Insurance company CIA Landlord has prepared a league table of the most and least profitable locations for buy to let landlords, which is based on where rental income balances or exceeds landlords’ own monthly payments on each of their properties. 

CIA Landlord calculates that on average, UK landlords need to spend £1,134 per month in 2021, which includes the average sum of tenancy deposits, landlord insurance, energy performance certificates, gas safety certificates, national insurance, licence fee, average appliance costs and average furniture costs. 

It then looked at the best cities to become a landlord based on the average property price and rent from tenant. Based on the insurers’ calculations, Brighton ranks as the most profitable city for landlords for the second year in a row followed by Bangor, Portsmouth and Leeds. Monthly profits in these cities range from £477 per property per month up to £571. The rest of the top 10 are Lancaster, Bristol, Coventry, Manchester, Nottingham and Salford. 

However, St Albans is revealed as the worst city to become a landlord with an average monthly loss of £735. The next nine loss-making locations - with monthly losses ranging from £592 to £276 - are Cambridge, Solihull, Chichester, Wells, Salisbury, St Davids, Chelmsford, St Asaph and Perth, according to the report, which added that only six out of 33 London boroughs are profitable for landlords in 2021.