Should I rent out or sell my UK home?

Your UK home is often the biggest decision before you go. Letting, selling and leaving it empty each bring different UK rules, and once you are a Portuguese tax resident, Portugal taxes the rent and any gain as well.

Your three choices

Letting it out

Talk to your mortgage lender before you let, and check whether you need consent. A letting agent can manage the property and the tax deductions while you are away.

England’s Renters’ Rights Act brought in a new tenancy system on 1 May 2026, for new and existing tenancies. Section 21 “no fault” evictions have ended and all tenancies are now periodic. If you want to sell or move back in, you can’t use those grounds in the first 12 months of a tenancy, you must give 4 months’ notice, and you can’t re-let or market the home for 12 months afterwards. A database of private rented homes and a landlord ombudsman follow from late 2026. 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 are 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 tax off the rent and pay it to HMRC.

• You can apply to HMRC to receive the rent with no tax deducted. An agent must keep deducting until HMRC tells them in writing that you can be paid gross
• You still declare UK rent on a UK Self Assessment return
• Joint owners are taxed on their own share

Portuguese tax on UK rent

Once you are a Portuguese tax resident you declare worldwide income, including UK rent, as property income (category F). Under the 2025 UK–Portugal treaty, rent from UK property can be taxed in both countries, and Portugal then gives a credit for the UK tax on the same income, capped at the Portuguese tax on it.

• Portugal’s special rate for residential lettings is 25% (28% for other property income). You can choose instead to add it to your other income and pay the normal rates, which can help on a lower income
• Portuguese reductions for long residential leases are written for Portuguese leases; ask your adviser before assuming they apply to a UK tenancy
• If the UK tax can’t all be credited in the year, the rest can be carried forward for up to 5 years
• Keep records of rent, expenses and UK tax paid for your Portuguese accountant

See Do I still pay UK tax?

Selling from Portugal

If you sell after becoming non-UK resident, you must report the sale to HMRC within 60 days of completion using a Capital Gains Tax on UK property account, even if you made a loss or owe nothing. Interest and penalties apply if you’re late.

If you are Portuguese resident when you sell, Portugal can tax the gain too, with a credit for UK tax. For property, Portugal normally counts 50% of the gain and adds it to your other income at the progressive rates. Portugal has a relief when you reinvest the proceeds of your own permanent home, but it has strict conditions, including where your tax address was in the 12 months before the sale. The timing of the sale against your move matters, so ask a cross-border adviser before you exchange contracts.

If you keep it empty

• UK council tax: you usually still pay. Councils can charge up to twice the normal amount on second homes, and add premiums on long-term empty homes
• Check your home insurance: many policies limit cover when a home is empty for long periods
• Make a plan for post, meters and someone to check the property