Expat Property Story

Expat Property Story helps expats and overseas investors build and manage UK property portfolios remotely — from buy-to-lets and HMOs to auctions and refurbs. Each week, John the Expat Property Guy talks to expat investors, agents, and specialists about the practical realities of investing from abroad: financing, tax structuring, remote project management, and deal sourcing. Monday 'Mini-Sodes' feature Mortgage Updates, Auction Roundups, Tax Tips and Deal Reviews while longer Thursday shows provide everything else you need for UK property success. With a back catalogue of 300+ episodes, this is THE podcast for anyone building UK property wealth from outside the UK.

Expat Property Story is a business podcast hosted by The Expat Property Guy, with 326 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

The Expat Property Guy hosts Expat Property Story, a business show with 326 episodes published.

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  Episode #326

  Second Home Stamp Duty: The Expat's 6-Month Trap

  Sep 13, 202611 minS10

  #326 This month's tax topic with Simon Misiewicz of Optimise Accountants is stamp duty land tax, or SDLT, with one eye firmly on those of us buying from overseas. If you'd like a free PDF summary of everything below, you can grab it by subscribing to our email list (Don't forget to click 'Accept Marketing) ExpatPropertyStory.com Check out our shorts on YouTube Our WhatsApp group Property Engine discounts (Code: EXPAT) Starter: 30 day trial Pro: 30 day trial/3 mths 1/2 price, Ultimate: 1/2 price 3 months Goalsetting Leave a review 37 Question Due Diligence Checklist / Auction Guide Our Sponsors: Finnigan McNeill Property Group Second Home Stamp Duty: The Sliding Scale Simon breaks stamp duty on an additional UK property into a banded sliding scale, and the portion of the price in each band is taxed at its own rate. On the portion of the price up to £40,000, there's no additional-property surcharge at all. On the portion between £40,000 and £125,000, the rate is 5%. On the portion between £125,000 and £250,000, the rate rises to 7%. On the portion between £250,000 and £925,000, the rate is 10%. On the portion between £925,000 and £1.5 million, the rate climbs to 15%. On the portion above £1.5 million, the rate reaches 17%. The Expat Stamp Duty Surcharge Buying an additional property is only half the story if you live outside the UK. Non-UK residents pay a further 2% surcharge on the entire property value, stacked on top of the sliding scale above. Put the 5% additional-property rate and the 2% non-resident surcharge together, and an expat buyer can be facing a 7% surcharge before the standard bands are even applied. The 6-Month Trap for Returning Expats Here's the part of the conversation worth pausing on: moving back to the UK doesn't automatically switch off the 2% non-resident surcharge. Simon explains that even once you're living in the UK and filing UK tax returns, solicitors typically want to see around six months of UK residency before they'll treat you as a resident buyer. That means someone who repatriates and buys too soon can still be charged stamp duty as though they were living overseas. A Real Numbers Example To make that tangible, take a non-resident buyer who already owns a UK buy-to-let and purchases a £2 million home in Mayfair before waiting out the six months. By Simon's figures, that buyer would owe just under £294,000 in stamp duty. Simon is quick to point out that this is an extreme example, since most UK property sells for well under £300,000. Does a Limited Company Avoid the Surcharge? A common assumption is that buying through a limited company sidesteps the additional-property surcharge, especially if the company owns nothing else. Simon corrects that one directly: HMRC applies the 5% additional-property rate to any company purchase over £40,000, regardless of what else sits inside that company. He also flags a quieter trap around inheritance tax planning, where gifting a buy-to-let to an adult child can leave them paying the 5% surcharge later when they come to buy their own home. Commercial Property as a Workaround Simon shares a strategy some of his clients use instead: buying commercial buildings that already have permitted development rights. Because commercial property is taxed at non-residential stamp duty rates, it avoids both the 5% additional-property surcharge and the 2% non-resident surcharge. Those buildings can later be converted into flats or houses once they're held under a different classification, without the upfront surcharge bill. Key Takeaways If you already own property and you're buying another, budget against the additional-property sliding scale above, not the standard residential rates. If you're buying from outside the UK, add a further 2% on top of that. If you're planning to move back to the UK, build in roughly six months before you buy, or budget for the surcharge regardless. If you're buying inside a limited company, don't assume the structure protects you from the 5% rate. Disclaimer This episode and these show notes are for general information only, are not personalised tax advice, and everyone's situation is different, so please speak to a qualified accountant before making any decisions based on what you've heard here.

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  Episode #325

  Renters Rights Act 2026 Summary With Examples

  Sep 9, 202634 minS10

  #325 The Renters' Rights Act came into force on 1 May 2026. This episode is a plain-English summary of what changed, what landlords must do now, and what the penalties are for getting it wrong. It includes clips from past guests and a real eviction case study to show what the new rules mean in practice. This is not legal advice — for anything specific to your situation, speak to a qualified professional. Government Guide to the Renters' Rights Act ExpatPropertyStory.com Check out our shorts on YouTube Our WhatsApp group Property Engine discounts (Code: EXPAT) Starter: 30 day trial Pro: 30 day trial/3 mths 1/2 price, Ultimate: 1/2 price 3 months Goalsetting Leave a review 37 Question Due Diligence Checklist / Auction Guide Our Sponsors: Finnigan McNeill Property Group In this episode: The Big Change: No More Fixed-Term Tenancies On 1 May 2026, every Assured Short-Hold Tenancy (AST) in England became an Assured Periodic Tenancy (APT). This happened automatically — landlords did not need to do anything to make it apply. However, tenants should have been sent written notification by the end of May 2026. If that was not done, get legal advice before doing anything else. APTs have no fixed end date and no minimum term. Any clause in a tenancy agreement that sets a fixed end date is now void. Using a fixed-term clause can result in a fine of up to £7,000. Section 21 Is Gone Section 21 — the notice that allowed landlords to end a tenancy without giving a reason — no longer exists. It cannot be used, regardless of what the tenancy agreement says. The main route to regain possession of a property is now Section 8. Section 8 requires a specific legal reason (called a ground) and in most cases must be proved in court. The Most Important Section 8 Grounds There are 37 grounds in total — this episode covers the most important ones for most landlords. Ground 1 is for landlords who want to move themselves or a close family member into the property. The landlord must give four months' notice, and can only serve notice after the tenancy has run for eight months. The property cannot be sold or re-let for one year after the tenant leaves. Ground 1A is for landlords who want to sell the property with no tenant in it. The same four-month notice period applies, and again the property cannot be re-let or marketed for one year after the tenant leaves. Breaking the restricted period is a criminal offence and can result in a fine of up to £40,000, plus a rent repayment order covering up to two years of rent. Ground 8 is for serious rent arrears — defined as three or more months of unpaid rent. Ground 8 is mandatory, which means a court must grant possession if the arrears are proved. The notice period under Ground 8 is four weeks. Grounds 10 and 11 cover smaller arrears and persistent late payment, but these are at the court's discretion. It is common practice to serve Grounds 8, 10, and 11 together so the case can continue even if arrears temporarily drop below the Ground 8 level. Getting Referencing Right Is Now More Important Than Ever With Section 21 gone, a bad tenant is much harder and more expensive to remove. Referencing — the process of checking a tenant's identity, income, and rental history before they move in — is the most important tool a landlord has. Vicky Wusche, a past guest on the show, has found that fake references, bank statements, and identity documents are passing through many standard referencing agencies without being detected. The key question to ask your agent is not just whether they reference tenants, but how — and specifically what checks they use to detect fraud. Bank-link verification — where the referencing system connects directly to a tenant's actual bank account — is one of the better defences against fake documents. Rental Discrimination Landlords can no longer advertise a property with phrases such as 'no DSS' or 'no one on benefits'. If an application is turned down, the applicant should not be told the reason. Financial penalties apply to landlords who advertise with discriminatory language. Pets If a tenant asks to keep a pet, a landlord can no longer refuse without a good reason. Valid reasons include a clause in a lease that prohibits pets, or a freeholder's refusal. Landlords cannot require tenants with pets to take out pet damage insurance. Rent Increases The asking rent must be stated in the property listing and cannot be increased above that figure even if a tenant offers more. No more than one month's rent can be accepted before the tenancy starts. Rent can only be increased once a year and not in the first year of a tenancy. Increases must use a specific form — Form 4A — and require at least two months' notice before they take effect. Tenants can challenge a rent increase at the First-Tier Tribunal, and even if the landlord wins, the new rent only applies from the date of the decision. Notice Periods Tenants must now give two months' notice to leave, which is an increase from one month under the old rules. In theory, a tenancy can last as little as three months: one month of occupancy followed by two months' notice. In practice, the cost and effort of moving makes this rare. New Regulatory Bodies (Coming Soon) Two new bodies are being introduced: a Private Rented Sector Database and a Private Rented Sector Landlord Ombudsman. Every landlord and every rental property will eventually need to be registered on the database before a property can be marketed or let. Every private landlord will need to join the Ombudsman scheme. Registration on the database is expected to become mandatory by 2027, and the Ombudsman requirement from 2028. Neither is active yet, but missing the deadlines when they arrive carries a fine of up to £7,000, rising to £40,000 for serious or repeated breaches. For Landlords Managing from Abroad Every issue in this episode is harder to manage from a distance. Referencing decisions, pet requests, and compliance documents all sit with the managing agent — and the agent's mistakes can still result in penalties for the landlord. Time differences add further delays to processes that are already slow. Knowing what your agent is responsible for — and checking that they are actually doing it — matters more now than at any point before the Act. The Leyland Case Study John bought a property at auction in Leyland, Lancashire, with a tenant already living there who had a clean rent history. The tenant stopped paying the moment the purchase completed. The case took ten months to resolve, partly because the tenant repeatedly made promises and partly because of delays in the court process. Under today's rules, Section 21 would not be available as a fallback. The correct approach now would be to serve Grounds 8, 10, and 11 together from the start. What to Do Next Confirm every existing tenancy has moved to an Assured Periodic Tenancy. Check whether tenants were sent written notification of the change by the end of May 2026. Ask your agent directly how they handle referencing, discrimination, and rent-in-advance requests. Get familiar with the Section 8 grounds before you need them. Keep track of the database and Ombudsman rollout dates. Resources The government's free Renters' Rights Act guide and Form 4A are available on gov.uk. The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) publishes its own guidance and runs a landlord advice line. Des Taylor, a past guest on the show, runs Landlord Action and Landlords Defence. Free Checklist A free Renters' Rights Act checklist based on this episode is available via the link in the description. Subscribe to the email list and accept marketing to access it.

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  Episode #324

  UK Property News: Seven Stories - One Might Get Me Into Trouble

  Sep 6, 202610 minS10

  #324 Seven UK property news stories this week. Six are the kind you can act on. The seventh is the one to stay for. ExpatPropertyStory.com Check out our shorts on YouTube Our WhatsApp group Property Engine discounts (Code: EXPAT) Starter: 30 day trial Pro: 30 day trial/3 mths 1/2 price, Ultimate: 1/2 price 3 months Goalsetting Leave a review 37 Question Due Diligence Checklist / Auction Guide Our Sponsors: Finnigan McNeill Property Group In This Episode: 1. UK Gilt Yields Back at 2008 Levels What it means for mortgage rates, borrowing power, and whether there’s an opportunity buried in the bad news. 2. Void Periods Are Falling Post-Renters’ Rights Act Early data from one of the UK’s largest property management firms — and it’s more positive than you might expect. 3. Average UK Landlord Portfolio Income Up 23% The numbers behind the average UK landlord’s rental income in Q1 2026 — including the figure that will make you think about portfolio size differently. 4. Properties Near Top State Schools Command a £40,000 Premium A UK-wide analysis of what good school catchment areas actually cost — and what that means if you’re targeting family tenants. 5. One in Eight Brits Has Left the UAE Where they’ve gone, what it’s done to London’s luxury market, and what the closure of Harrods’ property arm has to do with it. 6. The Proportional Property Tax Proposal Gordon Brown, Andy Burnham, and a tax reform that could change what UK property ownership costs investors every year. 7. The One That Might Get Me Into Trouble A LinkedIn post by tax expert Dan Needle about a legal case involving property educator Samuel Leeds and a man named Andrew Burgess. https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/andrew-burgess-vs-samuel-leeds/ Not financial or legal advice — always consult qualified professionals for your personal circumstances.

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  Episode #323

  Renters' Rights Act: What UK Landlords Must Demand from Managing Agents

  Sep 2, 202627 minS10

  #323 Expat Property Story · The twice-weekly UK property podcast for remote investors If you’re a UK landlord managing properties from overseas, you’ll already know the Renters’ Rights Act has changed the landscape. Section 21 is gone. The grounds for ending a tenancy are narrower, the notice periods are longer, and getting referencing wrong from the start is a far more expensive mistake than it used to be. My guest today is Samantha Powell. Samantha has been in the industry for over thirteen years and is founder of MoveWorks — an independent property management agency covering England and Wales. ExpatPropertyStory.com Check out our shorts on YouTube Our WhatsApp group Property Engine discounts (Code: EXPAT) Starter: 30 day trial Pro: 30 day trial/3 mths 1/2 price, Ultimate: 1/2 price 3 months Goalsetting Leave a review 37 Question Due Diligence Checklist / Auction Guide Our Sponsors: Finnigan McNeill Property Group We Discuss: The Renters’ Rights Act: What’s Actually Changed For agencies that were already doing things properly, the Renters’ Rights Act hasn’t required a wholesale overhaul. The bigger difference is the stakes. With Section 21 abolished, there is no longer a straightforward route to ending a tenancy without grounds. That means the decision about who moves into a property in the first place matters far more than it used to. Samantha’s view: if your agent wasn’t being thorough about referencing before the Act, the Act hasn’t suddenly made them thorough. It has, however, made the cost of their carelessness much higher for you as a landlord. What to Demand from Your Agent on Referencing Samantha’s agency uses a system called GoodLord for all referencing, tenancy agreements, and terms of business. GoodLord has significantly tightened its referencing criteria in line with the Act. Credit checks are more detailed, salary verification is more rigorous, and — critically — one of the primary routes for financial verification now links directly to the applicant’s bank account. That bank-link verification makes fraudulent applications considerably harder to get through. AI-generated fake references were passing checks at many agencies a year before the Act came in. Ask your agent specifically how they are catching fraudulent applications — not just whether they reference tenants, but how. The Guarantor Product: A Solution to the Affordability Gap The standard referencing threshold is 30 times the monthly rent in annual income. For many tenants in the current cost-of-living environment, that bar is too high. GoodLord has introduced its own company guarantor product: tenants who fall short of the income threshold can pay a fee for GoodLord to act as their guarantor, provided they pass certain checks. It is an alternative to either rejecting a good tenant outright or accepting one without adequate financial protection. Section 13 Rent Increases: Start Earlier Than You Think Under the Renters’ Rights Act, rent increases now require two months’ notice rather than one. Samantha’s team has adapted by starting the rent review process significantly earlier, gathering comparable evidence and seeking agreement from both parties well ahead of the notice deadline. The process itself hasn’t become more complicated, but the timeline has lengthened. If your agent is still operating on a one-month cycle for rent increases, they are not compliant. The Two-Month Tenant Notice Period: Actually Better for Landlords A concern many landlords raise is that tenants can now give two months’ notice to leave at any point. Samantha’s reframe is worth considering: under the old periodic tenancy arrangement, tenants could leave on one month’s notice. Two months is an improvement in planning time, not a reduction. In practice, the cost and effort of moving — deposit, referencing, removal costs — means tenants give notice only when they genuinely need to go. Samantha has seen one case: a doctor on a short-term hospital contract. That is a genuine reason to leave, and as a landlord you can factor that risk in at the selection stage. Rent and Legal Protection Insurance: Now a Near-Essential With Section 21 gone, pursuing a tenant who won’t leave or won’t pay requires going through the courts under Section 8. That process is slower and more expensive than it used to be. Samantha recommends rent and legal protection insurance as a standard measure for any landlord post-Act. The cost is between £24 and £46 per tenancy per month, depending on the rent level and the policy provider. Some policies can be taken out mid-tenancy. For context, a contested Section 8 eviction can run to thousands of pounds in legal fees before it concludes. Managing Properties Nationwide Without Being Local MoveWorks covers England and Wales — from Sunderland to Hull, across Manchester, Liverpool, Salford and Warrington, into Wales, and now expanding into London. Samantha’s view on remote management is direct: the team and systems matter more than proximity. Key safes, local clerks, trusted contractors on a vetted panel, and local viewing agents mean a property can be accessed and attended to quickly regardless of where the head office is. The rule she applies before taking on a new area: if she doesn’t already have people she trusts there, she won’t take the business on. That discipline is worth asking about when appointing any agent who claims national coverage. The Fire in the Block of Flats One of Samantha’s managed blocks in Newcastle-under-Lyme had a fire. A tenant’s extractor fan caught fire while cooking. When the fire brigade arrived, they found a block where every check had been completed on schedule: AOV ventilation system checks, emergency lighting, fire door checks on communal doors quarterly and flat doors annually, a fire logbook in a fire box on site, annual fire risk assessments, and tenants briefed on fire safety at move-in and annually thereafter. The fire was contained to one kitchen. Nobody was hurt. The fire brigade left satisfied. Samantha’s point: without those checks, the outcome could have been very different. Who Is Liable When Something Goes Wrong? The short answer: the landlord. The longer answer: the agent, if they have claimed to have done checks that were not actually done. Samantha is clear that a landlord cannot be forced to carry out compliance works — an agent can advise, remind, and recommend, but cannot compel. If a landlord receives a fire door inspection report showing failures and does nothing with it, that responsibility sits with the landlord. If an agent claims to have carried out an inspection and did not, liability shifts toward the agent. The practical implication: ask your agent for evidence of every check, regularly and in writing. How to Check Your Agent Is Doing the Job from Thousands of Miles Away Ask for proof. A fire door check report, an up-to-date EICR, a gas safety certificate, an inspection report with photographs — any of these should be produced without hesitation. If an agent stalls, hedges, or cannot produce documentation for checks they claim to have completed, that is your answer.

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  Episode #322

  Expat Mortgage UK: Confidence, Not the Bank of England, Is Setting the Market

  Sep 1, 20267 minS10

  #322 Hello there and welcome back to Expat Property Story, the twice-weekly podcast for remote investors in UK property. It's Mortgage Monday again. Once a month I hand the mic to Shaz Ahmed of Elan Property Finance, our resident expat mortgage UK specialist, so you get the numbers instead of my usual musings. This month's chat turned into something more than a rates round-up. It became a lesson in why the UK mortgage market rarely behaves the way you'd expect. Why Confidence Beats the Bank of England July's inflation figure landed at 2.9%, up from 2.6% in June. You'd think that alone would tell you which way mortgage rates are heading. Shaz explained that fixed rate pricing actually tracks swap rates and interbank lending far more closely than it tracks the Bank of England base rate or inflation. And what really moves swap rates, he says, is confidence in the UK market, driven largely by politics. Changing prime ministers, party infighting, and general political noise rattle lenders and funders far more than a single inflation print. It's a theme that ties neatly back to principle number ten in my recent 10 Principles episode: psychology matters as much as the spreadsheet. Two Lenders, Two Directions Here's the proof in real time. The same week, The Mortgage Works emailed to say they were cutting rates, while BM Solutions emailed to say they were raising them. Same market, same month, opposite decisions, because every lender prices risk differently. The takeaway for anyone chasing the perfect moment to fix a buy to let mortgage UK deal is that there isn't one. As Shaz puts it, if the deal works, the deal works. Waiting three weeks for rates to move in your favour is a gamble, not a strategy. The Hidden Cost Behind the Lowest Rate It's tempting to chase the cheapest headline rate on a non resident mortgage UK product, but the fee attached can change the maths completely. Take a 200,000 pound loan with a 5% product fee: that's 10,000 pounds added straight onto your borrowing, and you pay interest on it too. Shaz's advice is to compare the total cost over the fixed term, not just the monthly rate, and to know your own priority before you start comparing. Some investors want maximum monthly cash flow and will accept a fee to get the lowest rate. Others want to minimise total interest paid over the term and are happy to pay more each month for it. Neither approach is wrong, but you do need to know which one you're optimising for. Fixed Rate Certainty: Why 87% of Borrowers Are Playing It Safe According to the government's English Housing Survey, 87% of UK mortgage customers are now on fixed rate deals. Variable rate borrowers today are mostly people sitting on old products with historically low pricing, not new borrowers choosing that route deliberately. Given how unpredictable the last few years have been, from Covid to conflict in the Middle East, it's easy to see why certainty has become the priority for most UK property investing decisions. North vs South: Where the Opportunity Sits Now Bright Move's August Index shows asking prices in the North of England up 1.5% year on year, while the South is down 1.8% and London specifically down 3.1%. That raises an honest question for every remote property investing expat with cash to deploy: is London and the South East still the obvious choice, or is it time to look north, or even to Wales? Cheaper property doesn't automatically mean a better deal, Shaz cautions. Higher tenant turnover, different tenant profiles, and weaker long-term demand can all eat into the saving. Manchester's growth over the past fifteen years has created a ripple effect into surrounding towns, and the same pattern may now be building elsewhere. Key Takeaways Swap rates, not the Bank of England base rate, drive your fixed mortgage pricing, and confidence in UK politics drives swap rates. Lenders can move in opposite directions in the same week, so timing the market is a losing game. Always compare total cost over the fixed term, not just the headline rate, on any buy to let mortgage UK deal. Fixed rate deals now account for 87% of the market, reflecting a broader appetite for certainty. Regional divergence between North and South is widening, and it's worth asking whether your next purchase should follow it. About Shaz Ahmed Shaz Ahmed is a mortgage broker at Elan Property Finance and a regular guest on Expat Property Story, joining every month for the Mortgage Monday update on UK property finance. If you're looking for fuss-free funding for your next expat mortgage UK purchase, you'll find a link to Elan Property Finance in the show notes. Shaz will be back next month with another lending update, and I'll be back on Thursday with the longer weekly show.

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