Let Property Campaign (LPC) : Complete Guide for Landlords

The Let Property Campaign is an opportunity for landlords who owe tax through letting out residential property, in the UK or abroad, to get up to date with their tax affairs with HMRC in a simple way and take advantage of the best possible terms.

The Let Property Campaign is an opportunity open to all residential property landlords with undisclosed taxes. This includes:
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- landlords that have multiple properties
- landlords with single rental property
- specialist landlords who earn from student or workforce rentals
- landlords with holiday lettings
- someone renting out a room in their main home for more than the Rent a Room Scheme threshold
- those who live abroad or intend to live abroad for more than 6 months and rent out a property in the UK, as you may still be liable to UK taxes
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You can also use the HMRC Let Property questionnaire to check if you need to disclose unpaid taxes under this campaign.

This campaign is not open to those landlords who are letting out non-residential properties such as a:
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- shop
- garage
- lock up
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You also cannot use the Let Property Campaign if you want to disclose income on behalf of a company or a trust.

Under the Let Property Campaign, HMRC offers the best possible terms available to get your tax affairs in order. You can take advantage of these by notifying your intention to participate and co-operating with HMRC to make a full disclosure and payment.
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The good thing is that you may not have to pay any penalty at all. And even if you have to pay a penalty, it is likely to be much lower than the one imposed by HMRC, once they find out that you have not paid enough tax.
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Depending on your circumstances, if you cannot afford to pay what you owe in one lump sum, you’ll be allowed to spread your payments.
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If you registered for self-assessment and completed tax returns within the appropriate time limits, but have simply made a careless mistake when declaring your income, you only pay for a maximum of 6 years - no matter how many years you’re behind with your tax affairs.
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However, if you do not come forward and HMRC finds later that you’re behind with your tax, it may be harder to convince them that it was simply a mistake. The law allows HMRC to go back up to 20 years and in serious cases HMRC may carry out a criminal investigation.

In extreme cases HMRC may consider the instigation of a criminal investigation, in line with their criminal investigation policy.
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Make sure you’re certain about what you owe and get things right for the future.

This is one of the most common questions asked by landlords, who have not declared their rental income and believe that HMRC will not know about it either, if they don't disclose it.

HMRC will identify those who they believe should have made a disclosure by:
- comparing the information already in their possession with customers’ UK tax histories
- continuing to use their powers to get more detailed information about payments made to and from landlords

The reality is that HMRC has multiple sources of information and they are continuously adding more of these to their database. HMRC will find everybody in the end. Some of the resources used are:
- Letting agents - They have to declare every year a list of their landlords.
- Airbnb - They give a list of all of their customers every year to HMRC.

All these people give out information to HMRC. Whether it's directly or indirectly.

So, if you haven't declared your rental property yet, please do it now, because they will find you in the end. And in that scenario the penalties imposed will be much harsher.

HMRC is continuously targeting compliance activity across all landlord types. HMRC will identify and write to landlords who they consider may not have declared all their rental income.

First of all, take it seriously. HMRC letter indicates that they have found a potential issue in your tax affairs – going back up to 20 years. The anomaly may be easily explained; but HMRC is likely to escalate its enquiries if you don’t reply.

Secondly, where possible, contact HMRC. They may give you more information about the undisclosed income in question, which will help focus your review of your tax affairs. However, there’s no guarantee they’ll share anything with you.

And thirdly, take the opportunity to step back. Work with a tax expert to review your rental income along with any other income you may have, ensure that you have been disclosing the income correctly and paying the right amount of tax , and check that there are no un-taxed that you may need to disclose.

Remember: a false declaration could be a criminal offence. Careful consideration and professional advice are essential before responding to a nudge letter, or making a disclosure.

At 1to1 Accountants, we have extensive experience of advising landlords on undisclosed rental income, and disclosures to HMRC under the Let Property Campaign (LPC).

We can help you, if you have received this letter and need help in this regard. Feel free to contact us.

No you should disclose as soon as possible. If you act voluntarily then its possible you can get away with lower penalties.

Your future affairs will be streamlined and you will stop accumulating future penalties and interest.

Summary of the LPC (Let Property Campaign) Process:
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-- Notify HMRC of the intention to disclose via the Digital Disclosure Service (DDS).
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-- A disclosure will then have to be prepared within the next 90 days with calculations of the additional tax due. This will be submitted through the DDS.
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-- At the time of the disclosure, the taxpayer will be asked to self-assess their behaviour. This is a technical issue which will impact the penalties and will determine the number of years that disclosure will cover (four, six or 20 years).
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-- Any technical matters impacting the disclosure must be disclosed.
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-- In exceptional circumstances, advance clarification may be sought in respect of complex or contentious issues.
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-- Payment must be made at the time of submission. However a ‘Time to Pay’ may be agreed where appropriate.

For more information on the Let Property Campaign, please call us on 03336667121 or schedule a no-obligation online call.

No, you cannot include details for more than one person on a disclosure.

For example, if a husband and wife both have undisclosed income to disclose they must complete separate disclosures showing the share of the income they need to disclose.

HMRC needs a separate notification for each disclosure.

-- HMRC Guide to Let Property Campaign
-- HMRC Let Property Campaign - case studies & examples of tax errors landlords make