Limited company or personal name: how to hold a rental

In England: short practical answers on what changes when a property sits in a limited company rather than in your personal name.

If a rental property is owned by a limited company, should the landlord sign the tenancy agreement personally or on behalf of the company, and what difference does it make?

If a rental property is owned by a limited company, sign the tenancy on behalf of the company — the company is the landlord, not you personally. That means the tenancy should name the company as landlord and be signed "for and on behalf of [company name]" with the signatory showing their capacity (eg, director). Signing personally risks creating ambiguity over who the contracting landlord is, which can complicate deposit protection, service of notices and enforcement; an authorised agent may sign for the company if you give clear written authority.

Should I own my rental property personally or through a limited company?

Owning through a limited company means the company owns the property and the rental profit is taxed in the company as Corporation Tax; owning personally means rental profit is taxed as your personal income. Companies currently pay Corporation Tax (research noted 19% on small profits with higher rates above larger thresholds), companies can still deduct finance costs in ways individuals cannot, but moving property into a company is a disposal for Stamp Duty and Capital Gains Tax purposes and adds admin and extraction tax when you take money out as salary or dividends. For many landlords today, incorporation is chosen less for headline tax rates and more as a risk‑management and borrowing strategy.

My rent-to-rent business operates through a limited company, and I'm the sole director — if the company gets hit with a Rent Repayment Order over an unlicensed HMO, am I personally protected by the company structure, or can I be made personally liable under the new director-liability provisions if the offence happened with my knowledge?

A company does not automatically protect a director — you can be made personally liable where the offence was committed with your consent, connivance or attributable neglect, because RRO and director‑liability provisions can reach responsible individuals. Rent Repayment Orders can be imposed under the Housing and Planning Act regime and newer director‑liability rules are intended to reach directors in those circumstances; check the Act and any later amendments for precise drafting. Practically, keep clear compliance records, ensure licensing and HMO rules are followed, and maintain appropriate insurance and legal advice.

I've just incorporated my portfolio into a limited company — does the company pay corporation tax on the rental profit, and is that actually lower than what I was paying personally?

Yes — once the property and its income sit in the company the profits are taxed as Corporation Tax, not as personal income; whether that is lower depends on your prior personal tax band and how you extract profits. Research notes Corporation Tax figures (eg, lower rates on smaller profit bands and higher on larger profits) but remember company profits paid as dividends or salary attract further personal tax on extraction, and incorporation triggers Stamp Duty and Capital Gains consequences on transfer that often outweigh small year‑one tax advantages. Ask an accountant for a worked comparison for your numbers.

My agent has drafted the notice to end my tenant's tenancy but wants me to sign it personally rather than sign it themselves — is that actually required, or can they serve it on my behalf?

No — the critical issue is authority, not a landlord's wet signature: an authorised agent can serve valid notice on your behalf. What matters is that the agent has express or implied authority (ideally written) to act for the company or you personally and that the notice complies with the statutory form and service rules for that notice type. Keep a copy of the authority, the signed instruction, and proof of service; if a court or tribunal examines the notice, the question will be whether the agent was properly authorised, not whose hand wrote the signature.

From April 2027 I keep hearing rental income tax rates are going up by two points — does that apply to me if I hold everything through my limited company, or only to landlords who own personally?

A two‑point rise to rental income tax would apply to individual landlords paying income tax on rental profits, not to profits already taxed inside a limited company, because companies pay Corporation Tax rather than personal income tax on rents. I could not verify the specific April 2027 two‑point change from the supplied material, so check the latest HMRC announcements before acting on that date or figure.

If my father's rental properties are held through his limited company rather than owned by him personally, does registering a Lasting Power of Attorney over his personal finances give me any authority over the company at all, or is that a completely separate process I'd need to sort out with Companies House?

No — a personal‑finances LPA does not by itself give authority over a company: a company is a separate legal person and control depends on shares, directorships and the company’s constitutional documents and Companies House records. If you need control of the company you will generally need shares transferred, a director appointment or written powers within the company (and to update Companies House filings); an LPA can help with the donor’s personal finances but will not automatically change corporate governance.

One of the owners I lease from has asked me to personally guarantee my rent-to-rent company's obligations before they'll sign the head-lease — if I do that and my company later folds owing rent or facing a Rent Repayment Order, does a personal guarantee on the lease also expose me personally to the RRO liability, or are those two completely separate things?

A personal guarantee makes you contractually liable for the company’s lease obligations but does not automatically convert statutory RRO liability into the guarantor’s liability; RROs are statutory remedies and their targets are set by the RRO rules rather than by private guarantees. Practically, if your company cannot pay a judgment or RRO and you have provided guarantees, creditors may pursue you under those guarantees for rent or other contractual debts — but the legal basis for an RRO claim against you is separate and depends on the statute and whether liability is made out against a person.

My rent-to-rent business is run through a limited company, and after the Sonder Europe VAT ruling I'm worried about a large backdated VAT bill I can't pay — could HMRC actually pursue me personally as a director, or does a VAT liability like this stay ring-fenced to the company even if it ends up insolvent?

As a rule VAT is the company’s debt because the company is the taxable person, but HMRC can in some cases pursue individuals personally where there is personal misconduct or where specific statutory personal‑liability mechanisms apply. The exact outcome depends on the factual and legal circumstances (intent, fraud, wrongful trading, statutory provisions) and on any enforcement powers HMRC exercises; check the VAT Act, insolvency law and HMRC guidance for the current test and how it might apply to your situation.

A well-known local agency recently shut down owing money to creditors after building up unpaid loans and overheads — as directors of a limited company, would we personally be on the hook for landlords' money if something similar happened to us, or does the corporate structure protect us?

Ordinarily the company’s debts are its own and the corporate veil protects directors from personal liability, but personal exposure can arise for specific reasons: personal guarantees, wrongful trading (continuing to trade when insolvent), fraudulent trading, misfeasance, or statutory director‑liability provisions. To reduce risk keep proper accounting records, avoid personal guarantees where possible, take insolvency advice early and ensure you do not continue trading when the company has no reasonable prospect of avoiding insolvency.

The company I use to run rent-to-rent is wholly owned by me, and I'm also the person who owns one of the properties it leases and sublets — could HMRC treat that arrangement as tax avoidance and disregard the company altogether, given I'm effectively both the landlord and my own only customer?

HMRC does not automatically disregard a company you own, but it can challenge arrangements that lack commercial substance and are primarily tax‑motivated; where the company is merely a conduit and the economic reality unchanged, HMRC may seek to tax the individual. The test is one of substance over form: keep commercial contracts, market rents, clear accounting and legal separation, and get specialist tax advice before relying on incorporation purely for tax reasons.

Our limited company owns a former office block we're converting to flats - it's been sitting part-finished for two months waiting on planning sign-off and we've just discovered squatters living in the finished ground-floor units. Does it make any difference legally that the building is owned by a company rather than an individual landlord?

For squatting and the criminal law, company ownership does not create a general exemption: the offence and the available civil remedies turn on whether the premises are residential and on the occupiers’ rights, not on whether the owner is a company. Squatting in a residential building is a criminal offence under the LASPO changes; practical steps are the same whether the owner is corporate or personal — act quickly to establish title, report criminal conduct if the offence fits, preserve evidence and pursue possession through the civil courts if needed.

Last reviewed August 2026.

Related reading: Tenancy agreement: how to write one that protects landlords · Buy to let tax 2026/27: allowances, rates and landlord numbers