be potentially stopped on the labour element of the service provided. Professionals are often consider exempt from CIS- but is this right? The answer unsurprisingly is not always!

For many people building their perfect home is just a dream. However over recent years we are seeing more and more cases of individuals looking to do just that. To ensure that individuals enjoy the same VAT advantages as professional builders check out the DIY Housebuilders Scheme.

Residential rental income is an exempt supply for VAT purposes, and so as a rule VAT cannot be charged on this income or reclaimed on related expenses. However, if you’re in a situation where you’re a landlord, but also run a VAT registered business making taxable supplies as a self-employed individual, then there may be a way you can reclaim VAT on your rental expenses too through your VAT Returns.

Having run an accountancy practice for almost 30 years I have had the good fortune to meet literally thousands of business owners. Many have created great companies but many others have unfortunately failed. Reasons given for failure are numerous. Many are genuine such as Covid or an unforeseen bad debt resulting in severe cashflow problems. Most however are due to a basic misunderstanding of what is required to create a successful business.

Becoming a landlord, particularly if you are planning to manage the letting yourself, can be daunting. The legalities are complex, finding the right tenants is not easy, things do go wrong and it is easy to underestimate how much time you’ll need to spend on one property let alone a portfolio!

Owning your own property is part of the culture in the UK with over 65.1% of houses owned by the households in 2019. Surprisingly, whilst we are ahead of countries like Germany and France, most European countries have extremely high levels of ownership (Italy 72.3%, Greece 75.4%, Poland 84.2%). So why the disparity? In simple terms the reason is the property rental market. In 2020 the share of households occupied by private renters hit 18.7%, so around 4.44 million households were privately rented in England in 2020.

This is the first of a two part series of blogs on the topic of wealth creation. In this first blog I will be looking at how wealth is perceived in society and how you can measure your own wealth.

The long delayed VAT Domestic Reverse Charge for the Construction Industry was finally introduced on 1st March 2021.

If you're looking to make energy-efficient improvements, these grants may help!

As of the 1 July 2020 landlords of private rented accommodation are now required to have their electrics and wiring inspected and tested every 5 years by a qualified, competent professional. This is called an Electrical Installation Condition Report.

The construction industry scheme is designed to stop tax on invoices raised by the self employed or limited companies (called subcontractors) who provide labour within the construction industry to businesses which are also within the construction industry (called contractors).

Working in the property industry can be a minefield with all the various accounting regulations that need to be followed. This can be made easier with a good record keeping system that works for your business and keeps you compliant!

Recent events are putting considerable strain on businesses which rent leasehold premises so what options do you have? We believe that it is in the tenant and the landlord’s interest to work together to come up with a solution which in the long run will benefit both parties.

The impact of Covid19 could adversely affect both tenants and landlords. We examine what help the government is giving to both of these groups of individuals.

The Chancellor has set out a package of temporary, timely and targeted measures to support businesses through this period of disruption. Regrettably for most of the self-employed there is little help.

With effect from 6 April 2020, a new tax payment regime will be introduced for the disposal of residential property in the UK by individuals. Here’s what you need to know.

We're often asked whether to purchase a buy to let property personally or via a limited company. Read our detailed advice to help you understand the up-and down-sides of each option. Everyone’s circumstances are different; the pros and cons must be weighed up on a case by case basis.

HMRC really seem to have had it in for landlords in recent years. For some it will be worthwhile to restructure their affairs in order to minimise the impact of recent legislation changes.

We have recently taken on a number of new clients who have undeclared rental income. Often these individuals have received prompted letters from HM Revenue & Customs’ Let Property Campaign department. HMRC have access to all land registry documents and a sophisticated computer system that can identify taxpayers who own multiple properties.

From April 2017 HMRC began phasing in the ‘residence nil rate band’ which could mean large savings on inheritance tax bills for future generations. From 6 April 2020 it’s worth £70,000 per estate – so a whopping £140,000 of tax ready to be saved per couple. However, there are potential stumbling blocks as with most...

Many of the recent changes in the taxation of buy to let rental businesses do not apply to property businesses that qualify as furnished holiday lettings. In particular, the restriction on deductibility of finance costs that started to apply from 2016/17 does not apply to furnished holiday lettings. It may be worth considering investing in...