The Independent Landlord

25/04/2026

Feeling overwhelmed by the Renters’ Rights Act? Here are what I think are the important bits in a mere 6 sentences.

For practical help at every stage of the tenancy for the Renters’ Rights Act Era, check out my #1 Amazon best seller, The Good Landlord Handbook.

06/03/2026

📗 You can now buy my book ‘The Good Landlord Handbook’ on Amazon!

I published it yesterday (5 March) and put in an order at the same time!

I’m so chuffed that it is ready to help property investors digest it in good time before everything changes when the Renters’ Rights Act changes pretty much everything on 1 May.

No drama. No fuss. Just lots of practical tips to help you through every stage of the tenancy, under the new regime.

It’s already a #1 bestseller in multiple categories on Amazon.

Available in paperback now on Amazon and from my website, goodlandlordhandbook.com 🎉

23/09/2025

🎬 New video which exposes 10 myths going round about the Renters' Rights Bill.

In this video, I go through the top 10 myths, and explain why each one of the myths are wrong, which ones are almost right, and what the facts are.

With so much incorrect information going round on social media, it's important to make sure you get your information from reliable sources.

There are so many myths out there about the Renters' Rights Bill. But what's the truth? In this video, Suzanne Smith busts 10 of the biggest myths, helping y...

24/08/2025

If you're looking for The Independent Landlord Community private Facebook group, I've now closed it.

Instead, I'm excited to have quietly launched a vibrant new community called The Independent Landlord Hub, which is on the Circle platform.

It has two courses: 'Landlording: How we do it' and 'Renters' Rights: The Basics', which I keep updated. Plus lots of resources, and templates, and two live webinars a month.

It's a strict 'no sales' community, and the focus is on taking the mystery out of the new rules, and what we need to do to adapt.

I'll be doing the formal launch of the Hub in September, and have done a soft launch of it over the summer to subscribers of my newsletter.

You can join it now at the early bird, 'soft launch' pricing for the next few weeks. More information here:

Join The Independent Landlord Hub, a community that takes the mystery out of landlording & the Renters' Rights Act, which opened 29 July 2025

10/07/2025

Fantastic day at the National Landlord Investment Show yesterday. Here are some behind the scenes clips, including the huge amount of people listening to my seminar on the Renters’ Rights Bill, spilling into the corridor (!), and the after party…

Turn up the volume for some ironic Dolly Parton! 😊

03/06/2025

🎬 New YouTube video out today that goes through exactly how the Renters' Rights Bill promises to disrupt student tenancies.

It's explains what's changing and how different landlords are adapting to minimise the downsides. Plus advice on what pitfalls to look out for.

If you're a student landlord, you should be planning for the worst and hoping for the best.

Do you understand exactly how the Renters’ Rights Bill is set to change the business model of landlords letting to students via HMOs or single lets? This vid...

06/05/2025

🌅 The Renters' Rights Bill is a fiendishly complicated bit of legislation. However, clarity is coming soon after Royal Assent in the form of my two books:

📘 'The Good Landlord Handbook', a 65,000 word practical manual that explains pretty much everything landlords need to know about how to be a successful good landlord, in compliance with the Renters' Rights Act.

It's suitable for all landlords, from the accidental landlord with one property to the professional landlord with a portfolio of HMOs, and it covers choosing and using agents, as well as self-management.

📗 'The Renters' Rights Act Handbook: A practical guide for landlords and letting agents'. This does what it says in the tin, and is focused on the Act.

'The Good Landlord Handbook' is almost ready to go to my editor Lisa Cordaro for the first pass. 'The Renters' Rights Act Handbook' will follow.

I plan to publish both as soon as humanely possible after Royal Assent, once we have clarity on the transition timing.

Both are written in my inimitable, straightforward style that blends the legal with the practical, and leaves out the politics.

These aren't textbooks for lawyers, but are every day handbooks for landlords, letting agents and anyone else who is wanting to understand the new PRS.

When I pitched 'The Good Landlord Handbook' to my Facebook group this weekend, an experienced portfolio landlord said that a guide written in my in my "succinct, zero-dross" style would be a "lifeline" for landlords. Couldn't have put it better myself! 😄

Both books will be published in paperback, ebook and audio. In keeping with my mission to make high quality content freely available, I'll put the audio of the chapters on YouTube.

I'll be launching the books first on my website, and then on Amazon. I'll be opening the waitlist closer to Royal Assent, and I'll be happy to do volume discounts for letting agents and property businesses who would like to buy them for their teams.

Let me know what you think in the comments!

12/03/2025

Are you a property developer, investor and/or planning to do title splits?

You need to understand the government’s plans to ban the sale of new leasehold flats and make commonhold compulsory.

I break it down in this YouTube channel, including what commonhold is,how commonhold differs from leasehold and a share of the freehold, what’s likely to happen when, and whether existing leaseholds will convert to commonhold.

Let me know in the comments if you have any questions about it.

➡️ The Labour government is planning to ban the sale of new leasehold flats in England and Wales, and to make commonhold the only way people will be able to...

07/02/2025

The government launched a consultation on substantial changes to EPCs this morning.

I’ve gone through the 67-page consultation document and summarise the key points and what they mean for landlords here.

This will be a huge change if the proposals are implemented and isn’t a simple requirement to “upgrade” to EPC C.

The post explains the significant changes to minimum energy efficiency standards for landlords announced in 2025 for implementation from 2028

06/02/2025

🎬 New video on what the House of Lords can and can't do to the Renters' Rights Bill.

We need to have realistic expectations going forward, and I'm sure there's going to be a lot of clickbait content giving false hope of changes in the coming weeks.

That's not my style. I focus on providing reliable information to help landlords, property investors and letting agents plan.

In this video, I analyse what the minister said in the Second Reading to see if there are any glimmers of hope for landlords. Plus, I explain what power the House of Lords actually has.

I pack a lot into this short video:

🔹 What the government minister (Baroness Taylor) said about ending fixed term tenancies and student accommodation
🔹 Are there any signs of a government U-turn?
🔹 What happens next?
🔹 Should landlords be looking for loopholes?
🔹 What powers does the House of Lords actually have?
🔹 Why it’s important that this is a “manifesto bill”
🔹 What type of amendments are likely to succeed?
🔹 What the minister said about implementation date
🔹 Tips to get ready for the Bill

It's important for us all to have reliable information so we know what's likely to happen.

I hope you find it useful.

The House of Lords has begun debating the Renters' Rights Bill, but what power do they really have to change it? In this video, I explain what happened in th...