Making Tax Digital: What Landlords Need to Know

 The UK government’s Making Tax Digital (MTD) initiative is set to bring significant changes for many landlords from April 2026, and Douglas Dickson Property Management is here to help you navigate these new rules.

Who Does Making Tax Digital Affect?

HMRC are bringing in new regulations for landlords and sole traders with turnover of over £50,000 from April 2026. This is part of their Making Tax Digital plan.  

·       From April 2026: Sole traders and landlords with turnover over £50,000 

·       From April 2027: Sole traders and landlords with turnover over £30,000 

·       From April 2028: Sole traders and landlords with turnover over £20,000

Those who hold their properties in Limited companies or Partnerships are not currently affected.

What's changing?

You'll need to use recognised software to keep records of your self-employment and property income and expenses and send quarterly updates to HMRC. These quarterly updates aren't tax returns – they're just simple summaries of how your business is doing, in four smaller chunks, pulled from your records. You won't pay four tax bills a year; the deadline for paying your tax will still be 31 January, but this is supposed to simplify the process. 

What Do Landlords Need to Do?

• Register for Making Tax Digital with HMRC before April 2026 if your property income is above £50,000.
• Keep digital records of all your property income and expenses using compatible software. Our property management software can directly upload into HMRC approved software to help you efficiently manage the process.
• Submit quarterly updates to HMRC via your chosen software, rather than an annual return. The first return will be due by 7^th August 2026.
• Ensure your chosen software meets HMRC’s requirements and allows for seamless submission of your tax data.
• Stay on top of deadlines, as late submissions could result in penalties.

We recommend reviewing your current record-keeping processes.

Our property management software can directly upload into an HMRC approved digital accounting software to help you efficiently manage the process.

If you’re unsure about the requirements or how to get started, our team is here to provide advice and support.

Scottish Parliament Passes Rent Control Bill

On 30^th of September, the Scottish Parliament passed The Housing (Scotland) Bill which will allow the Scottish Government to designate rent control areas. It will become law once it receives Royal Assent from the King.

While rent controls were first introduced in Scotland as an emergency measure in response to the cost-of-living crisis, the Bill will give local authorities the ability to designate rent control areas.

Local authorities will be required to conduct rent assessments every five years and if the Scottish Government deems the rent across the zone to be excessive, they can decide to cap rent increases across the zone at the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) plus one per cent, up to a maximum of six per cent. 

The bill also gives greater rights for tenants to personalise their home, obtain permission for a pet and end a joint tenancy where there is disagreement between the tenants about ending the lease.

The provisions in the Bill affecting the PRS require secondary legislation to be drafted and approved to set out the details of how they will operate. It will likely be another 18 months to 2 years, or possibly longer before they come into force.

Why do landlords use a Letting Agent?

Landlords have been having a hard time over the last few years with increasing regulations and with the impending introduction of rent controls. Increasingly, landlords are turning to letting agents to help them through this.

According to a recent Rightmove survey, landlords’ top priorities were:

·        Having reliable tenants and avoiding void periods

·        Ensuring properties are well-maintained and in good condition

·        Staying compliant with regulations and legal requirements

The main reasons landlords gave for using an agent were:

·        They do not want the hassle and stress of managing it themselves.

·        They want to ensure they are compliant with regulations and legislation

·        Agents have the expertise to do it well, achieve best rents and good tenants.

The survey found that Landlords who use an agent are 15% more likely to review their rent annually and are 9% less likely to experience rental arrears.

At Douglas Dickson we have over 30 years experience of helping landlords manager their rental properties in the Glasgow area.

We know keeping up to date with what is going on can be challenging and time consuming.  With our professionally qualified staff, we will ensure you comply with the latest regulations.  With our expert market knowledge, we ensure you achieve the best rents and our tenant vetting enables us to secure reliable tenants.

We will help you increase your profitability and remove the stress from managing it yourself.

If you would like us to review the current market rent for your property, contact us on 0141 221 1827.

New Energy Performance regulations for Scotland

The Scottish government has announced plans to introduce new Energy Performance regulations in the Scottish Parliament during 2025 to come into force in 2026.

These reforms include:

·       adopting a new Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating system for domestic buildings, which will give clearer information on the fabric energy efficiency of a property; the emissions, efficiency and running costs of its heating system; and the cost of energy to run the home to standardised conditions;

·       adopting a redesigned EPC certificate;

·      reduction of the validity period of EPCs from 10 to five years to ensure consumers have more up-to-date information.

The government still intends to introduce another piece of legislation this year; a Heat in Buildings Bill, which is expected to introduce the following requirements:

-    for private rented sector properties to meet a minimum energy efficiency standard by 2028 (owner-occupied properties will need to meet the same standard by 2033);

-    for properties in all tenures to have ended their use of polluting heating by 2045.

If you are thinking of refurbishing your property you should consider these proposals and try and include them in your works.  We can help you.  Contact us if you would like further details.