Average income from UK property remained relatively stable at about £16,700 between 2017/18 and 2021/22, according to the latest HMRC data.

Income Tax Self-Assessment returns show that total income from property increased by 10% during that period, driven by a rise in both average property income and the number of landlords, up to 2.8 million from 2.7 million.

Added together, total property income declared by unincorporated landlords in 2021/22 was £48.87 billion, compared with £46.37 billion in 2020/21.

Unincorporated

HMRC reveals that property income is concentrated in London; in 2021/22, 16% of unincorporated landlords were based in the capital, accounting for 26% of property income for unincorporated landlords. Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland accounted for 3%, 5% and 1% of total property income respectively. Of the regions in England, the North East accounted for the smallest proportion of property income, at 2%.

The figures show that 89% of landlords declared some form of expenses, with the total up by 6% between 2020/21 and 2021/22; average expenses declared by unincorporated landlords has remained around £9,100.

Maintenance

Rent, rates and insurance and repairs and maintenance are the most common categories of expenses declared against property income, with 67% of unincorporated landlords declaring these; the largest category is finance costs, with £6.85 billion being claimed in 2021 to 2022. This accounts for 29% of all expenses claimed against UK property income by unincorprated landlords.

All figures in 2021 to 2022 showed a recovery to pre-Covid levels, following the fall in 2020 to 2021, the first Covid-affected year.

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