HM Revenue and Customs has opened a consultation on routine digital reporting of landlord rental income by letting agents and tenancy deposit schemes, with responses due by 20 January 2027.
The consultation was published on 28 October alongside Budget documents and proposes replacing more than 10,000 individual data notices a year with standing legal duties to supply agreed property income data on a regular basis. HMRC said current data is often incomplete, hard to match to taxpayer records and received too late for timely compliance work.
Private landlords face direct exposure because cleaner agent-supplied data would let HMRC pre-check self assessment returns, spot missing rental income faster and tighten forecasts at the same time as tax pressure rises. The Budget confirmed income tax on rental earnings will rise by two percentage points from April 2027, while Making Tax Digital for income tax starts phased rollout from April 2026.
What agents and deposit schemes would report
HMRC is consulting on the detailed design of two datasets: letting agent data on rent paid to landlords, and tenancy deposit data held by approved protection schemes. The paper asks what fields should be mandatory, how tax identifiers such as National Insurance numbers or Unique Taxpayer References should be used, and how often reports should be sent.
The favoured model is a standard digital format such as XML or JSON with built-in validation, so records arrive in the same structure from every provider. HMRC said a structured format would improve consistency, automate error checks and help staff find relevant information more quickly.
Timothy Douglas, head of policy and campaigns at Propertymark, said any new duty must be proportionate and workable alongside existing agency practice. He warned that agents already carry heavy compliance loads and that extra reporting could add cost unless duplication is avoided.
How routine HMRC reporting would work
The consultation accepts the reforms would create new duties for a large and varied group of agents, including firms that have never reported to HMRC. It promises consultation on frequency, scope, data quality standards and lead-in time, plus guidance and software support to limit new burdens.
HMRC currently collects property income data by issuing notices under data-gathering powers. The new framework would sit under Schedule 23 of the Finance Act 2026, giving specified organisations an ongoing duty to provide agreed data without waiting for a fresh notice each cycle. Officials said the aim is greater certainty for business planning as well as faster compliance checks.
This follows Landlord Knowledge’s report on HMRC figures showing 275,000 landlords yet to join Making Tax Digital, which highlighted how far the sector still has to go on quarterly digital record keeping. Combined with Budget plans to lift the basic rate of tax on rents to 24% from April 2027, the reporting shift points to closer scrutiny of declared rental income rather than lighter administration.
Responses to the consultation on improving property income data reporting must be sent to [email protected] by 11:59pm on 20 January 2027. HMRC said replies will shape future law on what is collected, when it is sent and what safeguards apply.
What this means for landlords
- If you use a letting agent: check what rent, fee and identifier details your agent holds, because errors in agent returns could trigger HMRC queries even when your own return is correct
- Watch for: the 20 January 2027 consultation close and any decision on reporting frequency, which will set how quickly HMRC sees new tenancies and rent changes
- Bottom line: keep digital rent records clean now – agent data and self assessment will be cross-checked more easily once standard reporting starts
Editor’s view
HMRC is fixing the plumbing before it turns up the pressure. Standard rent feeds from agents will make under-declared income harder to hide and honest mistakes harder to excuse. Landlords who reconcile agent statements with their own books each month will have little to fear.
Author: Editorial Team – UK landlord & buy-to-let news, policy, and finance
Published: 30 October 2026
Sources: HM Revenue and Customs, Finance Act 2026
Related reading: Budget’s second 2% raid adds £400 to typical landlord tax bill
