Editorial Standards

Who writes the content

Every page is written by Scott Jones, founder of PropertyKiln. There is no editorial team, no roster of contributors, no ghostwriters. If you're reading something here, Scott wrote it.

This matters because you should know who to shout at when something's wrong.

How we research

For every guide we use a combination of:

• Primary sources first. HMRC guidance, gov.uk, ICO, local council websites, PRA / FCA publications, Companies House, HM Land Registry, Office for National Statistics.
• Legislation direct. When a guide turns on a specific Act or Statutory Instrument, we link to it and cite the section, not a secondary source interpreting it.
• Perplexity Pro for rapid fact-gathering and cross-referencing across multiple sources.
• NRLA, Propertymark and industry body publications as context, not as gospel.
• Named specialists where a claim is technical — HMO fire safety, lender ICR stress tests, commercial lease structures.

We do not rely on Reddit threads or Facebook group posts as sources of fact. We do read them to understand what landlords are confused about.

How we update

• Every Budget and Spring Statement triggers a full review of the tax-and-financial section. Any figure that changed — thresholds, bands, allowances, relief rates — is updated within a week.
• Every regulatory change (new licensing scheme, Article 4 direction, Renters' Rights Act provisions coming into force) triggers a review of affected pages.
• Quarterly review of all high-traffic guides to check for drift — rate changes, fee changes, phrasing that's aged badly.
• Annual review of every page on the site, even the quiet ones.

Every page has a "Last updated" date. If it's more than six months old and the topic is fast-moving, trust it less.

How we handle corrections

Spot an error? Email hello@kilnguides.co.uk.

If you're right, we correct the page, add a note at the bottom of the page explaining what changed and when, and credit you if you want credit (or don't, if you don't).

If we're right, we'll reply explaining why. No gaslighting, no defensive posturing.

We'd rather be corrected than wrong. Trust-sensitive niche, long memory.

Sponsorship and editorial independence

PropertyKiln is funded by sponsors. Sponsors pay for placement on sections of the site that are relevant to their offering.

Sponsors do not:

• Write or review content.
• Get advance copies before publication.
• See or approve what we say about them, their category, or their competitors.
• Receive preferential treatment in comparison pages.

Sponsors do:

• Appear as labelled "Sponsored by" blocks on relevant section pages.
• Provide a logo, a one-line tagline, and a link (with tracking).
• Get data on how many visitors clicked their placement.

If a sponsor's product is actually worse than a competitor's in a comparison, we say so. If a sponsor demands editorial changes as a condition of payment, we refuse and return the money. This is the only way the model works long-term.

Sponsor placements are listed on /advertise.

What we don't do

• Affiliate links. We don't take per-click or per-signup commissions from any external site. Too corrupting. Every outbound link on PropertyKiln is either editorial (we found it useful) or sponsor (clearly labelled).
• Data resale. Your email address, when given to us, goes to our newsletter list and nowhere else.
• Paywalls. Every guide, tool, template and reference card is free. Forever. Sponsor funding covers the costs.
• "Premium" content. There is no tier behind a signup. Newsletter signup is for updates, not access.
• AI slop. AI is used for research and draft assistance. It is not used to generate content wholesale. Every paragraph on this site has been written, edited, or materially rewritten by a human before publication. That includes this paragraph.

Complaints, press, legal

hello@kilnguides.co.uk for all of it. We reply to everything within 48 hours.