Let’s be honest: for many casual landlords, especially those who “fell into” renting out a property, tax hasn’t always been top of mind. Maybe you moved abroad and decided to let your UK flat. Maybe you inherited a home and rented it out while deciding what to do with it. Or maybe you’re one of the countless individuals who didn’t realise that occasional rental income — even just covering the mortgage — still needs to be declared to HMRC.
Enter the HMRC Let Property Campaign. It’s not a raid. It’s not an audit. It’s a gentle, but firm, tap on the shoulder — HMRC’s way of saying, “We know you might have missed something, and here’s your chance to put it right.”
A Window of Opportunity
The campaign is essentially an amnesty. It offers landlords the opportunity to come forward voluntarily, declare unpaid tax on rental income, and settle up — usually with reduced penalties compared to what you’d face if HMRC caught up with you first.
That distinction matters. Voluntary disclosure is treated far more leniently than enforced compliance. HMRC isn’t turning a blind eye, but they are giving you a route to make things right without the stress and costs of a full investigation.
Who Is It Aimed At?
This isn’t about corporate landlords or massive property portfolios (though they aren’t exempt from scrutiny). The campaign is squarely aimed at individuals who may not even consider themselves landlords — people who’ve let out part of their home, or only did so for a few months.
In other words, it’s for people who might not realise they were supposed to file anything at all.
The beauty — and the danger — lies in how subtle the oversight can be. Claiming mortgage interest without understanding the relief rules, not declaring overseas property income, or even misunderstanding the thresholds around the Rent a Room Scheme could all leave you exposed.
The Information Age Has Changed Everything
There was a time when this sort of thing could slip through the cracks. But those days are gone. With digital tax records, property databases, and increasingly joined-up data across banks, letting platforms, and government departments, HMRC has far more insight than most landlords realise.
It’s not about whether they’ll discover undeclared income. It’s about when. That’s why campaigns like this exist: to give people a final, fair chance before enforcement ramps up.
The HMRC Let Property Campaign isn’t just about recovering tax — it’s about encouraging a culture shift, where even the smallest landlords understand their obligations and take them seriously.
What If You Just Ignore It?
The short answer? Don’t.
Failing to respond or taking no action leaves you open to significantly higher penalties, backdated interest, and potentially even criminal investigation in serious cases. And that’s before you factor in the sleepless nights and uncertainty.
Coming forward under the campaign allows you to retain a degree of control — over timelines, payments, and how the matter is resolved. In most cases, HMRC is less interested in punishment and more interested in resolution.