What is rental yield?

Rental yield is the annual rental income from a property expressed as a percentage of the property's value. Gross yield uses the full purchase price; net yield subtracts running costs such as maintenance, insurance, management fees and void periods.

What is a good rental yield in the UK?

A gross yield of 5–8% is generally considered healthy for buy-to-let, though this varies sharply by region and property type. London often sees lower yields but stronger capital growth, while northern cities and certain commuter towns can produce higher yields. Always weigh yield against void risk, maintenance and financing costs.

How do I calculate net rental yield?

Add up a full year of rent, subtract annual costs (insurance, maintenance allowance, agent fees, ground rent, service charges and a realistic void allowance), then divide the result by the total cash invested — usually the purchase price plus stamp duty and legal fees — and multiply by 100.

Should I use gross yield or net yield?

Gross yield is useful for quickly comparing one property against another. Net yield and cash-on-cash return are better for understanding what actually lands in your pocket after costs and how hard your deposit is working.

Does this calculator include stamp duty?

Yes. The calculator adds a simplified stamp duty estimate based on the purchase price at the additional-property rate. You can override the cash invested figure if your actual legal or renovation costs differ.

Free tool

Rental yield calculator

Work out gross yield, net yield and cash-on-cash return for any UK buy-to-let in seconds. No signup required.

By the NestIQ Wealth editorial teamPublished August 2026Last reviewed August 2026

Property details

Purchase price

Current market value or purchase price

Monthly rent

Expected monthly rental income

Monthly running costs

Insurance, maintenance, void allowance, fees

Deposit

Cash deposit you will put down

Stamp duty + legal + refurbishment

Estimated upfront costs on top of deposit

Mortgage interest rate

Interest-only rate on the loan, used for cash-on-cash

Results

5.76%

Gross yield

4.70%

Net yield

1.81%

Cash-on-cash

Annual rent£14,400

Annual costs£2,640

Loan amount£187,500

Annual mortgage interest£10,313

Stamp duty estimate£12,500

Total cash invested£80,000

Assumptions & sources

Every figure above is calculated from the inputs you entered using the rules below. Tap a reference to read the primary source.

Gross yield[1]
Annual rent divided by purchase price, before any costs.
Net yield[1]
Annual rent less running costs, divided by total cash-in including purchase costs.
Stamp duty estimate[2]
Additional-property SDLT bands for England and Northern Ireland, applied to the purchase price.
Rent benchmarks[3]
Compare your rent figure with ONS Price Index of Private Rents for your area.

[1]Renting out your property: landlord responsibilities and incomeGOV.UK — Allowable running costs a landlord must fund from rent
[2]Stamp Duty Land Tax: rates and higher rates for additional propertiesHMRC / GOV.UK — SDLT bands used in the purchase-cost estimate
[3]Price Index of Private Rents, UKOffice for National Statistics — Market rent benchmarks by region

Read how we verify and refresh these figures in our data methodology.

Track this property in NestIQ

Save the address, rent, deadlines and documents in one place and never miss a compliance renewal.

Start for free

Frequently asked questions

More free landlord tools

HMO yield calculator

Room-by-room income, bills, voids and licensing costs for an HMO.

Open

Stamp duty (SDLT) calculator

England & NI stamp duty including the 5% additional-property surcharge.

Open

Buy-to-let mortgage calculator

Monthly payments plus the lender ICR stress test on your rent.

Open

About the publisher

This page is published by NestIQ Wealth, a UK property management and compliance platform used by self-managing landlords to track statutory deadlines, store certificates with full version history, and evidence compliance per property. Our guidance is written by the team that builds those compliance rules into the product, so the dates, cycles and penalties here are the same ones the software enforces.

•Researched from primary sources. Every rule is checked against legislation.gov.uk, GOV.UK guidance and the responsible regulator — never rewritten from other blogs. See how we source our data.
•Reviewed as the law changes. Pages carry a visible review date — last reviewed August 2026 and are revisited when legislation, deadlines or penalty levels move.
•No hidden commission. We are not paid to refer you to contractors, brokers or agents. Costs quoted are illustrative market ranges, not quotes or offers.
•Guidance, not regulated advice. Nothing here is legal, tax or financial advice. For decisions specific to your circumstances, speak to a solicitor, accountant or qualified adviser.

About NestIQ Wealth and our editorial standards How we source our data Report an error in this guide