Data from HMRC showed that rental income had plateaued following a rising trend since 2020. From 2020 to 2021, total income from UK property increased by 26% or £12.3bn, primarily due to a rise in an increase in average property income and the number of people reporting property income – from 2.81 million in 2020-21 to 2.88 million in 2024-25.
Altogether, unincorporated landlords collected £20,500 in property income on average in 2024-25, the highest in five years. This was a 24% or £3,900 increase since 2020-21.
Around 1.3 million had rental earnings of £10,000 or less, representing 45% of unincorporated landlords who declared income.
Of the 2.88 million unincorporated landlords declaring property rental income, 2.85 million were individuals who declared £49.81bn in earnings.
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Rental investment activity concentrated in London
The data showed that 17% of all unincorporated landlords were based in London and they accounted for 28% of all declared income.
A third of landlords who declared income from a UK property were based in London or the South East combined and represented 44% of all declared rental income.
Of the regions in England, the North East accounted for the smallest proportion of property income, at 2%.
Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland accounted for 5%, 3% and 1% of total property income respectively.
Holiday let income falls
The income generated from UK furnished holiday lettings fell slightly from £2.47bn in 2023-24 to £2.46bn in 2024-25.
This accounted for 4% of all UK rental income.
The income seen from holiday let properties has steadily declined since its five-year peak in 2021-22, when this totalled £2.52bn.
Rent and repairs make up most landlord expenses
Some 87.7% of unincorporated landlords declared expenses in 2024-25, amounting to £34.8bn.
The most common categories of expenses declared were rent, rates and insurance, as well as repairs and maintenance. These represented 66.1% and 66.2% of expenses, respectively.
Landlords declared £3.81bn in expenses relating to rent, rates and insurance, and £6.41bn for repairs and maintenance.
The highest expenses were in residential finance costs, with landlords claiming £12.82bn in 2024-25. This represented 37% of all expenses claimed against property income.
