Let Property Campaign: undeclared rental income, put right properly
The Let Property Campaign is HMRC's route for landlords to disclose rental income that was never declared. The disclosure is only as good as the scoping behind it.
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Rental income goes unreported for ordinary reasons. A former home is let when a job moves, a flat is inherited with a tenant already in it, a spare property is let to family at a low rent, or the letting agent was assumed to be dealing with the tax. None of those changes the position: rental profit is taxable, and HMRC expects it to be returned.
The Let Property Campaign exists so that landlords in that position can come forward on defined terms. It is not an amnesty. Tax, interest and any penalty are still payable — but coming forward voluntarily is generally treated more favourably than being found.
Why this is more visible to HMRC than it used to be
HMRC now draws on a wide range of third-party data about property: Land Registry ownership records, letting agent information, tenancy deposit data and, since 2024, reports from online platforms that take short-term bookings. A landlord who has not heard from HMRC should not read that as a sign that nothing is known.
How the campaign works
- Notify. You tell HMRC you intend to make a disclosure under the campaign and receive a disclosure reference.
- Calculate. The unreported profit is worked out for every year that needs correcting, with allowable expenses and reliefs applied correctly.
- Disclose and pay. The disclosure is submitted with the tax, interest and any penalty within the fixed period that notification started.
The deadline is the reason to do the work in a different order. The figures, the years and the behaviour should be settled before HMRC is notified, so the clock is not running while the facts are still being gathered.
Where these disclosures usually go wrong
The wrong number of years
The years covered depend on the behaviour behind the omission: reasonable care, carelessness or deliberate conduct. Too few years and the disclosure is incomplete; too many and tax is paid that HMRC could not have assessed. The behaviour also sets the penalty range, so it is the single most consequential judgement in the disclosure.
Expenses and reliefs claimed wrongly
Mortgage interest on a residential let has for several years been relieved only as a basic-rate tax credit, not as a deduction from rental profit. Repairs and improvements are treated differently, and replacement furnishings follow their own rules. These are the calculations most often done wrongly on a first attempt, in both directions.
Joint and inherited property
Property held jointly, including between spouses, is usually taxed according to the ownership split, and inherited property brings a different starting cost for any later sale. Both affect whose disclosure it is and what it contains.
Landlords who live abroad
The campaign is open to landlords living outside the UK. UK rental income remains taxable in the UK wherever the landlord lives, and the non-resident landlord schemeapplies alongside it: the letting agent, or in some cases the tenant, may be required to deduct basic-rate tax from the rent unless HMRC has approved it being paid gross. Deductions under that scheme count towards the tax due, but they do not replace the return. Our page for UK expats in the UAE covers the wider position.
What we do
- Establish which years are open and which behaviour applies
- Rebuild the rental accounts from what records exist, with expenses treated correctly
- Confirm whether the Let Property Campaign is the right route, or whether another applies
- Handle the notification, the disclosure and the computations
- Put the penalty position and any mitigation to HMRC deliberately
- Arrange time to pay where the amount cannot be settled at once
If HMRC has already written to you about rental income, the letter’s deadline comes first. Start by identifying the letter, and see our guide to nudge letters if it asks you to confirm your affairs are in order. Fees for disclosure work are set out on our fees page.
Further reading
Common questions
Who can use the Let Property Campaign?
It is intended for individual landlords with undeclared income from letting residential property, whether the property is in the UK or abroad, and including landlords who live outside the UK. It is not the route for companies, trusts or commercial property; those disclosures are made through HMRC’s other disclosure channels.
How long do I have once I tell HMRC?
Notifying HMRC of an intention to disclose starts a fixed period, currently 90 days from the date HMRC acknowledges the notification, in which the disclosure must be completed and the tax, interest and any penalty paid. That is why the figures are best worked out before notifying, not after.
How many years will I need to go back?
It depends on why the income went unreported. Broadly, HMRC can assess four years where reasonable care was taken, six where the loss arose from carelessness, and up to twenty where it was deliberate. Establishing which applies is part of the work, and it drives both the number of years and the penalty.
Will I have to pay a penalty?
Possibly. Penalties depend on the behaviour behind the error and on whether the disclosure is prompted or unprompted. An unprompted disclosure of a careless error sits in the most favourable band of the penalty rules. Nobody can say what applies to a particular case until the facts are established.
HMRC has already written to me about rental income. Is it too late?
Not necessarily. The campaign can still be used after a letter, but the disclosure is then likely to be treated as prompted, which affects the penalty range. What matters is responding to the letter correctly and within its deadline, so start by identifying exactly what it is.
Tell us about the property
Tell us roughly how long the property has been let and whether HMRC has written to you. We will come back with the likely scope, the deadlines and a fixed fee — within one working hour during office hours — Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
A short summary is enough to start. Please do not send bank statements, identity documents or your UTR at this stage.