HMRC wants letting agents to report property income data more often

HMRC wants letting agents and tenancy deposit protection schemes (the authorised schemes that register tenants' deposits) to report property income data monthly or quarterly. That would replace today's annual requests. The proposals sit in HMRC's consultation, Improving Property Income Data Reporting, published on 28 October 2026 and open until 20 January 2027. The proposals are not yet in force, and the document gives no start date for these property reporting rules.

What is HMRC proposing for letting agents and deposit schemes?

Today HMRC sends a data holder notice (a formal request for information) each time it wants this data. It issues over 10,000 notices a year to letting agents and deposit scheme providers, according to the consultation (28 October 2026). Data holders then have 60 days to reply. As a result, HMRC may not receive some rent data until more than 13 months after the rent was paid.

The government plans standing reporting obligations under Schedule 23 of Finance Act 2026, so specified organisations report regularly without a notice. It intends to increase reporting from the current annual cycle and is consulting on whether monthly or quarterly reporting strikes the right balance. It also intends to shorten deadlines, asking whether data should arrive within one month, within two weeks or in less than two weeks after each period ends.

Existing powers in Schedule 23 of Finance Act 2011 will remain for data outside the new rules. Reporting would apply to letting agents acting for UK-based landlords who let UK residential property, with a focus on the private rented sector. Agents already operating the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme (which withholds tax for landlords living outside the UK) would be excluded. They already report that income to HMRC.

What would change for landlords who use a letting agent?

The government proposes that reporting covers all landlord types: individuals, companies, partnerships and trusts. The consultation states the new obligations will apply without a de minimis threshold (a minimum amount below which nothing is reported). In practice, a small rental income would not take you out of scope.

Next come tax identifiers, which agents and deposit schemes would have to request, hold and report. These may include a National Insurance number (NINO) for individual landlords and a Company Registration Number (CRN) for companies. They may also include a VAT Registration Number (VRN) where applicable, or a Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) for partnerships, trustees, estates and non-resident landlords without a NINO or CRN. Tidy records are part of running your lettings with sound business systems.

New landlords would be asked during onboarding, the government proposes. For existing landlords, agents and deposit schemes would have to make "reasonable efforts" to obtain the identifiers. Further fields could include gross rental income, management fees, allowable expenses and tenancy dates. Others listed are landlord date of birth and the Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN, a unique reference for each property).

What about your tenants? The consultation defines the data subject as the landlord, not the tenant. Deposit schemes already collect information on UK residential tenancies and all landlord types, so HMRC's questions for them focus on which schemes fall in scope.

How does this fit with Making Tax Digital, and what happens next?

From April 2028, landlords with income over £20,000 will be included in Making Tax Digital (MTD, HMRC's regime of digital records and quarterly updates), the consultation notes. HMRC says more timely third-party data could support prompts that improve the accuracy of quarterly updates. The first two datasets under the new framework, merchant acquirer and interest income data, are due to be implemented in 2028. Property data belongs to the second phase. Our property investment strategies hub covers how tax changes like these feed into a long-term plan.

HMRC already uses agent and deposit data in campaigns against unreported property income, such as the Let Property Campaign. It is also working with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government so any new reporting is considered alongside the new landlords register.

Any taxpayer can respond, as well as agents and professional bodies, by emailing thirdpartydata@hmrc.gov.uk by 20 January 2027. You may wish to ask your agent which identifiers it already holds for you, and speak to your accountant about how your records compare with what an agent reports. Our free property resources for landlords and investors are a good place to keep up with rule changes like this one.

Key takeaways

• HMRC issues over 10,000 notices a year for property income data, and some data can reach it more than 13 months after the rent was paid.

• The government intends to replace annual notices with monthly or quarterly reporting by letting agents and tenancy deposit protection schemes, and is consulting on which.

• Agents and schemes may have to collect and report tax identifiers such as NINO, CRN, VRN or UTR, with no de minimis threshold and all landlord types in scope.

• Landlords with income over £20,000 will be included in Making Tax Digital from April 2028.

• The consultation runs from 28 October 2026 to 20 January 2027, and no start date for the property reporting rules has been set.