Property Hawk Is Closing: Where Landlords Should Move Their Compliance Records

What Is Happening

Property Hawk's Property Manager software (PM3s) is shutting down at the end of July 2026. The closure notice is displayed on the PM3s login page. After nearly 20 years as one of the few genuinely free property management tools for UK landlords, the platform is ceasing operations.

Landlords who currently use Property Hawk to track rents, store documents, manage tenancy details, or generate forms need to act before the shutdown date. Once the platform closes, access to data stored within it may no longer be available.

This is not just an inconvenience. It is a compliance event. Any landlord who loses access to tenancy records, certificate dates, rent payment history, or served documents without having copies elsewhere has a gap in their compliance evidence at exactly the moment when compliance evidence matters more than ever.

What to Export Before the Deadline

Landlords should export the following from Property Hawk before the end of July 2026:

Tenancy records. Tenant names, tenancy start dates, deposit amounts, deposit scheme references, and any tenancy agreement copies stored in the system. These are needed to evidence deposit protection and prescribed information service if challenged.

Rent payment history. Every recorded rent payment, including dates and amounts. Under the Renters' Rights Act 2025, Section 8 is now the sole route to possession in England. Grounds 8, 10, and 11 (rent arrears) require precise evidence of what was due, when it was due, and what was paid. Losing rent records means losing the ability to evidence an arrears claim.

Certificate dates and documents. Gas safety certificate dates, EICR dates, EPC ratings and expiry dates, and any uploaded certificates. These are the records that prove a landlord was compliant at a specific point in time.

Forms and notices. Any Section 8 notices, tenancy agreements, or other forms generated through Property Hawk's document centre. These may be needed as evidence in future proceedings.

Expense records. Income and expense data for the current and previous tax years. With Making Tax Digital now in effect for landlords with qualifying income above £50,000, financial records need to transfer to an MTD compatible platform.

Property Hawk's help pages indicate that account data can be accessed and exported while the platform is live. Landlords should not wait until July to begin this process.

Choosing an Operational Platform

Property Hawk was a basic tool. It tracked rents, stored documents, generated tenancy agreements and forms, and provided simple expense recording. It was not MTD compliant, did not offer compliance alerts, and had not been updated for several years.

Landlords leaving Property Hawk will need a platform that handles the operational side of property management. Several established options exist, each with different strengths:

Landlord Vision is a comprehensive property management platform with strong accounting, bank feeds, tenancy administration, compliance reminders, and HMO support. It suits landlords who want a single hub covering finance, tenancy management, and basic compliance tracking.

Landlord Studio is a mobile first platform with a clean app, receipt scanning, income and expense tracking, compliance checklists per tenancy, and HMRC recognised MTD compliance. It suits landlords who value ease of use and on the go management.

Hammock is an accounting platform built specifically for landlord tax compliance. It was the first landlord software recognised by HMRC for Making Tax Digital. It suits landlords whose priority is bookkeeping and MTD, though it does not offer property management features beyond finance.

Arthur Online is designed for letting agents and larger portfolio landlords, with workflow automation, maintenance management, and stakeholder communication. It suits landlords or agents managing 50 or more properties who need operational scale.

August is a newer all in one landlord app with rent tracking via Open Banking, compliance checklists, document management, and an AI property assistant. It offers a free tier for up to two tenancies.

Each of these platforms solves the operational problem. None of them solves the compliance evidence problem.

The Compliance Gap Property Hawk Never Filled

Property Hawk provided basic property management. It did not provide structured compliance evidence. There was no tamper evident record of when a document was uploaded. There was no compliance scoring system showing gaps across a portfolio. There was no evidence bundle generator for tribunal proceedings. There was no rent ledger producing court ready particulars of rent arrears. There was no contractor finder linking completed works to the compliance obligations they satisfy.

Most Property Hawk users will not have noticed this gap because, before 1 May 2026, it rarely mattered in practice. A landlord who was broadly compliant could still recover their property through a Section 21 notice if needed. Compliance evidence quality was important but not decisive.

That has changed. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 abolished Section 21 from 1 May 2026. Every possession claim in England now runs through Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988. Every compliance gap is a potential defence against the landlord's claim. Non compliance with gas safety obligations can result in fines of up to £6,000. Failure to protect a deposit can expose a landlord to a penalty of up to three times the deposit amount. Unlicensed HMO operation can result in an unlimited fine and a rent repayment order covering up to 12 months of rent.

Landlords leaving Property Hawk are not just choosing a new property management tool. They are choosing their compliance infrastructure for the post Section 21 era. Whatever operational platform they select, they should also be setting up a specialist compliance evidence layer.

Why LLCR Should Be Part of Whatever Comes Next

LLCR (the Landlord Compliance Register) is the specialist compliance evidence platform designed for self-managing landlords and letting agents in England. It does not compete with Landlord Vision, Landlord Studio, Hammock, Arthur, or August for operational property management. It provides the compliance evidence layer that none of these platforms offers.

Structured compliance scoring. When a landlord migrates from Property Hawk, the first question is: where do I stand? LLCR's compliance scoring system gives an immediate, portfolio wide view of what is in place, what is missing, and what is approaching expiry. For Property Hawk users who may have been operating without automated compliance alerts, this is the fastest way to identify gaps before they become legal problems.

Certificate tracking with automated alerts. Property Hawk stored certificate dates but did not send expiry reminders. LLCR tracks every compliance obligation and alerts the landlord before a certificate lapses. Gas safety, EICR, EPC, deposit protection deadlines, and Information Sheet service are all tracked automatically.

Smart Document Capture. When a landlord uploads a certificate to LLCR, Smart Document Capture extracts the key details: dates, reference numbers, certificate type. This means compliance records are structured and searchable, not loose files stored in a generic document folder.

Tamper evident records. Every compliance record in LLCR is hashed using SHA-256 and anchored to the Bitcoin blockchain through OpenTimestamps. This creates independently verifiable proof that a record existed at a specific point in time and has not been altered. When a tribunal or council inspector asks for evidence, the landlord can produce records that are cryptographically verified rather than self reported.

Rent collection monitoring and arrears evidence. LLCR tracks rent payments and generates a rent ledger. If arrears develop, the platform produces particulars of rent arrears formatted for Section 8 proceedings under Grounds 8, 10, or 11. Property Hawk tracked rents; LLCR turns that data into court ready evidence.

Contractor finder and works logging. When a certificate needs renewing or a repair is required, LLCR helps landlords source qualified professionals. Completed works are logged against the property, creating a documented compliance history.

Compliance Defence Pack. When a landlord faces a Section 8 defence, a rent repayment order application, or a council enforcement investigation, the Compliance Defence Pack generates a structured evidence bundle at one click. This is the capability that no general property management platform provides and that every landlord leaving Property Hawk should have.

Notice builders. LLCR includes Form 3A and Form 4A notice builders for serving notices that comply with current statutory requirements under the Renters' Rights Act 2025.

Ava AI. LLCR's AI compliance assistant helps landlords understand their obligations and navigate the compliance requirements that apply to their specific situation.

A Practical Migration Plan

For Property Hawk users who need to move before the end of July 2026, the practical steps are:

Step 1: Export everything from Property Hawk now. Do not wait. Download tenancy records, rent history, certificates, forms, and expense data while the platform is still accessible.

Step 2: Choose an operational platform. Select whichever general property management tool fits the portfolio: Landlord Vision for comprehensive administration, Landlord Studio for mobile first simplicity, Hammock for MTD accounting, Arthur for agency scale, or August for an all in one app. Set up current tenancies and import the current tax year's financial data.

Step 3: Set up LLCR as the compliance evidence layer. Upload certificates and compliance documents to LLCR. Let Smart Document Capture extract the details. Review the compliance score to identify any gaps. Set up rent collection monitoring. Use the contractor finder if any certificates need renewing. The compliance score will show exactly where the portfolio stands, and the automated alerts will ensure nothing lapses going forward.

Step 4: Archive Property Hawk data. Keep a local backup of everything exported from Property Hawk. Even after the platform closes, landlords may need historical records for disputes or tax queries. Store the backup securely and independently of any single platform.

Landlords can check their current compliance status using LLCR's free compliance checker in minutes. For Property Hawk users preparing to migrate, LLCR is the compliance evidence layer that should sit alongside whichever operational platform comes next.