Landlords aren't one thing, and this report proves it | August

Landlords aren't one thing, and this government report proves it

The government's report English Private Landlord Survey: Segmenting the business models of private landlords did something rare. It treated landlords as multiple segments rather than the single persona that fills most newspaper coverage.

The analysis draws on the 2024 English Private Landlord Survey and groups landlords by how they operate: portfolio size, reliance on rental income, and whether they see letting as an investment, a business, or something in between. It is a technical piece of work, but the implications are practical for anyone letting a property in England.

It matters because the private rented sector is not small. The report points to the English Housing Survey's estimate of 4.7 million households renting privately in England, around 19% of all households. Yet public debate still talks about "landlords" as if they were one type of person, with one set of incentives and one way of making decisions. The data says otherwise, and so do we.

Six landlord business models, and why that changes the conversation

The report identifies six distinct landlord types. Three are small-scale and together account for 83% of landlords: small-scale retired landlords (31%), small-scale short-term investors (27%) and small-scale investors for retirement (24%). Two are moderate-scale: business and investor landlords (4%) and large-scale business landlords (5%). The last group is corporate landlords (7%), who let through a company rather than as individuals.

It also restates a core truth about the sector. Around 45% of landlords own just one property, covering 21% of tenancies, while only 17% own five or more, covering 49% of tenancies. Small landlords are the majority by headcount; larger portfolios account for a large share of the actual homes.

That split should shape how we talk about regulation. Most rules for landlords are experienced by someone with one or two properties, limited time and no back office, yet the regulatory bar increasingly resembles a professional operating standard. When good landlords trip up, it is often because they are running something that behaves like a business with the tooling of a hobby. That gap is exactly what compliance software is meant to close.

Rent rises are not one story

The rental-practices section is a useful antidote to the idea that all landlords behave the same way. Around half (52%) increased rent at their most recent renewal, while 39% kept it the same and 1% reduced it. Corporate and business-oriented landlords were more likely to raise rent, at 61% for corporate and 59% for large-scale business landlords, while small-scale retired landlords were less likely to do so (46%) and more likely to hold rent unchanged (44%).

The reasons varied too. Overall, 36% said they set rent partly to recover costs from renovation, licensing or energy-efficiency work, but small-scale retired landlords were far less likely to cite that (16%) than moderate-scale business and investor landlords (38%). Either way, it complicates the simple narratives. The most common rationale overall was market rent (72%), which means affordability cannot be solved by appealing to individual virtue alone; and where costs and compliance genuinely drive rent for some, policy that raises costs without easing supply will keep feeding the same cycle.

How risk gets pushed onto tenants

The report also shows how landlords manage risk, and where that lands hardest for tenants. Across all landlords, 36% asked for rent in advance on top of a deposit at their most recent letting, rising to 47% among small-scale retired landlords. At the same time, nine in ten (90%) said they would be unwilling to let to someone with a history of rent arrears, which goes a long way to explaining why a single missed payment can follow a tenant for years.

The same pattern appears with tenants receiving housing support. Among landlords unwilling to let to them, the most common reason, cited by 73%, was the perceived risk of late or unpaid rent. If the government wants to reduce discrimination against benefit recipients in practice, rules alone will not do it; it has to address the operational risk behind the behaviour, including payment timing, clearer routes to direct payment, confidence in the arrears process and courts that resolve genuine disputes quickly. While the system feels slow and uncertain, landlords will keep building bigger buffers and tenants will keep being screened out.

From a landlord's side, the practical answer is better process and better evidence: thorough referencing, a solid inventory and a clean end-of-tenancy workflow that holds up if it is ever questioned.

The shift that has already landed: more stability, more need for paperwork

This segmentation work arrived at a pivotal moment. The report flags the changing legislative landscape and the Renters' Rights Act, which received Royal Assent in October 2025 and whose main provisions, including the abolition of no-fault Section 21 evictions, came into force on 1 May 2026.

For landlords, that does not mean possession is impossible; it means the sector now rewards preparation. The days of winging it on paperwork are over, because the consequences of gaps in documentation have grown. The simplest response is to build a single source of truth for each property: certificates, licences, inspection notes, inventories and a clear log of repairs and communications. Pull that together in one place and you reduce stress, cut mistakes, and stand on far firmer ground if a dispute ever reaches your door.

This is where the report's landlord types stop being academic. Larger landlords tend to have process, with templates, reminders, record-keeping and professional support. Smaller landlords often do not, even when their intentions are good, and the gap shows the moment a repair dispute escalates or you need to prove you did the right things at the right times. A starting point is a set of free printable templates built to hold up under scrutiny, and for deposits it is worth knowing the official baseline, since the government's overview of tenancy deposit protection sets out the core timing, alongside our explainer on the Tenancy Deposit Scheme. On safety records, the HSE's guidance on the gas safety record is the kind of page worth bookmarking.

Who is staying, and who is growing?

The future-plans section should give policymakers pause. Across all landlords, 42% intended to keep the number of properties they let unchanged over the coming two years. But 31% planned to decrease, including 16% intending to sell up and leave the sector entirely, while only 7% planned to increase. Corporate landlords stood apart as the only group where the intention to grow (26%) exceeded the intention to shrink (21%).

That could be a good news story if it brings more professional standards and longer-term investment. It could equally mean consolidation: fewer small landlords, fewer local one-off options, and a more concentrated sector. The report ties these plans to perceived policy pressure. Among those planning to reduce or leave, recent tax and legislative changes were cited by 81% of moderate-scale business and investor landlords and 78% of large-scale business landlords, against 46% of small-scale retired landlords. Even the most commercial landlords are signalling that policy design and implementation shape whether they stay. For anyone weighing that decision, the practical groundwork is the same, from landlord insurance to a clear-eyed read of whether to sell or hold.

Our view: precision beats slogans

It is right to raise standards and improve security for renters. It is a mistake to treat the landlord population as uniform. This report is an invitation to be precise, because different landlord types respond differently to incentives, costs and risk. If the government wants a stable supply of good-quality homes for the long term, it needs regulation that is clear, enforceable and supported by practical guidance. And if landlords want to thrive under the new regime, they need to run the parts that matter with discipline: keep the documents, follow the timelines, record the decisions and communicate clearly. Whether you are a retired landlord with one flat or a business landlord with a portfolio, you are still providing someone's home, and that is a serious job.

You can read the full report in the government publication.