HMRC’s property rental income statistics, published on 28 August 2026, show that 2.88 million unincorporated landlords declared £58.99 billion of rental income in the 2024 to 2025 tax year. Average property income per landlord reached £20,500, the highest in five years, while 12.3% of landlords declared no allowable expenses at all.
The main findings from the landlord property income statistics 2026:
- 2.88 million unincorporated landlords declared property income in 2024 to 2025, and 99% of them were individuals rather than partnerships.
- Total declared income of £58.99 billion, broadly level with the £59 billion recorded a year earlier.
- Average income per landlord of £20,500, a rise of 24% since 2020 to 2021.
- 87.7% of landlords declared some form of expenses, worth £34.75 billion between them.
- 1.3 million landlords, or 45% of the total, declared £10,000 or less of property income.
What the landlord property income statistics 2026 show
Total rental income declared through Self Assessment has grown by £12.3 billion since 2020 to 2021, an increase of 26%. That came from a larger landlord population as well as higher average earnings, with numbers rising from 2.81 million to 2.88 million.
Individuals accounted for £49.81 billion of the 2024 to 2025 total and partnerships for £9.18 billion.
The most recent year looks different. Declared income was broadly flat between 2023 to 2024 and 2024 to 2025, suggesting the steady growth of the previous four years has levelled off.
Average income per landlord has continued to climb, reaching £20,500 against £20,300 the year before, a rise of £3,900 across the five years covered.
The distribution behind that average is worth noting. Some 1.3 million landlords, 45% of the total, declared £10,000 or less, so the population is weighted heavily towards small-scale landlords.
Income is concentrated by region. London-based landlords made up 17% of the population but accounted for 28% of declared income, and adding the South East takes those shares to 33% of landlords and 44% of income.
Furnished holiday lettings were a small part of the picture, with 0.13 million landlords declaring £2.46 billion, around 4% of UK rental market income.
The 2024 to 2025 tax year was the last under the separate furnished holiday lettings regime, abolished from 6 April 2025.
Where landlords may be missing allowable expenses
Landlords declared £34.75 billion of allowable expenses in 2024 to 2025, 56% more than in 2020 to 2021 and 11% up on the previous year. Average expenses declared reached £13,700, a rise of 54% across the five years covered.
The breakdown shows how unevenly those claims are spread across the categories on the property pages.
| Expense category | Landlords declaring | Total declared |
| Repairs and maintenance | 66.2% | £6.41bn |
| Rent, rates and insurance | 66.1% | £3.81bn |
| Legal, management and professional fees | 61.8% | £4.16bn |
| Other allowable expenses | 40.1% | £4.58bn |
| Residential finance costs | 39.8% | £12.82bn |
| Services, including wages | 15.4% | £1.64bn |
| Non-residential finance costs | 3.3% | £1.33bn |
| All expenses | 87.7% | £34.75bn |
Allowable expenses declared by unincorporated landlords, 2024 to 2025. Source: HMRC.
The least common categories are also the narrowest in scope, and would not apply to every let.
HMRC’s figures do not show why 12.3% of landlords, around one in eight, declared nothing, and that gap is not evidence of an error on its own.
Some landlords have little to claim. Those with gross property income above £1,000 may deduct the £1,000 property allowance instead of their actual costs, which can give a better result where real expenses are low.
The allowance is not a free extra, though. Where a landlord has residential finance costs, HMRC treats it as a choice: actual expenses plus the basic rate finance cost reduction, or the property allowance with that reduction given up for the year.
For most people with a mortgage on a let property, the first route wins comfortably.
Where costs run well beyond £1,000, though, the spread across those categories is a reasonable prompt to check that nothing allowable has been left off the return.
One category needs care in any comparison over time. This edition corrects the services figures.
Amounts declared on the SA105 property pages had previously been left out of that category and are now counted, so services totals are larger than in past editions.
Why finance costs do not work like other expenses
Residential finance costs are, in HMRC’s description, “the largest category of expenses by amount declared”, at £12.82 billion, or 37% of everything claimed against property income.
They are also treated differently from every other category. Since 6 April 2020, landlords have been able to get relief on these costs only at the basic rate, rather than at whatever rate they actually pay.
In practice, mortgage interest and similar costs are not deducted from rental profit in the way repairs or insurance are.
The tax due is reduced by a basic rate tax reduction instead, which is why a higher rate taxpayer no longer receives relief at their marginal rate.
That distinction matters for anyone reading the £12.82 billion figure as a straight reduction in taxable profit. HMRC sets out the current treatment in its guidance on working out rental income.
What the figures do not cover
The release draws on Income Tax Self Assessment returns only. Landlords who hold property through a limited company sit outside its scope, and so does anyone whose property income is too small to require a Self Assessment return.
The regional analysis is based on where the landlord is registered, not where the property sits, because HMRC cannot identify property location from Self Assessment data. A London-based landlord may own property anywhere in the UK.
The estimates are provisional. They may increase as more returns come in, with partnership income the most likely to move, and the next release is due in Summer 2027.
Why expense records matter more from 2027
Two changes give the expenses question more weight. Making Tax Digital for Income Tax has applied since April 2026 to landlords with qualifying income above £50,000, and that threshold drops to £30,000 in April 2027 and £20,000 in April 2028.
Qualifying income is measured on gross rents before expenses, and property and self-employment income are added together. Landlords earning well below the averages in this release may still come into scope.
From 6 April 2027, property income also moves onto a separate set of income tax rates of 22%, 42% and 47%, two percentage points above the equivalent main rates. The position in Scotland and Wales differs, as income tax on this income is partly devolved.
Finance cost relief moves to the new 22% property basic rate from the same date.
What landlords should check now
If you let property in your own name, the value in these figures is not that a refund is sitting somewhere waiting, but that the categories above work as a checklist.
Checking your expense claims
- If you have a mortgage on a let property, treat the £1,000 property allowance as an either/or. You can claim actual expenses plus the basic rate finance cost reduction, or take the allowance and give that reduction up for the year, but not both. Work it out both ways, as the first is usually better once real costs pass £1,000.
- Separate repairs from improvements. Routine maintenance and like-for-like replacement are generally allowable, while work that upgrades the property is usually capital and is not.
- Include the professional and letting costs that are easy to overlook, such as accountancy fees, letting agent and management fees, ground rents and service charges, and landlord insurance.
- Check whether replacement of domestic items relief applies. It covers replacing existing furnishings, carpets or appliances, though not the initial cost of furnishing a property.
- Treat mortgage and loan interest on residential property separately, as it produces a basic rate tax reduction rather than a deduction from profit.
- Start keeping digital records if your gross rents, with any self-employment income, are heading towards the Making Tax Digital thresholds.
Time limits apply to amending a return or claiming relief for an earlier year, so it is worth looking sooner rather than later. Our landlord tax return guide sets out what counts as an allowable expense and how to report it on the property pages.
Written by:
Tax Rebate Services Editorial Team
Reviewed by:
Tony Shanks
,
qualified Taxation Technician (ATT)
Last updated:
This article provides general information and is correct as at the date shown. It isn't personalised tax advice — for help with your own circumstances, speak to a qualified adviser or HMRC.
