UK Landlord & Property Statistics 2026: Council Tax, Premiums, HMO Fees, Yields, Prices
Council tax, second-home premiums, HMO licence fees, rental yields and sold prices — the headline numbers from this site’s datasets, quotable and dated.
Average Band D council tax, England 2026/27
£2,410.97
mean of 296 billing authorities’ area Band D (MHCLG council tax levels 2026/27)
Highest Band D
£2,765.02 — Dorset Council
lowest: £1,028.21 — Wandsworth
Councils that raised Band D by 4.99 per cent or more
113 of 296
the referendum-limit ceiling for most authorities; average rise 4.78 per cent
Councils charging a 100 per cent second-home premium (2025/26 policy)
211 of 296
CTB1 returns; 291 of 296 charge an empty-home premium
Median HMO licence fee (new application, verified councils)
£1,364
range £288 (Islington) to £2,530 (Lambeth), 34 councils with a published schedule
Median gross rental yield, English local authorities
4.4 per cent
ONS private rent and average price by local authority; 316 areas
Cheapest postcode district with 30+ sales
TS1 — £73,000 median
HM Land Registry price paid, twelve months to 31 July 2026
Dearest postcode district with 30+ sales
SW1X — £2,497,500 median
2132 districts had 30 or more standard sales
Council tax 2026/27, by region
| Region | Average Band D 2026/27 | Councils |
|---|---|---|
| North East | £2,525.66 | 12 |
| South West | £2,511.40 | 27 |
| North West | £2,483.22 | 35 |
| South East | £2,475.45 | 64 |
| East Midlands | £2,457.41 | 35 |
| West Midlands | £2,399.67 | 30 |
| East of England | £2,391.20 | 45 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | £2,374.19 | 15 |
| London | £2,090.08 | 33 |
Largest percentage rises: Shropshire UA (9.03 per cent), North Somerset UA (8.55 per cent), Trafford (7.97 per cent), Wyre Forest (7.95 per cent), Wychavon (7.82 per cent). Every council’s bands A–H, the premium it charges and its rank are on the council tax 2026/27 hub; premiums on the second-home premium tracker.
Rental yield: highest and lowest local authorities
| Area | Gross yield | Average rent (pcm) | Average price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 6.9 per cent | £1,207 | £208,589 |
| Portsmouth | 6.5 per cent | £1,367 | £250,999 |
| Manchester | 6.5 per cent | £1,365 | £251,250 |
| Tower Hamlets | 6.4 per cent | £2,439 | £456,898 |
| Southampton | 6.4 per cent | £1,255 | £235,362 |
| Derbyshire Dales | 2.8 per cent | £810 | £353,364 |
| Elmbridge | 3.0 per cent | £1,867 | £743,525 |
| Waverley | 3.1 per cent | £1,450 | £560,596 |
| Uttlesford | 3.2 per cent | £1,286 | £482,652 |
| Malvern Hills | 3.2 per cent | £943 | £350,906 |
Gross yield = annual ONS average private rent ÷ ONS average price for the local authority. Per-area pages hold the by-bedroom rents and by-type prices: rent, prices and yield by area.
Postcode districts: cheapest and dearest (HM Land Registry)
| District | Median price paid | Sales (12 months) |
|---|---|---|
| TS1 | £73,000 | 87 |
| DL4 | £80,000 | 125 |
| DN31 | £82,000 | 103 |
| SR8 | £88,750 | 364 |
| TS3 | £93,974 | 146 |
| SW1X | £2,497,500 | 50 |
| SW1W | £1,450,000 | 54 |
| W1U | £1,437,500 | 54 |
| SW7 | £1,375,000 | 157 |
| W8 | £1,330,000 | 170 |
Standard price-paid sales only (no repossessions or bulk transfers), districts with at least 30 registered sales. Every district: sold house prices by postcode.
HMO licence fees
Of the 34 English councils whose fee schedule we could read on the council’s own website, the median new-application fee for a mandatory HMO licence is £1,364. The cheapest verified is Islington (£288), the dearest Lambeth (£2,530). Fees by council, with the council’s wording and links: HMO licence fees by council.
Using these figures
Quote freely with a link to this page or the source page; the datasets are built from Open Government Licence data (MHCLG, VOA, HM Land Registry, ONS) and council fee schedules. Downloads: council tax England 2026/27 (CSV), EPC ratings by local authority (CSV). For a cut of the data by region, bedroom count or council type, email [email protected] — a same-day reply for journalists.
Computed at build time from this site’s datasets. Council tax: MHCLG “Council tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026 to 2027” and CTB1 2025/26 premium returns. HMO fees: each council’s published schedule (see the council page for the wording and date). Prices: HM Land Registry price paid data (OGL v3). Rents and prices by area: ONS Private Rental Prices and UK House Price Index (OGL v3). Yields are gross, before costs and tax.
Asked constantly
The average area Band D across 296 billing authorities is £2,410.97 for 2026/27 (MHCLG council tax levels). Band D is the reference band; the bill for a home in another band is a fixed fraction or multiple of it.
211 of 296 English councils applied it in 2025/26 according to their CTB1 returns; the 2026/27 returns are published around November and the tracker page is updated when they land.
Across 34 councils with a published schedule the median new-application fee is £1,364, but the range runs from £288 to £2,530, so the council page matters more than the average.
On ONS rent and price averages the highest gross yields are in Newcastle upon Tyne, Portsmouth, Manchester; the lowest are in Derbyshire Dales, Elmbridge, Waverley. Gross yield ignores voids, mortgage interest, tax and repairs.
Yes, with a link. They are computed from Open Government Licence datasets and council schedules; email us for a custom cut.