August Landlord Survey 2026 reveals 69 percent of landlords are likely to self-manage all their properties within two years, with compliance and legal complexity named as the top reason for changing management arrangements.
The survey of 276 UK landlords, carried out between 4 and 25 September and published on 9 November, found two-thirds have changed how they manage in the past two years. Within that group 27 percent left a letting agent and now self-manage, 26 percent started using an agent and 12 percent switched agent.
Quarterly tax reporting now puts a clear time price on that choice. Among landlords in Making Tax Digital, 75 percent expect each quarterly update to take at least four hours, 41 percent expect four to eight hours and 34 percent expect more than a day. Only 6 percent expect less than an hour. Set against agent fees of 11 percent of rent or more for 58 percent of those who pay for management, landlords face a direct trade between paying fees and finding days of admin time.
MTD turns compliance into days of admin
Making Tax Digital sits at the centre of the time burden. Only 35 percent of landlords could name the correct start date for their own income, and among those with income of £50,000 or more who should already be in the system, fewer than half at 48 percent say they are in it.
The quarterly load adds up fast. Four updates at four to eight hours each means 16 to 32 hours a year for most landlords in scope, and more than 32 hours for a third of them. Richard Samuel, chief executive of August, said quarterly digital tax reporting is the first obligation landlords can put a number on. “Quarterly digital tax reporting is the first one landlords can put a number on, and it is days, not minutes,” he said.
Legislation is now landlords’ single biggest worry for the next 12 months at 26 percent, ahead of void periods at 19 percent, mortgage rates at 19 percent and tax at 13 percent. Only 2 percent say nothing in particular worries them. That ranking helps explain why compliance at 27 percent now sits above wanting more control at 22 percent, poor service at 20 percent and fees at 14 percent as the stated reason for management changes.
Agent fees sharpen the self-manage calculation
Cost remains substantial for those who stay with agents. Among landlords who pay or have paid for management, 58 percent pay 11 percent of rent or more and nearly one in ten pays more than 15 percent. On five properties letting at £1,000 a month, a 12 percent fee is £7,200 a year.
Yet 58 percent of those who currently use an agent say they are likely to manage everything themselves within two years. The survey sample leans towards larger operators, with 74 percent owning or letting five or more properties, 30 percent holding everything through a limited company and 52 percent with a buy-to-let mortgage on at least one property, so the figures describe an engaged group rather than the whole sector.
This follows Landlord Knowledge’s report on August findings that 40 percent of landlords have tightened referencing since the Renters’ Rights Act came into force. The latest results suggest that tighter checks are only part of a wider shift, with management structure itself now being reworked. Combined with HMRC confirmation of the 7 November MTD update deadline, the picture for active landlords is steady pressure on admin rather than a single rule change. The full survey breakdown is published in the August Landlord Survey 2026.
What this means for landlords
- If you use an agent: check what compliance cover your fee buys – database registration, ombudsman readiness, periodic tenancy paperwork and rent-increase records – and get the scope in writing before renewal.
- If you plan to self-manage: test your MTD routine now with a timed quarterly update and diary the next three deadlines, plus document storage for tenancy and tax records.
- Watch for: the PRS database and ombudsman rollout in England, where only 23 percent of surveyed landlords knew registration will be required, alongside further HMRC reporting proposals for agents.
- Bottom line: fees of 11 percent or more compete with 16 to 32 hours of extra tax admin a year, so price the agent against your own time before the next tenancy change.
Editor’s view
The striking part is not that landlords complain about red tape. It is that most still plan to take more of it on themselves. That points to fees hurting as much as rules, and to tools that cut admin time becoming the real contest in 2027.
Author: Editorial Team – UK landlord & buy-to-let news, policy, and finance
Published: 10 November 2026
Sources: August Landlord Survey 2026, English Private Landlord Survey 2024
Related reading: August: 40% of landlords tighten references since RRA
Renters’ Rights Act: Complete Landlord Guide
Everything you need to know about the new rules – 1 May 2026
