Analysis of Companies House data conducted by Hamptons found that, despite facing housing affordability challenges, people born between 1981 and 1996 were the main investors in BTL property, representing half of limited company shareholders so far this year.
This was up from a share of 40% in 2020.
The firm said the rise in younger investors was sustaining landlord purchases amid tax hikes and tighter regulations on the market.
Hamptons estimated that based on current trends, millennials would set up a record 33,395 new BTL companies this year, a 142% increase on the number incorporated in 2020.
The firm said this indicated their interest in property investment even though they were being priced out of homeownership.
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The number of new companies set up by millennials has outpaced those by baby boomers – born between 1946 and 1964 – since 2017. In 2022, millennial investors overtook Gen X, born between 1965 and 1980.
Hamptons said older generations were less likely to be setting up new portfolios and would be winding them down or passing them on to the next generation instead.
Further, Gen Z-led companies, aged between 13 and 28, overtook new BTL limited companies set up by baby boomers for the first time this year. BTL limited companies created by people under the age of 50 have risen from 68% a decade ago to 75% this year.
|
|
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
2025 |
|
Silent (Born pre-1945) |
2% |
1% |
1% |
1% |
1% |
1% |
0% |
0% |
0% |
0% |
|
Baby boomers (Born 1946-64) |
25% |
22% |
18% |
16% |
13% |
12% |
11% |
9% |
8% |
7% |
|
Generation X (Born 1965-80) |
47% |
47% |
46% |
43% |
43% |
43% |
40% |
36% |
35% |
33% |
|
Millennials (Born 1981-96) |
24% |
29% |
33% |
38% |
40% |
40% |
44% |
47% |
49% |
50% |
|
Gen Z (Born 1997-2012) |
1% |
2% |
2% |
3% |
3% |
4% |
6% |
7% |
8% |
10% |
Shareholders of new BTL limited companies by year
Landlords unfazed by stamp duty surcharge
Hamptons also looked at data from Connells and found that the share of homes purchased by a landlord in England and Wales was unchanged from last year, despite the higher stamp duty surcharge, which was introduced this year.
At last year’s Autumn Budget, it was announced that second home buyers would have to pay a stamp duty surcharge of 5%, up from 3% before April this year.
Landlords represented 11.3% of purchases in Q3 this year, up from 11.2% during the same period last year.
Hamptons found that most of these purchases were outside of the South of England, with London, the South East, the South West and the East of England accounting for just 34% of investor purchases in England and Wales.
This is in contrast to a decade ago, when they made up 50% of BTL purchases.
Landlords bought 8% of homes sold in London in Q3, the lowest figure for the quarter since 2020. Further, they made up 8.1% of all purchases in the South West and 8.2% in the East of England. According to the data, 53% of branches in these regions did not sell to landlords at all during Q3.
The North East proved to be popular among landlords, making up 28.4% of purchases in Q3, more than triple the London share.
|
London |
8% |
|
South East |
10.5% |
|
South West |
8.1% |
|
East of England |
8.2% |
|
East Midlands |
15.4% |
|
West Midlands |
13.1% |
|
North East |
28.4% |
|
North West |
13.3% |
|
Yorkshire and the Humber |
11.2% |
|
Wales |
6.9% |
|
England and Wales |
11.3% |
Share of homes bought by a landlord in Q3
Small fall in rental growth
The average rent for a newly let home in Britain declined by 0.3% annually to £1,938, a £4 drop.
Hamptons said this was a notable change from the 4.2% annual growth recorded in September last year.
This was driven by London, where rents fell by 2.7% or £65 per month. There was a sharper decline of 4.6% recorded in Inner London, averaging £2,766 per month – £165 lower than the peak seen in October last year.
Average rents for renewed contracts increased and outpaced inflation, with a 4.6% year-on-year lift to £1,307. This was the first time the average rent for a renewed lease was higher than £1,300.
The growth rate for renewed contracts has remained relatively strong and only slightly lower than the 6.6% growth recorded during the same month last year.
Hamptons said that in the last two years, the cost of renewing a tenancy had risen nearly three times faster than the cost of moving into a new rental property, at 11.5% and 4.3% respectively.
The average renewal rent exceeded £1,200 in April last year, £1,100 in January 2023 and £1,000 in April 2021. Meanwhile, it was as far back as March 2012 that renewal rents first exceeded £900 per month.
|
Region |
New lets |
Renewals |
||
|
Average monthly rent |
YoY % |
Average monthly rent |
YoY % |
|
|
Greater London |
£2,332 |
-2.7% |
£2,292 |
4.1% |
|
Inner London |
£2,766 |
-4.6% |
£2,770 |
3.7% |
|
Outer London |
£2,013 |
-0.7% |
£1,888 |
4.6% |
|
South |
£1,368 |
1% |
£1,275 |
4.1% |
|
East of England |
£1,227 |
1.2% |
£1,237 |
5.9% |
|
South East |
£1,476 |
0.6% |
£1,379 |
3.1% |
|
South West |
£1,294 |
1.4% |
£1,155 |
4.1% |
|
Midlands |
£1,058 |
1.3% |
£966 |
6.8% |
|
East Midlands |
£1,015 |
1.3% |
£921 |
6.1% |
|
West Midlands |
£1,095 |
1.4% |
£1,004 |
7.2% |
|
North |
£997 |
0.9% |
£888 |
5.6% |
|
North East |
£928 |
2.1% |
£766 |
7.3% |
|
North West |
£1,052 |
0.9% |
£918 |
5.5% |
|
Yorkshire and the Humber |
£954 |
0.4% |
£902 |
5% |
|
Wales |
£864 |
-0.4% |
£816 |
1.8% |
|
Scotland |
£1,076 |
2.2% |
£876 |
5% |
|
Great Britain |
£1,398 |
-0.3% |
£1,307 |
4.6% |
|
Great Britain (excluding London) |
£1,159 |
1% |
£1,063 |
4.9% |
Rental growth in September 2025
No ‘collapse’ in landlord investment
Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons, said: “Landlord purchases haven’t collapsed in the face of higher taxes and tighter regulation – but they have shifted. New landlords have increasingly become an endangered species in markets across Southern England, where big stamp duty bills and flatlining prices have nudged investors northwards. But in places like the North East, landlord activity remains close to all-time highs, showing that the BTL market is adapting rather than retreating.
“What’s striking is the rise of younger landlords. Millennials – many of whom have struggled to buy their own home – are now leading the charge in BTL. 30 years on from the invention of the BTL mortgage, which kick-started investment by baby boomers, it’s clear that a new generation is finding alternative ways to build wealth through bricks and mortar. Despite the challenges, millennials and Gen Z are showing a similar appetite for long-term property investment, which is helping to stabilise the market.
“Rental growth remained negative in September, with tenants finding they have more room to negotiate than they’ve had during the last five years. While lower rents are always welcome news for tenants, there are still too many cost pressures facing landlords for a nominal fall in rents to turn into a more meaningful correction in the months ahead.”
