Real estate investor and contractor Scott McGillivray leads homeowners through the renovation of their first income property, to help offset mortgage payments, as well as increase the overall value of the home.

In each episode, McGillivray offers design options, prepares plans for a conversion and manages the construction of a rental suite.

Several episodes of the series have featured celebrity homeowners, including actress Helene Joy, musician Justin Rutledge, broadcaster Roz Weston and documentary filmmaker Jamie Kastner.

Once the homeowners decide on which option they prefer, the Income Property team goes to work to demolish and rebuild.

The homeowners are usually involved in the renovation but then are kept out of the space during the final stages of completion to provide some element of surprise.

The second half-hour follows the same format as the original, with McGillivray showing the new homeowners two renovation options, the conversion of the space based on their choice, getting an opinion of value, and the reveal of the finished renovation/suggested rent/increased home value.

Starting with Season 10, the show reverted to its original half-hour format, with two new episodes airing back-to-back each week, in Canada.

Episodes retain their half-hour format from season 10, and feature Scott McGillivray guiding holiday homeowners through the process of building a vacation suite and banking the rental cheques.

Airing April 4, 2011, one week prior to the start of the fourth season, this one-hour special finds Scott McGillivray revisiting ten Income Property homeowners to find out how much cash they’ve collected and how it has transformed their lives.

Airing on April 19, 2012, one week in advance of the premiere of the sixth season, this one-hour special is very much similar to the "Reno to Riches" special, and sees Scott McGillivray counting down the top ten Income Property transformations from the first five seasons.