Autumn Budget 2026: What Property Managers and Landlords Need to Know

On Wednesday 28 October, John Healey will deliver his first Budget as Chancellor, and the first under Prime Minister Andy Burnham. The Office for Budget Responsibility will publish its updated forecast the same afternoon.

For property managers, accounts teams and landlords, the most useful thing to do now is sort the noise into two piles: what is already locked in, and what is genuinely up for grabs. This guide does exactly that, and ends with a short checklist of things worth doing before Budget day.

The backdrop: limited room to manoeuvre

Healey is working with very little fiscal headroom. Rising borrowing costs, higher defence spending and cost-of-living measures have all eaten into it, and most commentators expect some tax rises alongside tight spending control.

The government has confirmed it will keep Labour's 2024 manifesto pledge not to raise the rates of income tax, employee National Insurance or VAT. Because those three taxes raise the majority of the government's revenue, attention naturally turns to other areas, including property, capital gains and wealth.

What is already confirmed

Several changes that will affect your clients and portfolios are already in place or legislated. They will happen regardless of what is said on 28 October.

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is also now live for landlords and sole traders with qualifying income over £50,000, with the threshold dropping to £30,000 from April 2027. If your landlord clients rely on you for their rental figures, the quality and timeliness of your reporting matters more than ever.

Service charges: what to watch

Service charges are rarely mentioned in a Budget speech, but several Budget decisions flow straight into service charge budgets.

Energy costs and the electricity VAT cut. The 0% VAT rate on domestic electricity is funded only until 31 March 2027, with any extension left to the Budget. For block managers, the key question is whether communal supplies benefit at all. Where the landlord buys electricity centrally on a commercial contract, the saving may not apply. HMRC's rules allow a whole supply to be treated as qualifying if at least 60% is for qualifying use, so it is worth checking how each building's supply is classified before telling leaseholders to expect lower charges.

Labour costs in contracts. Cleaning, concierge, security and grounds maintenance are labour-heavy, and any change to the National Living Wage or employer costs feeds into contractor pricing. The new wage rates for April are usually confirmed around the Budget, so this is one to note for 2027/28 service charge budgets.

Insurance and leasehold reform. Leasehold reform is not a Budget measure, but it shapes the environment service charges are set in. The draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill was published in January 2026, and the government has said leaseholders will start to see changes to service charge transparency during 2027. The direction is clear: more scrutiny, more evidence and clearer audit trails.

Business rates: what to watch

The 2026 revaluation and new multipliers only took effect in April, so a wholesale redesign on 28 October is unlikely. The areas to watch are:

• Uprating for 2027/28.  How the multipliers are adjusted for inflation will set next year's bills.
• The high-value multiplier. Properties with a rateable value of £500,000 or more already pay 50.8p. Any change to that rate, or to the £500,000 threshold, will matter to larger commercial portfolios.
• Empty property relief.  Landlords pick up the rates on vacant units. Any tightening here directly affects void costs.
• Further sector-specific support, following the pubs and music venues cut already announced.

Landlord and property tax: rumour versus reality

Most of the headlines so far are speculation, not policy. The main themes are:

• Capital Gains Tax. Reports suggest the Treasury has modelled increases. Residential property rates are currently 18% and 24%. Any rise would affect landlords planning disposals.
• Inheritance tax. Nothing specific has been trailed for property assets, but the fiscal gap keeps it on the watch list.
• The High Value Council Tax Surcharge. There has been speculation that the £2m threshold could be lowered. Nothing is confirmed.
• Stamp duty and council tax. The Prime Minister has ruled out scrapping stamp duty in this Budget, and a wholesale replacement with an annual property tax is not expected. The 5% surcharge on additional properties remains.

The practical advice is to plan around the confirmed numbers and treat everything else as a scenario.

What to do before 28 October

1. Model the April 2027 property income tax rise for individual landlord clients, so conversations about rents, costs and structure start early.
2. Check your business rates data. Confirm rateable values on the 2026 list, which properties fall into the high-value band and where Transitional Relief applies.
3. Review communal electricity contracts to understand whether the VAT cut applies, and whether a Budget extension would make a difference.
4. Pencil in a service charge budget review for early November, once wage rates and any energy measures are known.
5. Make sure your reporting is up to date, so you can answer client questions quickly on the day.

How Propman can help

Budget changes are only useful if you can act on them quickly. With Propman, you can revisit service charge budgets and schedules, report on rates liabilities across a portfolio and give landlord clients clear income figures for their tax planning. 

We will publish our full reaction to the Budget on 28 October. Follow Grosvenor Systems on LinkedIn to see it first.

This article is for general information only and is not tax, legal or financial advice. Please speak to a qualified adviser before acting on any of it.