A lot of landlords I speak to ask roughly the same question at the moment: is buy-to-let still worth it, now that the dust has actually settled on the Renters’ Rights Act? It’s a fair question, and a timely one — the first phase of the Act went live on 1 May, the mandatory tenant Information Sheets had to be served by 31 May (with fines up to £7,000 for landlords who missed that), and we’re now far enough into June that the practical reality of the new system, rather than the speculation about it, is starting to become clear. Section 24’s tax treatment hasn’t gone anywhere either, and there’s a second wave of reforms already being signalled for later this year.
So rather than rehashing predictions, this piece looks at where things actually stand now that landlords have lived under the new rules for several weeks, what it costs, and whether the numbers still add up.
Quick Answer: Is Buy-to-Let Still Worth It in 2026?
For landlords with low borrowing or who pay tax at the basic rate, buy-to-let remains genuinely worthwhile in 2026 — average gross yields are sitting around 6-7% nationally, and tenant demand, while easing from its post-pandemic peak to roughly a six-year low, is still outstripping supply in most areas, putting a reasonably firm floor under achievable rents. The picture is considerably tougher for highly-geared, higher-rate taxpayers, since Section 24 still prevents full mortgage interest deduction, and the Renters’ Rights Act has added genuine new compliance obligations — Section 21 is gone, tenancies are now rolling rather than fixed-term, and rent increases must go through a formal Section 13/Form 4A process capped at once every 12 months. None of this makes buy-to-let unviable, but it does mean the spreadsheet needs updating before assuming last year’s numbers still hold.
Section 21 Is Actually Gone Now — Here’s What That Means in Practice
This isn’t a future change to plan for anymore — it’s done. As of 1 May 2026, Section 21 “no-fault” evictions no longer exist, and every assured shorthold tenancy that was running at that point automatically converted into a rolling assured periodic tenancy. If you didn’t serve a Section 21 notice before 4:30pm on 30 April, that option is gone for good on that tenancy — full stop.
What replaces it is a strengthened Section 8 process, which requires landlords to cite a specific, legally defined ground for possession — rent arrears, intention to sell, moving back in yourself, and so on. The arrears threshold for a mandatory possession ground has also been extended, meaning tenants now generally need to be three months behind on rent rather than the previous two, before a landlord can rely on that particular ground. In practical terms, this means regaining possession typically takes longer and requires more documentation than it used to. It’s not impossible — it’s just no longer something you can do simply because a fixed term has ended.
For a full, plain-English breakdown of exactly what’s changed and when each phase lands, the NRLA’s guide to the Renters’ Rights Act is one of the more genuinely useful resources out there, written specifically for landlords rather than tenants or lawyers.
Rent Increases Now Go Through a Formal Process — Here’s How
This is a detail that’s caught a few landlords out already. You can still increase rent — that hasn’t been taken away — but contractual rent review clauses are now void. The only legitimate route is the statutory Section 13 process: serving Form 4A with at least two months’ notice, and you’re limited to one increase every 12 months. If a tenant thinks the proposed increase is above market rate, they can challenge it at the First-tier Tribunal completely free of charge — which removes a financial barrier that previously discouraged a lot of disputes.
There’s also a quieter rule worth knowing if you’re advertising a property right now: from 1 May, any advert on an assured periodic tenancy must specify the proposed rent, and you’re not permitted to invite or accept offers above that advertised figure — effectively banning the informal “best offer” bidding wars that used to happen in hot rental markets. Breaching this can trigger a Trading Standards penalty of up to £5,000.
What’s Actually Happening to Tenant Demand Right Now
Here’s something genuinely interesting from the most recent market data: tenant competition has eased back to roughly a six-year low as of June. That sounds like bad news on the surface, but it’s worth reading properly rather than panicking about it. The underlying structural shortage of rental housing across most of the UK hasn’t gone away — it’s just that the extreme bidding-war conditions of the past couple of years have cooled off. Properties that are priced sensibly and presented well are still letting quickly; the days of having forty viewings booked for one flat are simply less common than they were.
Practically, this means pricing and presentation matter more than they did two years ago. A property that’s overpriced or poorly maintained will sit empty for longer than it would have during the peak demand years — voids are the silent killer of buy-to-let returns, and a property empty for even six weeks can wipe out a meaningful chunk of a year’s net yield. If you haven’t reviewed your asking rent against genuinely comparable local listings in the past few months, it’s worth doing now rather than assuming last year’s market still applies.
Section 24 Hasn’t Moved — and It’s Still the Bigger Tax Issue for Many Landlords
While the Renters’ Rights Act has dominated the headlines, Section 24’s restriction on mortgage interest relief is still quietly the bigger financial issue for a lot of individual landlords, particularly higher-rate taxpayers with sizeable mortgages. Rather than deducting mortgage interest from rental income before tax — the way most other business expenses work — landlords instead get a flat 20% tax credit applied after the tax bill on the full rental income has already been calculated. For a basic-rate taxpayer, this roughly nets out to the same position as before. For a higher-rate taxpayer with a large mortgage, it doesn’t — and the effective tax rate on the real cash profit can end up considerably higher than the rate that’s actually shown on the headline tax band.
We’ve covered the mechanics of this, including a worked example showing exactly how much extra tax a highly-geared higher-rate landlord can end up paying, in our guide to UK mortgage rates and whether to fix in 2026, since the interaction between your mortgage rate and Section 24’s relief structure genuinely changes the underlying maths of whether a particular buy-to-let purchase or remortgage still stacks up.
Phase Two Is Coming — Get Ahead of It Now
The first phase of the Renters’ Rights Act is behind us, but phase two — a mandatory Private Rented Sector Database and a new Ombudsman scheme — has a late-2026 window for landlords to prepare for, according to the government’s own implementation roadmap published in June. The exact registration opening date hasn’t been locked down to a single day yet, but the direction of travel is clear: landlords will need to register their properties, provide safety information centrally, and budget for new annual fees.
The sensible move right now, rather than waiting for registration to open and scrambling, is to start auditing your own paperwork— gas safety certificates, EICR reports, EPC ratings, deposit protection confirmation — so that when the database does open, you’re not chasing down six years of missing documents under time pressure. A phase three of reforms, including a Decent Homes Standard for the private rental sector and an extension of Awaab’s Law, is also still working through consultation, so this isn’t the last set of changes landlords will need to absorb this year.
What the Actual Numbers Look Like Right Now
| Landlord Profile | How 2026 Conditions Affect You |
| Low or no mortgage, basic-rate taxpayer | Section 24 has minimal impact; the cooling in tenant competition is the main thing to watch on pricing |
| High LTV mortgage, higher-rate taxpayer | Section 24 bites hardest here — worth running the actual after-tax numbers rather than assuming gross yield reflects real profit |
| Considering a new purchase in 2026 | Factor in the stamp duty surcharge, current mortgage rates, and the genuinely new compliance overhead from the Renters’ Rights Act before assuming old return calculations still apply |
| Currently mid-tenancy with an existing AST | Your tenancy has already converted to a rolling assured periodic tenancy — Form 4A is now your only legitimate route to a rent increase |
Despite everything above, national average gross yields are still sitting in a genuinely respectable 6-7% range in most regions outside London, with the North East and parts of the Midlands continuing to outperform the national average. That’s the number that gets the headlines, but it’s the gross figure — once you factor in Section 24’s effect on net return for a leveraged, higher-rate landlord, the real picture can look quite different, which is exactly why running your own numbers properly matters more this year than in a calmer regulatory environment.
If You’re a Landlord Right Now, Here’s What Actually Needs Doing
Confirm your Information Sheet was served and you have proof. If you haven’t kept a record — a read receipt, recorded delivery slip, or signed acknowledgement — for every named tenant, sort this retroactively where you still can. The £7,000 fine is real and councils now have stronger enforcement powers to pursue it.
Switch your rent review approach to Form 4A. Any old contractual rent review clause in your tenancy agreement is void now. Build the two-month notice period and the 12-month gap into your planning going forward.
Start your compliance audit ahead of the database. Gas safety, EICR, EPC, deposit protection — get these confirmed and filed properly now rather than under pressure once registration opens later in the year.
Re-run your numbers with current mortgage rates and Section 24 factored in properly. Don’t rely on a yield calculation from two or three years ago. If you haven’t reviewed your mortgage deal recently, it’s worth reading our broader guide on how rising mortgage costs are affecting UK homeowners, since the same rate pressures hitting residential mortgages are very much present in buy-to-let lending too.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can landlords still evict tenants in 2026?
Yes, but not through Section 21 “no-fault” notices, which were abolished from 1 May 2026. Landlords must now use the Section 8 process, citing a specific legal ground such as rent arrears (now requiring three months of arrears for the mandatory ground), intention to sell, or moving back into the property personally.
How do I increase rent under the new rules?
Through the statutory Section 13 process only — serving Form 4A with at least two months’ notice, limited to one increase every 12 months. Contractual rent review clauses in existing tenancy agreements no longer apply. Tenants can challenge an increase they consider above market rate at the First-tier Tribunal at no cost to them.
Is buy-to-let still profitable after Section 24?
It depends heavily on your gearing and tax band. Basic-rate taxpayers with low or no mortgage borrowing are largely unaffected. Higher-rate taxpayers with significant mortgage debt face the steepest impact, since Section 24 limits relief to a flat 20% credit rather than full deduction of mortgage interest — meaning tax is calculated on gross rental income rather than net profit.
What is the Private Rented Sector Database and when does it open?
It’s a mandatory landlord and property registration system forming phase two of the Renters’ Rights Act, expected to roll out in a late-2026 window according to the government’s implementation roadmap. An exact opening date hadn’t been confirmed as of mid-June 2026, but landlords are advised to have compliance paperwork — safety certificates, EPC ratings, deposit protection — in order ahead of registration.
Has tenant demand for rental properties dropped in 2026?
Tenant competition has eased to roughly a six-year low compared with the unusually intense post-pandemic rental market, according to June 2026 data from Rightmove and Zoopla. However, underlying housing supply shortages persist in most regions, meaning well-priced, well-presented properties are still letting reasonably quickly — it’s poorly priced or poorly maintained properties that are now more likely to sit empty.
Conclusion
So — is buy-to-let still worth it in 2026, now that the Renters’ Rights Act is actually in force rather than just being talked about? For most landlords, the honest answer is yes, but the margin for error has genuinely narrowed. Section 24 hasn’t softened, the compliance workload has grown with the Information Sheet requirement and the looming database, and rent increases now run through a formal, capped process rather than whatever was written into the original tenancy agreement.
None of that makes buy-to-let a bad investment on its own — yields in the 6-7% range are still genuinely competitive against most other places you could park capital, and the structural shortage of rental housing in the UK isn’t solving itself any time soon. What it does mean is that the lazy version of buy-to-let — buy a property, set a rent, leave it alone for a decade — is less viable than it used to be. The landlords doing well right now are the ones treating this as an active, properly managed business: rerunning the tax numbers honestly, keeping paperwork current, and pricing rents to the actual market rather than to what worked two years ago.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, tax, or legal advice. Property investment carries risk, and regulations referenced here apply specifically to private landlords in England — rules differ in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Always consult a qualified accountant, solicitor, or financial adviser before making decisions about buy-to-let property.
