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17/12/25 3:30 pm
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If you are a landlord at the start of 2026, you have already shown resilience.
The last few years have been relentless. Higher costs, more regulation, more admin and a growing sense that the job is getting tougher. Many landlords have decided it is no longer for them, and you can see why.
However, as we begin chapter one of the year, this column is for those landlords who are staying, because there is another story here too. Interest rates have started to ease, with the Bank of England cutting the base rate to 3.75 percent in December. Demand for decent rented homes has not gone away and, long-term, property still has a track record of capital growth for those who buy well and manage properly.
2026 is also the Year of the Horse, often associated with momentum, resilience and steady forward movement. Those qualities feel particularly relevant for landlords this year. After a long period of uncertainty, this is about keeping control, building confidence and moving forward with purpose.
So, my message for this first column of 2026 is a positive one. This year is about taking control.
Last year I said landlords would need to professionalise. Not as a slogan, but as a survival skill, because it is the difference between stress and confidence, failure and success. More responsibility is being placed on landlords, and the cost of getting things wrong has risen.
Making Tax Digital is a perfect example, and one that too few landlords are paying attention to. From April 2026, many landlords will need to keep digital records and send updates to HMRC using compatible software, depending on qualifying income thresholds and the phased start dates. You can find out more here.
For some, that sounds daunting. New software, new processes, new deadlines and, yes, another thing to remember. But that is exactly why professionalising matters. A professional approach turns big changes into a checklist.
I always say the same thing to landlords who feel overwhelmed. Do not try to hold everything in your head. Get it out on paper. Take an hour this week and write down what your property business needs from you in 2026.
Here is a simple way to structure it.
First, list your non-negotiables. These are the things that protect your income and reduce risk.
• Your record keeping and reporting, including Making Tax Digital readiness, if it applies to you. For landlords affected this year, the steps are straightforward. Confirm whether you fall into the first wave and when you need to start based on your qualifying income. Choose compatible software or take advice from your accountant. Establish a straightforward routine for digital record-keeping to ensure that income and costs are accurately logged. Diarise your update dates like any other business deadline. Many landlords who already run their portfolio professionally find this is simply a new reporting channel. It may be frustrating, but it is manageable
• Your compliance regime, including inspections, working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, gas and electricity safety certificates, an up-to-date EPC, deposit protection and correct tenancy documents
• Your tenancy management systems, including how you handle arrears, complaints or antisocial behaviour early
• Your contractor list, so you are not scrambling when something breaks
• Your insurance cover, and whether it still matches the risks you face
• Your financial plan, including a buffer and key renewal dates for mortgages
Second, decide what you will outsource and what you will do yourself. Remember, there is no badge for doing everything alone. Self-management can work well if you have the time, the knowledge and the systems. If you do not, a good letting agent is not a luxury. It is risk management.
Third, tackle it step by step. One change each week beats one stressful weekend where nothing gets finished.
We have all read the lists of why it is harder to be a landlord now. Tax, regulation, rates, politics, paperwork. However, I do not want to start 2026 by repeating the same warnings. If you have decided to stay, your job is to focus on what is within your control.
You cannot control policy, but you can control preparation. You cannot control the market cycle, but you can control the quality of your management. You cannot control every tenant decision, but you can control how quickly you respond, how well you document, and how early you intervene when things start to slip.
Here is the truth. Most landlord stress is not caused by one big event. It is caused by lots of small things that get left too long. A missed document, a late inspection, a repair that drifts, an arrears conversation that does not happen when it should and, dare I say it, a tax deadline that creeps up too quickly.
Professional landlords build systems so that important things happen on time, even when life is busy.
If you do that, you put yourself in a much stronger position to benefit from the positives too. Improving borrowing conditions, better refinancing opportunities and the long-term reality that well-chosen property can still deliver steady returns and capital appreciation, especially when demand for good rental homes remains strong.
My challenge to those of you still standing is this. Make January your reset.
Write your list. Build your plan. Decide what you will outsource. Book the training you keep meaning to do. Update your systems. Get your records in order. Make the admin boring, so the business becomes calmer.
Landlording is not a hobby anymore. That is true. But when you treat it like a profession, it becomes more predictable, more defensible and more rewarding. Make 2026 the year you run your portfolio with confidence again.
I am continuing to deliver more training than ever before for landlords and letting agents who want to raise standards and operate professionally in today’s market. For training or public speaking enquiries, visit paulshamplina.tv
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