How much deposit can be taken?

Five weeks' rent where annual rent is under £50,000, six weeks above it, protected in an approved scheme within thirty days.

Can a landlord still evict without a reason?

No. Section 21 no-fault eviction is being removed; possession requires a stated statutory ground and, in most cases, a court.

United Kingdom · GBP

Rentin London

A London deposit is capped at five weeks' rent and must sit in a government-approved protection scheme within thirty days. An unprotected deposit costs the landlord up to three times the sum, and blocks possession.

Manchester Birmingham Edinburgh Glasgow Leeds

Land Registry path

Leasehold term checked

3D map

+2%non-resident SDLT surcharge in England

+5%additional-dwelling surcharge on the whole price

Exchangethe moment an offer becomes a contract

Leaseholdmost flats — term, ground rent, service charge

What a purchase really costs

£500,000 home in London

Stamp duty (slice bands) — SDLT: £15,000
Non-resident surcharge (+2%): £10,000
Legal, searches & Land Registry (≈0.4%): £2,000
Survey (≈0.2%): £1,000
Cash needed at completion: £528,000

≈ +5.6% over the price. Scotland is a different tax and a different contract: LBTT with 8% ADS, and missives that bind earlier than an English exchange. In England and Wales an offer binds nobody until exchange — gazumping is legal, which is why the survey and the searches come before the celebration. A second or additional dwelling adds 5% SDLT on the whole price.

Rentals run on rules

The let side, in three lines

A tenant deposit must sit in a government-approved protection scheme within 30 days — unprotected deposits cost the landlord up to three times the sum.
The Renters’ Rights Act ends assured shorthold fixed terms and section 21 no-fault eviction; possession now runs through stated statutory grounds.
An EPC of E or better is required to let, and a leasehold flat carries ground rent, service charge and a term that shortens every year.

Yield on a leasehold flat is service charge minus optimism. Read the last three years of accounts and the cladding/EWS1 file.

Cities

Six metros, two tax systems

England and Northern Ireland pay SDLT; Scotland pays LBTT on its own bands and binds at missives, not exchange. Edinburgh and London are not the same transaction with different weather.

The Renters' Rights Act ends assured shorthold fixed terms and section 21 no-fault eviction. Possession now runs through stated statutory grounds, which changes how a buy-to-let underwrites an exit — model that, not a 2019 landlord blog.

The Tenant Fees Act bars almost every charge beyond rent, deposit and a capped change-of-tenancy fee. A landlord must also run a right-to-rent immigration check, and cannot let a property below EPC band E.

Service charge is where a leasehold yield goes to die. Read three years of accounts and the cladding file before you treat the gross figure as income.

FAQ

How much deposit can be taken?: Five weeks' rent where annual rent is under £50,000, six weeks above it, protected in an approved scheme within thirty days.
Can a landlord still evict without a reason?: No. Section 21 no-fault eviction is being removed; possession requires a stated statutory ground and, in most cases, a court.

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