Guides
UK property cost research — written from the data, not the marketing brochure.
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buyer-guides
Removing a Parent From a JBSP Mortgage: How It Works in 2026
The two routes that release a parent from a joint borrower sole proprietor mortgage, the one that doesn't apply, and the affordability maths that decides the timing.
9 June 2026
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cost-intelligence
The next-fix LTV band penalty from a longer mortgage term (2026)
On a £270,000 Bedford purchase, a 35-year term builds £12,000 less equity by year 5 than a 25-year — sometimes enough to push the remortgage into the next rate band.
9 June 2026
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cost-intelligence
Where SDLT actually disappears: UK postcodes below the £125,000 nil-rate (2026)
Across England in 2025, 76,510 sales completed below the £125,000 SDLT threshold — that's roughly one in every ten transactions paying no stamp duty at all. Here's where the threshold actually bites zero.
9 June 2026
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regional-prices
UK postcodes where £100,000 buys the average home (2026)
19 postcode areas where 2025's median sale price was £100k or under — and the council tax and mortgage maths that go with them.
8 June 2026
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cost-intelligence
25-year full-life fix mortgages: the amortisation maths (UK 2026)
Habito One, April Mortgages and Perenna sit roughly 50-100 basis points above the BoE 5-year fix. The premium pays for permanent rate certainty — here is what 25 years of that looks like on a £270,000 loan.
8 June 2026
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cost-intelligence
Buy vs rent: the 3-axis sensitivity grid on a £300k UK home (2026)
Rate, rent growth and fix length — what each axis is worth in pounds.
8 June 2026
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cost-intelligence
The 26.5% effective CT rate on landlord finance costs (UK 2026)
Corporation tax's marginal-relief curve lifts the effective rate on the £50k-£250k profit band to 26.5% — not the 25% headline.
7 June 2026
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cost-intelligence
FHL abolition: how s272A bites former holiday-let owners (UK 2026)
The Finance (No. 2) Act 2024 ended the furnished holiday lettings regime on 6 April 2025. For higher-rate owners, the mortgage-interest relief change alone costs £1,296 a year on a £150k loan.
7 June 2026
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cost-intelligence
Section 24 and the £100,000 income-tax cliff for landlords (UK 2026)
How the s.272A finance-cost restriction can push a buy-to-let landlord's adjusted net income across the £100,000 personal-allowance taper and the £60,000 HICBC threshold.
7 June 2026
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cost-intelligence
ERCs on buy-to-let mortgages: how the tax relief actually works (UK 2026)
An early repayment charge looks like a one-off penalty, but for landlords it's also a finance cost — taxed very differently for individuals than for limited companies.
6 June 2026
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cost-intelligence
The 10% overpayment cap as a free ERC buyback on a 10-year fix (UK 2026)
How using the annual overpayment allowance on a 10-year fixed-rate mortgage mechanically shrinks the Early Repayment Charge — worked on a £270,000 loan.
6 June 2026
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cost-intelligence
Remortgage maths: cash in pocket vs net wealth on a falling-rate refinance (UK 2026)
Why the 84-month cash saving and the year-10 outstanding balance can give different answers on the same refinance.
6 June 2026
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cost-intelligence
Mortgage product fees and the 10-year fix certainty premium (UK 2026)
Adding £999–£1,995 arrangement fees changes the £7,175 case for locking a 10-year fix — but not always how borrowers expect.
5 June 2026
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cost-intelligence
Early Repayment Charges and the falling-rate remortgage (UK 2026)
How a 1-5% sliding ERC on a 10-year fix sets the rate-drop floor before a remortgage actually saves money.
5 June 2026
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cost-intelligence
2, 5 or 10-year mortgage fix: how it shapes buy-vs-rent on £300k UK 2026
BoE-quoted spring-2026 rates run through a £300,000 / £270,000 / 30-year baseline with reset scenarios from -1pp to +3pp.
5 June 2026
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cost-intelligence
Mortgage Term Extension: What 30 and 35 Years Actually Cost in 2026
On a £200k loan at 4.32% the 25→30 move saves £99/month and adds £29,754 in lifetime interest. The 25→35 move saves £167/month and adds £60,825.
4 June 2026
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cost-intelligence
Rent inflation and the buy-vs-rent breakeven (UK 2026)
Hold the mortgage rate flat at 4.32% and vary the rent escalator: where breakeven lands at 1%, 3% and 5% per year.
4 June 2026
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cost-intelligence
Mortgage overpayments: what £100, £200 or £500 a month actually saves you (UK 2026)
Full amortisation table at £50-£1,000/month on a £200k loan, plus equity built, lifetime interest saved, and the 10% annual cap that constrains it.
4 June 2026
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cost-intelligence
Remortgage rate shock: the equity curve on a £200k loan (UK 2026)
When the year-5 reset rate moves ±3pp, what actually changes: cashflow, equity, or both?
3 June 2026
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cost-intelligence
The 2% non-resident SDLT surcharge: how the spouse rule catches mixed-residency couples (UK 2026)
Paragraph 9 of Schedule 9A FA 2003 treats married couples and civil partners as a single buyer — and the worst residency status applies to the whole purchase.
3 June 2026
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cost-intelligence
SDLT day-counting evidence: what HMRC accepts (UK 2026)
The 183-day non-resident SDLT test stands or falls on a buyer's evidence file — here's what HMRC's published guidance treats as strong, weak, or third-party-verifiable.
3 June 2026
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cost-intelligence
Non-resident SDLT surcharge: companies and partnerships (UK 2026)
How Schedule 9A FA 2003 tests company residence, when a close-company look-through bites, and why one non-resident partner can taint an entire partnership purchase.
2 June 2026
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cost-intelligence
Limited-company landlord profit extraction in 2026: the tax stack
The corporation-tax saving only materialises if profit stays in the company. Here's what dividends, salary or retention each cost on the way out.
2 June 2026
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cost-intelligence
Incorporation relief (s162 TCGA 1992) on a property portfolio: how it works in 2026
How section 162 defers CGT on transferring a buy-to-let portfolio into a limited company — and why SDLT cannot be deferred at all.
2 June 2026
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cost-intelligence
Limited-company landlords at £500,000: the twin SDLT and ATED rules
Schedule 4A FA 2003 and ATED engage on the same purchase, with separate reliefs, returns and clawbacks.
1 June 2026
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cost-intelligence
Defending a 20-year SDLT discovery assessment: decision tree (2026)
How the Hicks 'no discovery' and Tooth 'not deliberate' defences sequence when HMRC reaches back two decades.
1 June 2026
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cost-intelligence
SDLT discovery: HMRC's evidence bar for the 6 and 20-year windows
What HMRC must put in front of the tribunal to upgrade a 4-year SDLT discovery window to 6 years (carelessness) or 20 years (deliberate).
1 June 2026
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cost-intelligence
SDLT partial closure notices: how the 2017 reform split HMRC enquiries
How Schedule 15 of the Finance (No. 2) Act 2017 lets HMRC and taxpayers close one matter in a Schedule 10 SDLT enquiry while the rest runs on.
31 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
Prompted vs unprompted HMRC disclosure: penalty floors (UK, 2026)
How CC/FS7a's penalty floors shift by behaviour and disclosure timing under Schedule 24 FA 2007, with a £500,000 SDLT worked example.
31 May 2026
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buyer-guides
Judicial review of a tribunal-approved Schedule 36 notice in 2026
When paragraph 30(3) closes the appeal door, the only remaining challenge is JR of the FTT's approval — here's what grounds are available and how the case law shapes them.
31 May 2026
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buyer-guides
Schedule 36 paragraph 32: the 30-day appeal trap (UK 2026)
Three procedural rules in paragraph 32(1)/(2) FA 2008 that quietly dismiss most late or badly-drafted appeals against HMRC information notices.
30 May 2026
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buyer-guides
Schedule 36 para 32: FTT finality and judicial review (UK 2026)
Why the First-tier Tribunal's decision on a Schedule 36 information-notice appeal is final — and what judicial review can and cannot do about it.
30 May 2026
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buyer-guides
Schedule 36 carve-outs: the material HMRC cannot demand (UK 2026)
Paragraphs 23-25 of Schedule 36 FA 2008 and the Prudential boundary between legal advice privilege and the narrower statutory tax-adviser carve-out.
30 May 2026
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buyer-guides
Schedule 36 paragraph 5A: HMRC's identity-ascertainment notice (UK 2026)
How HMRC compels letting agents and short-let platforms to identify landlords — the four-condition test, the statutory output cap, and the paragraph 31 appeal.
29 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
Finance Act 2021 s.127: HMRC's tax-debt-collection limb on Schedule 36 (UK 2026)
The 2021 amendment that lets HMRC issue Schedule 36 information notices to recover an established tax debt — not just to check a tax position.
29 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
Schedule 36 paragraph 30: the 'unduly onerous' appeal (UK 2026)
The only door out of a third-party information notice — what the test means, the 30-day clock, and why the tribunal's decision is final.
29 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
Schedule 36 paragraph 5: HMRC unknown-taxpayer information notices (UK 2026)
The bulk-data and fishing-expedition route: how paragraph 5 and 5A differ from a standard third-party notice — and how to appeal.
28 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
Schedule 36 paragraph 2 third party notices: SDLT mechanics 2026
How HMRC's paragraph 2 information notices to conveyancers, lenders and surveyors actually work — and what the taxpayer behind them can and cannot do.
28 May 2026
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buyer-guides
Schedule 36 paragraph 50: the tax-related penalty above the day-rate stack (UK 2026)
How the Upper Tribunal-imposed, statutorily-uncapped tax-related penalty escalates a Schedule 36 information-notice obstruction into the same range as the underlying SDLT at stake.
28 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
When Article 6 ECHR engages in HMRC penalty proceedings (UK, 2026)
The Engel and Jussila criminal-character test that decides when HMRC tax-penalty proceedings attract Human Rights Act protections.
27 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
Tooth v HMRC and the SDLT 20-year discovery window (UK 2026)
How the 2021 Supreme Court ruling narrowed what HMRC must prove to reach beyond the four-year SDLT discovery window.
27 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
HMRC CC/FS factsheet series: what each one means in an SDLT check
A plain-English index of the compliance-check factsheets HMRC encloses with SDLT enquiry letters — what each one says and when it lands.
27 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
Schedule 36 information notice penalties for SDLT 2026
What the £300 / £60-a-day / £1,000-a-day penalty stack means when HMRC opens an SDLT compliance check.
26 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
SDLT enquiry windows and HMRC compliance check letters (2026)
The 9-month enquiry window, 4/6/20-year discovery assessments and the Schedule 36 response clock, in plain English.
26 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
Welsh LTT higher residential rates for additional dwellings (2026)
Wales sets a parallel band table for second homes — not a surcharge bolted onto the standard table. The structural difference reshapes the price curve.
26 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
Cross-border house buying: the SDLT, LBTT and LTT delta in 2026
Identical purchases attract very different transaction tax bills on either side of the England-Scotland and England-Wales borders.
25 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
Bare Trusts, Nominees and Family Trusts: SDLT Treatment in 2026
How HMRC tests the chargeable person — and why the £20,000 surcharge often hinges on whether a trust is bare or settled.
25 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
Separated spouses and the SDLT additional-property surcharge (2026)
Finance Act 2003 Schedule 4ZA paragraph 9, the three separation routes HMRC accepts, and the evidence each one needs.
25 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
Additional-property SDLT surcharge: the 3-year refund route, explained
How Schedule 4ZA paragraph 3 lets you reclaim the 5% surcharge if you sell your previous main residence within three years.
24 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
JBSP Mortgages and Stamp Duty: How Joint Borrower Sole Proprietor Works in 2026
Parent's income lifts affordability, parent's name stays off the title — and SDLT treats it as a sole purchase.
24 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
25 vs 35-Year Mortgage: What Extending the Term Costs You in 2026
On a £200k loan at 4.32% the monthly payment drops £167 — but lifetime interest climbs £60,825.
24 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
Monthly cost of a £100,000 mortgage in the UK (2026)
At April 2026's BoE quoted rate, £100,000 borrowed costs roughly £460-£550 a month — depending on the term you pick.
23 May 2026
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buyer-guides
Accidental landlords and CGT: the PRR rule change after 2020
Worked example: a £270k purchase in 2018, sold for £350k in 2026 after 24 months let — what proportion of the £80k gain is taxable.
23 May 2026
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buyer-guides
Bridging finance cost in a UK property chain (2026)
How short-term lending is priced when an onward purchase has to complete before the old home sells.
23 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
Cost of upsizing from a 4-bed to a 5-bed in the UK (2026)
The £278k average step-up, the SDLT jump, and the threshold that catches London upsizers.
22 May 2026
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market-analysis
Which UK cities are most new-build heavy? 2024 share by city
Salford led the country with 32.7% of 2024 sales being new builds — more than triple the UK average. Full city-by-city ranking from Land Registry data.
22 May 2026
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buyer-guides
New-build flat service charges: what's typical in the UK (2026)
After the 2022 ground rent reforms and the 2024 Leasehold Reform Act, here's what to expect on a new-build flat — with the numbers, the legislation, and the line items.
22 May 2026
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market-analysis
Do new-builds lose value? 253,000 UK repeat sales, 2010-2025
Quarter-million-pair Land Registry analysis controlling for the local HPI — the depreciation story is largely a flats story.
21 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
The £400,000 round-number anchor: bunching without a stamp duty cliff (2026)
6,729 sales at exactly £400k vs 1,152 in the £4,999 above — a 5.8x cliff with no SDLT slab change. What that says about round-number pricing.
21 May 2026
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regional-prices
Where UK First-Time Buyers Can Still Buy Under £300k (2025 Data)
Land Registry data shows 53% of 2025 UK home sales completed under the £300,000 first-time buyer nil-rate threshold — but the regional split is stark.
21 May 2026
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market-analysis
Most expensive London postcodes in 2025: where the £1M+ market clusters
Thirteen postcode districts captured 45% of London's £1M+ trading cash in 2025. The full ranking, with medians, mix, and £/sqft.
20 May 2026
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market-analysis
UK 'just-under' pricing patterns at SDLT thresholds: 2025 findings
Empirical Land Registry analysis: when buyers price below a slab, they pick the round -£5,000 notch, not £xx9,950.
20 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
The £125,000 SDLT threshold: where the bunching effect almost disappears (2026)
27x cliff for the first £1,000 above £125k — but £120k and £130k still outsell it. The smallest SDLT slab boundary, in 2025 Land Registry data.
20 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
Why UK house sales bunch at £250,000: 2025 SDLT slab analysis
In 2025, 10,603 sales settled at exactly £250,000 — and just 3,224 in the £5,000 above. What the Land Registry data shows.
19 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
Rate stress test: buy-vs-rent breakeven if remortgage rates change (UK 2026)
What happens to the buy-vs-rent maths if the rate at year-6 remortgage moves -1pp to +3pp from today's 4.32%.
19 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
Equity built vs rent paid: what £1 of housing actually buys you (UK 2026)
At 4.32%, the first year of a £200,000 mortgage builds £4,545 of equity. A renter on the same monthly outlay builds zero.
19 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
SDLT residency test vs Statutory Residence Test (UK 2026)
Why someone can be UK tax-resident but still pay the 2% non-resident SDLT surcharge — and the other way around.
18 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
Reclaiming the 2% non-resident SDLT surcharge: the refund explained (UK 2026)
How the SDLT-specific residence test, the 2-year amendment deadline and HMRC's dedicated refund service fit together.
18 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
Corporate vs personal buy-to-let: the 2026 UK cost stack
How SDLT, ATED, Section 24, corporation tax and CGT layer differently for individual landlords and limited-company landlords.
18 May 2026
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buyer-guides
Why CGT private residence relief claims fail: 5 common reasons (UK 2026)
Lettings relief, the 9-month final-period exemption, garden caps and periods-of-absence rules: how the most common PRR claims get cut down on enquiry.
17 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
Amending an SDLT return and claiming a higher-rate refund (UK 2026)
How HMRC's 12-month amendment window, four-year overpayment relief and the dedicated higher-rate surcharge refund service actually work — with the deadlines that catch buyers out.
17 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
SDLT vs LBTT vs LTT: the three UK property taxes compared (2026)
The same £300,000 home produces three different tax bills depending on which side of which border you buy in.
17 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
Why SDLT surcharge refund claims fail: 5 common reasons (UK 2026)
The 5% higher-rate surcharge is recoverable when you replace a main residence — but a steady stream of claims are refused on the same recurring legal points.
16 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
The joint-buyer stamp duty trap UK 2026: when one co-owner ruins your relief
How the 'one taints all' rule turns a £5,000 stamp duty bill into £25,000 — and the narrow legal escapes that exist.
16 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
Cash reserve to hold beyond the deposit, by purchase price (UK 2026)
A practical line-by-line budget for stamp duty, conveyancing, survey, mortgage fees and the first three months, by purchase price.
15 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
Monthly cost of a £250,000 mortgage in the UK (2026)
At today's Bank of England quoted rate, £250,000 borrowed costs roughly £1,364 a month on a 25-year repayment term.
15 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
Monthly cost of a £150,000 mortgage in the UK (2026)
At today's quoted rate, £150,000 borrowed costs roughly £700-£880 a month — depending on the term you pick.
15 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
Cost of upsizing from a 3-bed to a 4-bed in the UK (2026)
What the move actually costs once stamp duty, agent fees, mortgage, conveyancing and removals are added up — by city.
14 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
The cost of buying a flat vs a house in the UK (2026)
Tenure, floor area and the service-charge stack — what really separates the two when you compare 2025 Land Registry numbers.
14 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
New-build vs resale: the true cost gap in UK 2026
A £67,000 headline premium, an EPC gap of 90 percentage points, and the line items neither price tag shows.
14 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
The cost of a buy-to-let property in the UK in 2026: every line item
5% stamp-duty surcharge, Section 24, void council tax, and the EPC C question — the full year-one stack with worked examples.
13 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
The true cost of owning a second home in the UK in 2026
5% SDLT surcharge, 100% council tax premium in coastal authorities, plus mortgage and insurance loading — a £400,000 Cornwall worked example.
13 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
True cost of buying vs renting in London (2026)
Borough-by-borough mortgage + council tax stack, SDLT at every London price point, and a clean breakeven framework against your rent.
13 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
Joint-applicant mortgage affordability: LTI maths for £300k+ (UK 2026)
How UK lenders pool two incomes, the LTI multiples that unlock a £300,000 loan, the dependants drag and the stress-test arithmetic at today's 4.32% quoted rate.
12 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
Monthly cost of a £350,000 mortgage in the UK (2026)
Payment matrix, deposit at five LTV bands, stamp-duty taper, rate-shock stress test and a Croydon CR0 worked example.
12 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
Monthly Cost of a £500,000 Mortgage in the UK (2026)
What a £500k loan actually costs each month at today's rate, the income lenders look for, and how a 2pp rate shock would reshape the budget.
12 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
Monthly cost of a £300,000 mortgage in the UK (2026)
Payment matrix at the current Bank of England 4.32% quoted rate, total interest by term, and what a rate shock looks like.
11 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
The true cost of buying a £1 million home in the UK (2026)
Stamp Duty by buyer type, mortgage payments at today's rate, and a W4 Chiswick worked example — plus why the £1M round-number cliff is sharper than the actual SDLT slab.
11 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
The true cost of buying a £750,000 home in the UK in 2026
Stamp duty, mortgage, council tax and running costs at £750,000 — and the 12.6× pricing cliff hiding in the Land Registry data.
11 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
The true cost of buying a £250,000 home in the UK in 2026
Leicester worked example, SDLT on the standard nil-rate edge, mortgage matrix and a year-one total — all from the public data.
10 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
The true cost of buying a £200,000 home in the UK in 2026
Deposit, Stamp Duty, mortgage and running costs on a £200k purchase — with a Sheffield worked example and Leeds comparison.
10 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
True cost of buying a £400,000 home in the UK in 2026
Stamp duty, mortgage at today's BoE rate, council tax and running costs for a £400,000 buyer — with a worked example in Birmingham.
10 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
The £500,000 stamp duty cliff: why £1 costs FTBs £5,000 (UK 2026)
How a single pound above £500,000 erases first-time buyer relief, and what 4,541 sales-at-£500,000-exactly say about the market response.
9 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
Energy cost by EPC rating: what a 3-bed semi costs to run (UK 2026)
From £43/year at band A to £603/year at band G — what 535,664 EPC certificates say about running a typical English 3-bed semi.
9 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
Buying vs renting in the UK in 2026: when does the maths flip?
A breakeven framework using current BoE mortgage rates, ONS rent benchmarks, and HM Land Registry data.
9 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
Stamp Duty for non-UK residents in 2026: the 2% surcharge
Who pays, how the 183-day test works, two worked examples and how to claim a refund.
8 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
Additional property stamp duty surcharge UK 2026: how the 5% works
The 5% SDLT surcharge on second homes, buy-to-let and replacement properties, with worked examples and refund rules.
8 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
Stamp Duty first-time buyer relief explained (UK 2026)
Thresholds, taper, the £500,000 cliff edge, and worked examples at every common price point.
8 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
Monthly cost of a £200,000 mortgage in the UK (2026)
Payment matrix at the current Bank of England 4.32% quoted rate, total interest by term, and what a rate shock looks like.
8 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
Hidden costs of buying a house in the UK (2026): 9 line items buyers forget
Conveyancing, searches, surveys, insurance, removals, maintenance — the £4,000-£8,000 in extra costs most first-time buyers underestimate.
8 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
True cost of buying a £500,000 home in the UK in 2026
Stamp duty, mortgage, council tax, EPC running costs and the £500,001 cliff edge — every line item a UK buyer at £500k actually faces in 2026.
8 May 2026
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cost-intelligence
The true cost of buying a £300,000 home in the UK in 2026
Deposit, stamp duty, mortgage, council tax and the full year-one outgoings on a £300k purchase — with worked examples for first-time buyers, standard buyers and buy-to-let.
7 May 2026