Many smaller landlords are leaving the rental market due to pressures such as those imposed by the new Renters’ Rights Act, with Savills recently pointing out that around 700 former rental homes are listed for sale every day.
The Hamptons index showed that landlords accounted for 13.3% of all buyers across the UK – the highest share since 2016. Last year, it was just under 10% of buyers.
Aneisha Beveridge (pictured), head of research at Hamptons, said some landlords are taking the opportunity to exit.
She said: “With the Renters’ Rights Act becoming law against a backdrop of rising mortgage rates, some landlords have taken the opportunity to leave the market.
“Increasingly, though, they’re passing on their properties to other investors. This means the recent spike in landlord purchases reflects homes changing hands between investors, rather than the dawn of a new buy-to-let boom.”
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Regional disparity
The rental homes on the market were most likely to be bought by landlords in areas where buy to let (BTL) is most profitable, the index showed. In the North, landlords accounted for 25.3% of buyers in the North West, 23.8% in the North East and 11.9% in Yorkshire and the Humber so far this year. Notably, the share of landlord purchases in the North West more than doubled between 2025 and 2026.
“It’s predominantly in areas where the economics of buy to let stack up best that homes sold by landlords are most likely to stay within the rental market. Higher yields across much of the North of England are more likely to offset rising mortgage and tax costs. Across much of the South, meanwhile, homes sold by landlords are more likely to be bought by a first-time buyer or owner-occupiers trading up,” Beveridge said.
By contrast, BTL investment in the South of England has been broadly flat. Across London, the South East, the South West and the East of England, landlords accounted for 9.1% of purchases, only marginally higher than the 8.8% recorded in 2025.
Rents continue to grow
The pace of rental growth continued to accelerate in April, with rents rising at the fastest rate in 11 months. A tenant moving into a new property paid an average of 1.9% more than a year earlier, taking the average rent in Great Britain to £1,396 per month.
Inner London had the fastest rental growth, with new let prices rising 6.7% over the last 12 months. This is the fastest rate of growth since November 2023, when rents were recovering at a double-digit pace from the sharp falls recorded during the pandemic.
Average rents in Inner London now stand at £2,840 per month, 23% above their pre-pandemic peak, making it the only region in Great Britain where annual rental growth now exceeds 3%.
Tenants renewing contracts were also taking a hit on higher rents. In April, the average price of a renewal rose 3.2% over the last 12 months to £1,312 per month.
The strongest increases were seen across the Midlands (4.5%) and the North (4.8%).
Beveridge added: “Rental growth strengthened in the final month before the Renters’ Rights Act became law. As some landlords opted to sell ahead of the changes, more tenants were forced back into the market, increasing demand for homes to rent. While the full impact of the new rules is yet to play out, early evidence suggests they are already adding to upward pressure on rents.”
