Property Hawk is closing: choosing an alternative and moving your data

Property Hawk will shut down its free property management software, Property Manager, at the end of July 2026. A notice on the platform's login and registration pages tells users plainly that the service is closing and that they should move to another platform. For the landlords who have relied on it for rent logging, tenancy agreements and document storage, that leaves a short window to export records and choose a replacement before access ends.

This guide explains what the closure means in practice, what to do with your data before the deadline, and how to weigh up an alternative so the switch leaves you better off rather than simply moved across.

What the Property Hawk closure means

Property Hawk has been a fixture for small UK landlords since 2006, largely because the software was genuinely free. That was its strength and, in the end, the reason it stood still. The product was rarely updated, and independent reviews through 2025 and 2026 consistently noted a dated interface, limited support and, most significantly, no support for Making Tax Digital.

The closure itself is straightforward. After the end of July 2026, you will no longer be able to log in to Property Manager, which means the rent records, tenancy details and documents held inside it will no longer be accessible through the platform. The sensible reading of the notice is that you should treat the end of July as a hard deadline for retrieving anything you need, not a soft suggestion.

Export your data before the end of July 2026

The first task is preserving your records, and it matters more than choosing where to go next. From working with self-managing landlords across the UK, we know rent histories and compliance documents are the records people most regret losing, usually at the exact moment they need them for a tax return or a possession case.

Before access ends, work through the following:

1. Export or download your full rent payment history for every tenancy, ideally as a spreadsheet you can keep and import elsewhere.

2. Save copies of all tenancy agreements, references and any signed documents stored in the platform.

3. Download safety certificates and compliance records, including gas safety certificates, EICRs and EPCs, along with their expiry dates.

4. Note any recurring reminders or key dates you had set up, so nothing lapses in the gap between platforms.

Keep these files in a clearly labelled folder somewhere durable, such as cloud storage you control, even before you decide on a new platform. That way the deadline stops being a risk regardless of how long your choice takes.

How to choose a Property Hawk alternative

The closure is an opportunity to fix the limitations that came with free software, not just to replace like for like. From helping landlords move off older tools onto August, we find the most useful way to choose is to start from the obligations you actually carry as a landlord in 2026, then check which platforms meet them.

Three things matter more than they did when Property Hawk was first adopted. The first is Making Tax Digital, which Property Hawk never supported and which is now a live requirement for a growing number of landlords. The second is compliance tracking, since the Renters' Rights Act 2025 came into force on 1 May 2026 and raised the stakes on certificates and record-keeping. The third is automated rent tracking through open banking, which removes the manual reconciliation that older tools left you to do by hand.

For a full side-by-side view of the main UK platforms, including pricing and feature depth, our guide to the best property management software for UK landlords compares the leading options in one place. If your priority is the tax change specifically, our best MTD software for landlords guide focuses on which tools handle quarterly submissions properly.

Why Making Tax Digital makes the timing matter

The end of July deadline lands at an awkward moment, which is part of why the closure is worth acting on rather than ignoring. Making Tax Digital for Income Tax began on 6 April 2026 for landlords and sole traders with qualifying income above £50,000, with the threshold falling to £30,000 from April 2027 and £20,000 from April 2028, as set out by HMRC on gov.uk. Affected landlords must keep digital records and submit quarterly updates to HMRC.

Property Hawk could not do this, so many of its users were already facing a move regardless of the closure. If you are in or approaching the MTD threshold, choosing a replacement that handles digital record-keeping and direct submission now solves both problems at once. You can check whether you are likely to be caught by the rules, and roughly what you will owe, with our rental income tax calculator.

Where August fits

August is an all-in-one property management app built specifically for self-managing UK landlords and HMO operators, and it covers the ground Property Hawk did while adding what it lacked. To be transparent, August has a commercial interest in your choice, and we would rather say so than pretend otherwise.

The practical contrast is straightforward. August connects to your bank through open banking to match rent payments automatically, so rent tracking no longer means manual entry. It includes a compliance checklist that tracks certificate expiry dates, document storage for tenancies and safety records, and MTD reporting for digital record-keeping and HMRC submission. The open banking connection is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority through Plaid Financial Ltd (Firm Reference Number 804718), and August never sees or stores your bank login details.

Landlords using August consistently tell us that the part they value most after switching from a free tool is the compliance tracking, because a missed certificate is exactly the kind of avoidable problem that older software left to memory. August is free for landlords managing up to two tenancies with no time limit, and paid plans start at £8.99 a month for larger portfolios and full MTD reporting, so you can move across, import your records, and start for free before deciding whether you need a paid tier.

Frequently asked questions

When exactly is Property Hawk closing?

Property Hawk's notice states that Property Manager will be shut down at the end of July 2026. Treat that as the point after which you should not rely on having access to your data, so export everything you need well before then.

Will I lose my data when Property Hawk closes?

Any records held only inside the platform will become inaccessible once it closes. Export your rent history, tenancy agreements, documents and compliance certificates now and store them somewhere you control, so the closure date carries no risk.

Is there a free alternative to Property Hawk?

Yes. Several UK platforms offer a free tier for one or two properties, August included. The difference from Property Hawk is that modern free tiers come with active development, open banking rent tracking and current compliance support rather than software that has stood still.

Do I need MTD-compatible software now?

If your gross rental and self-employment income is above £50,000, Making Tax Digital for Income Tax already applies to you as of 6 April 2026, and the threshold falls in the following two years. Property Hawk did not support MTD, so choosing a replacement that does removes a problem you would otherwise still need to solve.