Insurance company CIA landlord has prepared a league table of the most and least profitable locations for buy to let landlords.

It’s 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 looks at the best cities to become a landlord based on the average property price and rent from tenant.

So 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 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. 

Only six out of 33 London boroughs are profitable. 

Richard Wayman, finance director at CIA Landlord, comments: “COVID-19 has undoubtedly shifted the way new landlords will be looking to invest in 2021, and our ranking makes it clear that considering location alongside price has never been more crucial. 

“When looking into the true costs of being a landlord this year, it can certainly come as a surprise to some at just how expensive certain requirements are as well as the fluctuation in these costs.”