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Keep or sell BTLinstant results in your browser
Weigh keeping vs selling your buy-to-let in 2026. Enter rent, mortgage, the new refinance rate, running costs and the EPC C bill to see your net cash flow and a clear lean — plus the Ground 1A 'sell trap' you must plan around.
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Income & mortgage
Costs
≈ £175/month before tax. EPC works would take 2.9 years of cash flow to recover.
Leaning keep — it still pays its way
Even after refinancing, the rent covers the interest and costs with room to spare, and the EPC C bill is recoverable within a few years of cash flow. On the numbers alone, holding looks viable — though capital growth, CGT and your own plans matter too.
The cash flow
- Annual rent
- £14,400
- Mortgage interest
- − £9,900
- Running costs
- − £2,400
- Net cash flow
- £2,100/yr
- One-off EPC C works
- £6,000
- Years of cash flow to recover EPC bill
- 2.9 years
The Ground 1A 'sell trap' — decide before you serve
Section 21 is gone. To sell with vacant possession you serve a Section 8 notice on Ground 1A (intention to sell): 4 months’ notice, not usable in the first 12 months of a tenancy, and a 12-month bar on re-letting once possession is granted. If the sale stalls you cannot simply pivot back to renting — so be sure of the exit before you start it.
Inside LetCompliance
If you keep, LetCompliance runs the whole let — rent, arrears, compliance scoring and the EPC 2030 clock — and prepares your tax. If you sell, the capital-gains figures and a court-ready evidence trail for a Ground 1A possession are in the same login.
- This is a cash-flow lens only. It uses interest-only mortgage cost (loan × rate) and ignores capital growth, the CGT due on a sale, void periods and your personal tax position.
- The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 sell route is Ground 1A: 4 months’ notice, a 12-month tenancy minimum, and a 12-month re-letting bar after notice expiry — re-letting inside that window risks a Rent Repayment Order.
- EPC band C is required for all privately rented homes from 1 October 2030, capped at £10,000 per property; grants may reduce the bill (see the EPC grant finder).
- This is a guide, not financial or tax advice. Take regulated advice before buying, selling or refinancing.
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Keep or sell your buy-to-let in 2026? The cash-flow test
Three pressures have landed at once. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 changed how tenancies and possession work; cheap fixed-rate mortgages taken at 1–2% are maturing into 5–6% refinance rates; and every rental must reach EPC band C by 2030 at a cost of up to £10,000. Together they have pushed a lot of landlords to ask whether a property still pays its way. This tool puts the cash-flow side of that decision on one screen so you can see the answer in numbers rather than headlines.
The maths is deliberately simple. Annual rent, minus the new mortgage interest (loan times rate, the interest-only basis most buy-to-let runs on), minus your running costs — insurance, maintenance, licensing and any agent fee — gives your net cash flow. A property that was comfortably positive at 2% can tip negative at 6%, which is exactly what is happening to many landlords refinancing this year. Seeing that number clearly is usually more useful than any general “is buy-to-let dead?” article.
The EPC C bill is the swing factor. A one-off cost of several thousand pounds to reach band C can wipe out years of thin cash flow, so the tool shows how many years of profit the works would take to recover. If that number is small, the bill is an inconvenience; if it is large — or the property is already loss-making — it often tips a marginal hold into a sell. Run the EPC grant finder first, because grants can cut that bill substantially and change the answer.
If the numbers point to selling, the route matters. Section 21 is gone, so to sell with vacant possession you serve a Section 8 notice on Ground 1A (intention to sell): four months’ notice, not usable in the first 12 months of a tenancy, and a 12-month bar on re-letting once possession is granted. That is the “sell trap” — once you commit to the sale route you cannot quietly pivot back to renting if the sale falls through, and re-letting inside the bar risks a Rent Repayment Order.
Treat the output as a starting point, not a verdict. It is a cash-flow lens: it does not value capital growth, the capital gains tax due when you sell, void periods, or your own tax position and plans. Two landlords with identical numbers can rightly reach different decisions. Use it to frame the question, then take regulated mortgage, tax and legal advice before you act.
How to decide whether to keep or sell your buy-to-let
Enter the rent, mortgage, refinance rate, running costs and EPC C bill, and read your net cash flow, how long the EPC works take to recover, and a clear lean.
- 1
Enter rent and the mortgage
Monthly rent, the outstanding loan, and the rate you are refinancing onto — many landlords are moving from 1–2% to 5–6%.
- 2
Add your running costs
Insurance, maintenance, licensing, agent fees and any ground rent or service charge, as an annual figure.
- 3
Add the EPC C bill
The one-off cost to reach band C by 2030, net of any grants. Capped at £10,000 per property.
- 4
Read the net cash flow and lean
The tool shows your annual net cash flow, how many years of profit the EPC works take to recover, and whether the numbers lean keep, marginal or sell.
- 5
Check the route before you serve
If you lean sell, read the Ground 1A "sell trap" and the CGT due, and take advice before serving any notice.
Frequently asked questions
Is buy-to-let still worth it in 2026?
It depends on the property. A rental that was comfortably profitable at a 2% mortgage can become loss-making after refinancing to 5–6%, and the EPC C bill adds a one-off cost of up to £10,000. The honest answer comes from your own numbers: rent minus the new interest and running costs. This calculator works that out and shows a clear lean.
How do I sell a tenanted property now Section 21 is abolished?
You serve a Section 8 notice on Ground 1A (intention to sell): four months’ notice, not available in the first 12 months of the tenancy, and a 12-month bar on re-letting once possession is granted. Re-letting inside that window risks a Rent Repayment Order, so be certain of the sale before you serve.
Does the EPC C cost change whether I should keep the property?
Often yes. A large band-C bill can swallow several years of thin cash flow and tip a marginal hold into a sell. Check the EPC grant finder first — the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and council funding can cut the bill and change the answer.
Does this calculator include capital gains tax?
No. It is a cash-flow lens only — it ignores capital growth, the CGT due on a sale, voids and your personal tax position. Use it to frame the decision, then take regulated tax and mortgage advice.
Same logic, every property
Run the numbers here. Track compliance in LetCompliance.
This calculator runs in your browser only. Inside LetCompliance the same statutory logic powers a 0–100 score per property, deadline reminders, and a court-ready evidence pack. 14-day free trial.
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