Your UK home: let, sell or keep

Your UK home is often your biggest decision before you go. Letting, selling and leaving it empty each bring different UK rules, and Australia may tax you on it too.

Last checked 2 Oct 2026·Information, not advice

In 30 seconds

If you let it, get your mortgage lender’s permission and register for the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme
If you sell after you’ve left, you must report the sale to HMRC within 60 days, even if there’s no tax to pay
Once you’re an Australian tax resident on a permanent visa, Australia can tax your UK rent and gains too

Your three choices

Choice	Good if	Watch out for
Let it	You may come back, or want income and to keep a foot on the ladder	Lender permission, landlord rules, UK and Australian tax returns
Sell it	You need the money for a deposit in Australia or want a clean break	Managing a sale from abroad; the non-resident reporting rules
Keep it empty	Short trial moves only	Council tax premiums, insurance and upkeep

Letting it out

If you have a mortgage, you must get your lender’s permission before you let the home
In England you must protect the tenant’s deposit in a government-approved scheme, keep gas and electrics safe, provide an Energy Performance Certificate and check the tenant’s right to rent
A letting agent can manage the property and the tax deductions while you’re away

England’s Renters’ Rights Act became law on 27 October 2025, and its new tenancy rules started on 1 May 2026. “No fault” (section 21) evictions have ended and private tenancies are now rolling (periodic). If you want to sell or move back in, you can’t use those grounds in the first 12 months of a tenancy, and you must give 4 months’ notice. A national landlord database and a landlord ombudsman are being brought in from late 2026, so check what you need to sign up to before you let. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own rules.

The Non-Resident Landlord Scheme

If you live abroad for more than 6 months a year, you count as a non-resident landlord. Your letting agent (or your tenant, if the rent is over £100 a week and there is no agent) must take basic-rate income tax off the rent and pay it to HMRC each quarter.

You can apply to HMRC to get the rent with no tax deducted. You still declare it on a UK Self Assessment return
The agent or tenant sends HMRC a yearly return by 5 July and gives you a certificate (NRL6)
Keep records of rent and expenses for 4 years

Selling from Australia

If you sell after you have become non-UK resident, you must report the sale to HMRC within 60 days of completion, using an online Capital Gains Tax on UK property account. You must do this even if there is no tax to pay or you made a loss. Private Residence Relief may cover the time it was your main home.

See Telling HMRC you’re leaving.

Australian tax on your UK home

Your Australian status	UK rent	Gain when you sell
Australian resident (permanent visa or citizen)	Declare it in Australia as foreign income	Usually declare it in Australia too
Temporary resident (on a temporary visa such as a 482)	Usually not declared in Australia	Usually not declared in Australia

Under the UK–Australia double taxation agreement, the UK can tax rent and gains from UK property even when you live in Australia. Australia then gives relief through a foreign income tax offset for the UK tax you paid on the same income, so you don’t pay twice. Keep records of the UK tax you pay. How a gain is worked out in Australia, and which part is taxable, depends on when you became resident. Get advice from a cross-border tax adviser before you sell.

Council tax

A tenant who lives in the home usually pays the council tax. If you leave it empty or keep it as a second home in England, you will usually still pay. After a home has been empty for a year, councils can add a premium; a home empty for 10 years or more can be charged up to 4 times the normal bill. Second homes can be charged up to double.

What to do next

Ask your mortgage lender about permission to let
Choose a letting agent and register for the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme
If selling after you leave, diarise the 60-day HMRC deadline

Sources

Last checked 2 Oct 2026. Rules and prices change, so check the official source before you act. Spotted something out of date? Email hello@theglobalocal.com.