Who the Let Property Campaign applies to
- Individual landlords letting residential property in the UK who have not declared rental income on their self-assessment tax returns
- Individual landlords letting overseas residential property who have not declared the overseas income on their UK tax returns
- Landlords who started letting after 5 April 2013 and have never registered for self-assessment
- The Campaign does NOT apply to companies (limited companies use the Corporate Disclosure Facility) or commercial property landlords
The three-stage disclosure process
- Step 1 — Notify: register on HMRC's Let Property Campaign online notification form. This starts a 90-day clock for completing the full disclosure
- Step 2 — Calculate: work out all undisclosed rental income, income tax owed, statutory interest from the original due date, and the appropriate penalty
- Step 3 — Disclose and pay: submit the online disclosure form and make a single payment covering tax, interest, and penalty
- Once notified, HMRC will generally not open a compliance investigation while the disclosure is being prepared
Penalties and why coming forward first matters
- Unprompted disclosure (you contact HMRC first): penalty for careless omissions typically 0–30% of tax owed. Fully cooperative disclosures often attract the lower end
- Prompted disclosure (HMRC contacts you first): penalty floor increases to 15% for careless omissions and 35% for deliberate — higher and with less room to negotiate
- HMRC investigation: highest penalties and HMRC controls the process
- Interest on unpaid tax accrues from the original 31 January due date regardless of disclosure route — this element is unavoidable
- Time limits: innocent error 4 years, careless 6 years, deliberate 20 years
HMRC's 'Connect' system cross-references Land Registry records, letting agent data, and bank information against self-assessment returns. Landlords who have not declared rental income are increasingly identified. Coming forward under the Let Property Campaign before being contacted gives the best penalty outcome.