Overseas landlord
An overseas landlord, known to HMRC as a non-resident landlord, is a person who receives income from letting UK property but whose usual place of abode is outside the UK. According to HMRC's Property Income Manual, UK rental income is always taxable in the UK regardless of where the landlord lives, and a withholding regime called the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme collects that tax at source unless HMRC approves the landlord to receive rent gross.
Who counts as an overseas landlord?
You are an overseas landlord if you receive UK rental income and your usual place of abode is outside the UK, which HMRC treats as being absent from the UK for six months or more in a tax year. This test is about where you normally live, not your formal tax residence, so you can be UK tax resident and still fall within the scheme. Individuals, companies and trustees can all be non-resident landlords, and where a property is jointly owned each owner is treated as a separate landlord, so spouses and civil partners apply individually.
How overseas landlords are taxed
Rent from a UK property is taxed in the UK, and the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme sets how that tax is collected. For a full walkthrough of how the scheme operates in practice, see our guide to the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme. A letting agent, or a tenant where there is no agent and the rent is more than £100 a week, deducts basic-rate tax at 20% before you are paid, unless you have applied to HMRC to receive the rent gross using the NRL1 form. Gross approval changes only how the tax is collected, not whether it is owed. The scheme entry explains the deduction, the gross-payment route and the thresholds in full.
Your other obligations as an overseas landlord
Living abroad does not reduce your duties as a landlord. You must still protect the deposit, hold a valid gas safety certificate and EICR, provide a valid EPC, and carry out Right to Rent checks, and since the Renters' Rights Act 2025 came into force on 1 May 2026 your lettings are assured periodic tenancies with no Section 21 route to possession. From building August alongside self-managing landlords, we see that the practical challenge of being overseas is rarely the tax itself but staying on top of compliance deadlines and rent from a different time zone. That is why many overseas landlords either appoint a UK letting agent or run everything remotely through software, tracking rent through open banking and managing certificates and reminders from anywhere. August for overseas landlords manages UK rent and compliance from anywhere, with open banking rent tracking that does not care which country you check it from.
Self Assessment and double taxation
Every overseas landlord must register for and file a UK Self Assessment return on the SA105 UK property pages, declaring rental income and deducting allowable expenses in the same way a resident landlord does, with the Section 24 finance cost restriction applying equally to individual overseas landlords. Register by 5 October following the end of the first tax year you have income to report, and file online by 31 January. If your country of residence also taxes the same income, a double taxation agreement with the UK usually lets you claim relief so the income is not taxed twice. Landlords using August keep their income and expense records ready for that return throughout the year rather than reconstructing them from abroad each January.
Frequently asked questions
Can I be a UK tax resident and still be an overseas landlord?
Yes. The test is your usual place of abode, which HMRC treats as being abroad for six months or more in a tax year, not your formal tax residence. You can remain UK tax resident and still fall within the scheme.
Do overseas landlords have the same compliance duties as UK-based landlords?
Yes. Living abroad changes nothing about deposit protection, gas safety, EICR, EPC and Right to Rent. Since the Renters' Rights Act came into force on 1 May 2026, your lettings are also assured periodic tenancies with no Section 21 route to possession.
Do I need a UK letting agent if I live abroad?
No. Many overseas landlords self-manage and keep a local contact only for physical tasks such as inspections and repairs. If you have no agent, your tenant operates the scheme instead, but only where the rent is more than £100 a week.
Is being an overseas landlord different from being a non-resident landlord?
No, they are the same thing. Overseas landlord is the everyday term and non-resident landlord is the term HMRC uses. Both describe a landlord whose usual place of abode is outside the UK.
