yes, an operational cost can be charged against the income tax if owned as a private rental or corp tax if held in a business.

There are other costs that you can deduct that might not be obvious, it is worth getting a specialised BTL accountant to help with at least one Self Assessment if private rental to get an idea of what can be claimed.

If you have a BTL then you need an accountant for filing anyway, I've used mine for both private and LTD rentals over the last 12 years and they have offered good advise and the good thing is that accountancy costs are claimable as well.

Other costs I successfully negotiated against my private rental were a percentage of my household costs for the home office (all costs divided by that % of time spent in a room) , mileage based on a per-mile cost to and from the rental, and dedicated IT supplies including a phone.