HMRC can already get rent data from your letting agent and your tenancy deposit scheme, and does, by sending them a notice. A consultation published on 28 October 2026 proposes making that routine, monthly or quarterly and matched to your National Insurance number or UTR, but nothing has changed yet and no start date has been set.
The Budget context is in our Autumn Budget 2026 roundup; everything below is a proposal unless marked otherwise.
What did HMRC announce on Budget day?
A consultation, not a new rule. Improving Property Income Data Reporting was published on 28 October 2026 and closes at 11:59pm on 20 January 2027. The Budget flags it at paragraph 6.157 and says the government "will consult on expanding third-party reporting requirements for property income data" (paragraph 2.35).
The legal power already exists. Schedule 23 of Finance Act 2026 lets the Treasury require a "relevant data-holder" to provide data to HMRC "on an ongoing basis", with the detail set by regulations. Interest and card sales data come first, due in 2028; property income is phase two, and the consultation document gives it no date.
Does HMRC already know about my rental income?
If an agent collects your rent or your tenant's deposit is protected, HMRC can find out. Under Schedule 23 of Finance Act 2011, an officer can send a notice to anyone who, as agent, manages land or receives rent, asking for the tenancy terms and payments (SI 2012/847, regulation 16). HMRC says it sends "over 10,000 notices each year" to letting agents and deposit schemes, and uses the data in the Let Property Campaign and its Virtual Street Sweep campaign.
The weak points are timing and matching. Data is requested yearly and holders get 60 days to reply, so rent can reach HMRC "more than 13 months after" it was paid. Tax references are often missing, which makes records hard to match to yours. And a notice reaches back only to periods ending in the last four years.
How would letting agents report rent to HMRC under the proposals?
Automatically, on a fixed timetable, with your tax reference attached. The notice powers stay for anything outside the new scope, such as commercial property.
| Today | Proposed | Source | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trigger | A notice from HMRC each time | A standing duty, no notice | Chapter 2 |
| Frequency | Yearly, tied to the tax year | Monthly or quarterly (not yet decided) | Question 9 |
| Deadline | 60 days after the notice | One month, two weeks or less after each period (not yet decided) | Question 10 |
| Your identity | Mainly names and addresses | NINO, company number, VAT number or UTR | Chapter 4 |
| Format | Spreadsheets by email | A standard digital format (such as XML or JSON) | Chapter 3 |
| Minimum amount | None | None | Chapter 2 |
Which landlords would be caught?
Nearly every landlord who uses an agent or protects a deposit, whatever the rent. Reporting would apply to letting agents acting for UK-based landlords who let UK residential property, and to authorised tenancy deposit protection schemes. It covers individuals, companies, partnerships and trusts, with no de minimis threshold.
Self-managing is no exemption: with a protected deposit, the scheme's record of you, the address and the tenancy would be reported too.
Agents within the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme would be excluded: they already report and deduct tax unless HMRC authorises gross payment. Targeted exclusions are planned for some tax-exempt public bodies. The document sets out no different treatment for Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. How "private rented sector" is defined is not yet decided (consultation closes 20 January 2027).
What will my letting agent ask me for?
Your tax reference. The consultation proposes that agents and schemes "request, hold, maintain and report":
- a National Insurance number, for individual landlords
- a company registration number, for companies
- a VAT registration number, where you have one
- a UTR, for partnerships, trustees, estates and non-resident landlords without a NINO or company number
New landlords and newly registered deposits would be asked at onboarding. For existing customers, data holders would make "reasonable efforts" (Schedule 23, paragraph 2(2)) and check numbers before reporting. Failure-to-report penalties would fall on agents and schemes: initially up to £5,000, then up to £600 a day for continued failure after assessment (paragraph 7). No new landlord reporting duty is proposed.
HMRC also floats extra fields: gross rent, management fees, expenses deducted, tenancy dates, landlord date of birth, the property's UPRN and landlord identifiers from the new private rented sector database. Which make the cut is not yet decided (consultation closes 20 January 2027). Schedule 23 lets the Treasury require holders to send you a copy of what they report (paragraph 4), but the consultation does not propose it.
How does this connect to Making Tax Digital and the landlord register?
It could support MTD checks, while register requirements are being coordinated. HMRC envisages feedback on quarterly updates and identifying people who should file a return.
Unless exempt, individual landlords enter MTD if combined gross property and self-employment income was over £50,000 in 2024-25 (from 6 April 2026), £30,000 in 2025-26 (from 6 April 2027) or £20,000 in 2026-27 (from 6 April 2028), per GOV.UK on 30 October 2026. See our threshold guide, MTD for landlords and MTD deadline calendar.
On the register, HMRC is working with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government so new reporting is considered alongside the landlord register's requirements. That database is England only: see PRS database registration.
What would HMRC see for a three-property landlord?
HMRC could match agent rent reports with a deposit scheme's tenancy record. Illustrative 2025-26 figures for a non-exempt individual: two flats managed at 12% including VAT, plus a self-managed house with a protected deposit.
| Flat A (agent) | Flat B (agent) | House (self-managed) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent collected | £12,000 | £9,350 (11 months, one void) | £11,400 |
| Agent fee at 12% | £1,440 | £1,122 | None |
| Repair paid by agent | £360 | None | None |
| Paid into your bank | £10,200 | £8,228 | £11,400 |
| Reported under the proposals | Agent: rent and NINO; fees and repairs if adopted | Agent: rent and NINO; fees if adopted | Scheme: tenancy, address and NINO |
The return shows £32,750 gross rent: £21,350 from the agent's statements plus £11,400 from your house records. Deduct £2,562 of agent fees and the £360 repair, plus any other allowable costs.
Entering bank receipts of £29,828 understates gross rent by £2,922, even if omitting the same expenses leaves profit unchanged. The agent's £21,350 gross exceeds its £18,428 remittance by that amount. MTD uses gross income: £32,750 in 2025-26 exceeds £30,000, so this landlord starts on 6 April 2027; bank receipts wrongly suggest otherwise.
The deposit record shows HMRC the tenancy; the £11,400 itself comes from your records.
What if I have rent I have not declared?
Tell HMRC about unpaid tax. Individual residential landlords can use the Let Property Campaign: notify, then disclose and pay within 90 days of receiving HMRC's acknowledgement. Companies and trusts cannot use it. Voluntary disclosure can reduce penalties (GOV.UK). Lookback limits are 4 years with reasonable care, 6 if careless and up to 20 for deliberate errors or failure to register on time.
Eligible individuals can use the £1,000 property allowance, instead of expenses, not alongside them or mortgage-interest tax relief. Above £1,000 and up to £2,500, contact HMRC. Above £2,500 after allowable expenses, or £10,000 before them, file a Self Assessment return; if you do not already file, register by 5 October after the tax year.
What should landlords do this month?
Reconcile your records and check your reporting obligations.
- Reconcile 2025-26 agent statements to your records before the 31 January 2027 online return deadline.
- Keep your NINO or UTR ready, plus company or VAT numbers, and give them only through your agent's usual channel.
- Check each deposit registration names the right landlord and address.
- Test MTD on gross rent plus self-employment income, against £30,000 for 2025-26.
- Consider the Let Property Campaign for past unpaid tax if eligible.
How do I respond to the consultation?
Email thirdpartydata@hmrc.gov.uk by 11:59pm on 20 January 2027, saying whether you are a business, individual or representative body. Most of the 19 questions are for agents and schemes, but landlords can usefully answer questions 2 (landlord types), 7 (no de minimis), 15 (identifiers for existing customers) and 16 (extra fields). Responses may be published or disclosed under freedom of information rules (how to respond).
Padlord records each property's rent, running costs and agent fee, and stores agent statements as documents on the property, so gross rent, fees and bank receipts can be checked against each other. A spreadsheet works too, and the rental income tax calculator estimates the tax.
General information, not tax advice. These are proposals in an open consultation, so check GOV.UK before relying on any detail. Sources checked on 30 October 2026.
