According to research from Pegasus Insight, approximately a third of portfolio landlords use a mixed-status model to manage their rental properties.
For those with a limited company structure, around 70% of their portfolio sits within the company.
The report found that the average number of properties held in a limited company structure has been growing, going from 6.3 in Q1 2020 to 10.5 in Q3 2025.
This compares to the average total mixed-status portfolio size, which stayed broadly stable in the same period, at approximately 15 properties.
The research shows that this growth is driven by new acquisitions and landlords choosing to buy recently added properties via a company rather than transferring older stock.
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Mark Long, founder and director of Pegasus Insight, said: “Landlords are operating in a very different environment from that of a decade ago. With tax rules continuing to tighten and compliance demands rising, many now see incorporation as the most robust long-term way to run a lettings business.
“But incorporation is not a simple win. It carries costs, introduces additional administrative responsibilities, and, crucially, needs to be considered carefully with a qualified tax adviser. Mortgage brokers cannot and should not provide tax advice, and landlords need specialist guidance before making structural changes to their business.”
He added: “The Chancellor’s decision in the recent Budget to introduce new higher ‘property’ tax bands of 22%, 42% and 47% for landlords who hold property in their own names from April 2027 is only likely to accelerate the move towards company structures. But it also risks penalising the very people who have made up the backbone of the PRS for around 30 years: smaller, long-standing landlords who have quietly provided good-quality homes without the resources or scale to absorb repeated policy shocks.
“Incorporation may well be the right answer for some, but government should be mindful that continually increasing the burden on individual landlords risks pushing more of them out of the sector entirely, at a time when the country can least afford to lose rental supply.”
