How Software Can Help Landlords Stay Compliant

Remaining compliant with all of the laws and regulations governing property letting can be difficult especially if your portfolio is large. Compliance is often overlooked and easily forgotten – it isn’t a problem until it’s a problem.

And with regulations often changing and new ones being introduced all the time it can be easy for things to slip through the cracks. This is why many landlords invest in property management software to help them manage their obligations.

In this article, we take a look at some of the key regulations landlords need to be aware of and how property management software can help you stay on top of these requirements.

Safety Inspections and Certificates

There are a large number of property safety requirements that landlords must comply with before they let out their property. These include:

• Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
• Electrical safety
• Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR)
• Gas Safety Check
• Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarms
• Legionnaires Disease

These safety inspections and certificates need to be regularly updated, kept organised so they’re easily accessible, and many of them also need to be shared with tenants.

Read more: Landlord Compliance Requirements: The Checklist

Automated reminders

With property management software such as Landlord Studio, you can set automated reminders for yourself for things like property inspections, EPC renewals, safety inspections and certificate renewals, and lease renewals. On top of this, you can set automated rent reminder emails for your tenants to ensure the rent is never late again.

Cloud storage

Save important documents such as your EPC, gas safety certificate, or EICR to our secure cloud server and ensure all of your essential documents are easily accessible any time you need them. All documents can easily be shared with relevant parties with a few quick taps.

New Tenants

One of your obligations as a landlord is to keep track of current and historical tenancies and tenant details and ensure your tenants have all the documents they need when they move in. Documents that need to be shared with your tenants at the beginning of new tenancies include many of the ones above as well as:

• Tenancy Deposit Management
• “How to rent: the checklist for renting in England”
• Right to Rent Checks

Easy tenant tracking and management

Save time with regular tenant messages using our customisable email templates. Plus, store all your important documents in Landlord Studio and easily share them with your tenants when they move in.

Making Tax Digital

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self-Assessment (ITSA) will apply for all landlords and unincorporated businesses with total property or business income that exceeds £10,000 a year from April 2026.

The three key elements of this change are:

• Keep Digital Records. You must keep digitised receipts and accurate digital records of all taxable income and expenses.
• Use Approved Software. Use our Xero integration to become MTD compliant today. View approved software.
• Quarterly Returns. Tax returns will need to be submitted to the HMRC digitally every quarter.

This represents a massive change in how many landlords will need to track their income and expenses and how they’re required to submit their self-assessments.

Powerful digital record keeping

Landlord Studio offers easy-to-use digital record-keeping tools designed specifically for landlords. Track income and expenses on the go via the app or using the desktop software. Digitise receipts in real-time, and connect your bank accounts to view and reconcile transactions in real time.

Xero integration

Avoid double handling of data and become MTD-compliant today with our Xero integration and seamlessly sync financial data to your Xero account. Pair powerful property management and industry-specific accounting tools with Xero’s industry-leading reporting.

Financial compliance

Bad bookkeeping can lead to fines and overpaid taxes. Plus, buy-to-let investment margins are often slim once you take into account the numerous expenses related to operating a rental (such as the legal and safety requirements outlined in this article). By utilising quality income and expense tracking software you can gain valuable financial insights and streamline your operations to ensure your properties remain in the green.

Correct expense categorisation

Ensure you correctly track and categorise your expenses with expense categories designed for the property sector.

Our default expense categories make it easy. And our powerful income and expense tracking features mean you can streamline your income and expense tracking, saving time, reducing manual data entry and errors and ensuring your books are always up to date.

Receipt scanner

Use our receipt scanner to digitise receipts at the point of sale and attach them to the relevant expenses. These supporting documents are accessible and searchable for your records and will ensure you remain compliant with the HMRC’s guidelines which stipulate that “you must keep your records for at least 5 years after the 31 January submission deadline of the relevant tax year.” (source)

While you aren’t required to submit supporting documents with your self-assessment, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) may check your records to make sure you’re paying the right amount of tax.

A last word

Staying on top of property regulations can be a challenge even for the most experienced investors.

There are financial compliance requirements, such as keeping your supporting documents and accurately submitting your income tax self-assessment. Then there are the safety and tenant management legislations like right-to-rent checks and fire and gas safety inspections. And these requirements grow as your portfolio grows and become more complex the more property asset classes you have.

With new regulations, such as MTD, being implemented all the time and old ones undergoing updates (such as The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm Amendment in October), having quality landlord software, like Landlord Studio, to help you stay organised and meet these requirements is no longer a nice-to-have it’s a must-have.

You Might Like

• How To Choose The Best Software For Your Rental Property Business
• Everything Landlords Need To Know About MTD for ITSA
• A Landlords Guide to Tax on Rental Income
• Top 5 Allowable Expenses Missed By Landlords