Serviced accommodation for landlords is getting more attention, and it is not hard to see why. Writing in The Times, experienced investor Henry Davis argued that the government should “encourage private landlords, not punish them”. That line will ring true for plenty of owners who feel the private rented sector has become steadily harder to navigate.
The mood is not just anecdotal. The NRLA has previously said landlords face around 168 acts and regulations affecting the sector. At the same time, the Renters’ Rights Act received Royal Assent in October 2025, with major tenancy reforms due to apply in England from 1 May 2026.
Why the pressure on landlords feels heavier now
For many traditional buy-to-let landlords, the issue is not one single rule. It is the cumulative effect.
Possession rules are changing, Section 21 is ending, and the wider compliance picture is becoming more formalised. Government guidance says the Act will reshape how private renting works in England, and the reforms are aimed at giving tenants greater security and stability.
That does not make landlords villains. It simply means some owners are looking at the numbers, the admin, the legal exposure and the day-to-day friction, then asking a fairly blunt question: is there another model that feels more manageable?
Why serviced accommodation is part of that conversation
This is where buy to let vs serviced accommodation becomes a real-world business question rather than a property seminar cliché.
In England, a property genuinely let as holiday accommodation can sit outside the assured tenancy framework. GOV.UK guidance makes clear that holiday lets are excluded from assured periodic tenancy rules, and Home Office guidance says short, time-limited leisure stays may not require Right to Rent checks in the same way as someone using the property as their only or main home. Shelter also notes that a holiday let must be genuinely for holiday use, not simply labelled that way on paper.
That difference is a big part of the appeal. Landlords may see fewer long-running tenancy disputes, less exposure to mainstream PRS enforcement routes, and a more operational style of management.
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The catch: serviced accommodation is not a free pass
This is the bit that matters. Serviced accommodation is not unregulated. It is just regulated differently.
Operators still need to think about fire safety, gas and electrical safety, insurance, mortgage conditions, lease restrictions and local planning rules. In London, for example, residential property generally cannot be used as short-term accommodation for more than 90 nights in a calendar year without planning permission. The government has also said England is developing a mandatory national registration scheme for short-term lets, which points to more visibility and oversight, not less.
Tax needs similar care. A few years ago, short-stay operators often pointed to Furnished Holiday Let treatment as a major advantage. That position has changed. HMRC says the FHL tax regime was abolished from April 2025, removing those specific tax advantages over standard residential letting.
What landlords should take from this
The real story is not that serviced accommodation lets landlords “escape” every rule. It is that some landlords believe the balance of risk, control and administration may suit them better than a traditional long-term tenancy, especially as the Renters’ Rights Act beds in.
For some, that will be sensible. For others, it will not stack up once occupancy, cleaning, planning limits, voids and management intensity are factored in.
Still, Davis’s wider point lands. If policymakers want a healthy rental market, they cannot ignore the cumulative burden that professional landlords are reacting to. Some will stay in buy-to-let and adapt. Others will look at short-term models instead. Either way, the direction of travel is clear: landlords are not just thinking about yield anymore. They are thinking about workload, legal certainty and whether the model still feels viable.