"Many landlords are committed to their properties and tenants, yet awareness gaps around legislative change signal a need for clearer guidance and engagement, and the use of regulated and professional agents."
- Nathan Emerson - Propertymark
Propertymark has analysed the latest figures from the English Private Landlord Survey 2024, published alongside headline findings from the English Housing Survey 2024–25, showing that the profile of private landlords in England has remained remarkably consistent with previous surveys, even as landlords navigate ongoing tax changes and evolving standards and expectations.
The data highlights that the private rented sector continues to be dominated by small-scale, individual landlords, with 45% owning a single rental property and a further 38% owning between two and four properties. Only 17% own five or more properties, despite this group representing nearly half of all tenancies. The median age of individual landlords remains high at 59 years, with nearly two-thirds aged 55 or older, a figure almost unchanged from the previous round.
Propertymark thinks this enduring profile reflects a sector sustained largely by long-standing, often later-life investors who are providing homes as part of retirement planning or supplementary income, rather than large-scale commercial operators. While this stability has helped maintain rental supply, it also raises questions about the sector's long-term resilience. Older landlords with limited portfolios may be less able or willing to absorb rising costs, regulatory complexity and capital investment requirements, increasing the risk of gradual, unplanned exits from the market.
With nearly half of landlords owning just one property, Propertymark stresses that policy decisions must recognise the realities facing small-scale providers. Reforms that increase financial or administrative burdens without sufficient support or clarity risk disproportionately impacting these landlords, potentially reducing rental supply and increasing pressure on tenants.
A balanced approach, one that supports responsible landlords, encourages professional advice and provides certainty around future regulation, is essential to sustaining a diverse and functioning private rented sector, Propertymark argues.
Tax and regulation remain areas of concern
Survey responses reveal mixed awareness among landlords about recent and planned tax and legislative changes, an issue that has implications for compliance and long-term sector stability. While a majority were aware of major changes such as reforms to eviction processes and tenant pet rights, just over half reported awareness of tax-related changes, including capital gains tax adjustments and alterations to landlord tax relief. Awareness of upcoming standards reforms, including the Decent Homes Standard for private rented properties, was notably lower.
This limited awareness reflects a wider trend of uncertainty, Propertymark says. Many landlords continue to navigate a complex landscape of tax adjustments, including the phased removal of mortgage interest relief and evolving reporting requirements. While detailed tax figures lie outside the English Private Landlord Survey itself, recent broader data shows a significant number of landlords facing increased tax compliance burdens, with HMRC recovering record sums through compliance efforts.
The findings also reinforce the importance of landlords working with professional, regulated letting agents to navigate an increasingly complex tax and regulatory environment. With awareness of tax changes and upcoming standards reforms proving uneven, agents play a critical role in ensuring landlords understand and meet their legal obligations, from compliance with evolving safety and quality standards to accurate tax reporting and record-keeping.
Professional agents provide landlords with access to up-to-date guidance, practical support and reassurance at a time when regulatory expectations are expanding and enforcement activity is intensifying. This is particularly important for smaller, individual landlords, who make up the majority of the sector, many of whom may lack the time or expertise to track frequent policy changes independently.
In this context, the industry body says that encouraging greater engagement with professional advice and having the UK Government move forward with the Regulation of Property Agents would help reduce inadvertent non-compliance, support sector stability and underpin its wider objectives around standards and tenant protection.
Standards and quality investments lag
Despite ongoing policy focus on improving standards in the private rented sector, investment in energy efficiency and quality upgrades remains modest. Among landlords with properties rated EPC D or below, only a minority reported plans to improve energy performance, an issue that could become more pressing as minimum standards tighten. Cost remains a primary barrier, particularly for smaller landlords facing rising taxation, higher borrowing costs and reduced mortgage interest relief, which limit available capital for reinvestment.
Uncertainty around future regulatory requirements also acts as a deterrent, Propertymark says, with landlords reluctant to commit to improvements without clarity on long-term standards, timelines and potential exemptions.
In addition, practical constraints such as disruption to tenants, limited access to trusted contractors and doubts over whether upgrade costs can be recovered through rents continue to slow progress. Together, these factors contribute to cautious investment behaviour, even where landlords recognise the long-term benefits of improving property quality and energy efficiency.
What hasn't changed and what it means for policy
Propertymark's analysis of the 2024 and 2021 figures suggests the following:
The core landlord demographic is stable, predominantly older, small-scale investors who are often balancing rental income with other earnings or retirement plans. Awareness gaps around tax and standards risk uneven compliance and could lead to unintended exits from the market if regulatory expectations are tightened without adequate support. With little shift in ownership patterns, policymakers should recognise the role of smaller landlords in sustaining rental supply and ensure that tax and standards frameworks enable rather than discourage responsible participation.
"These figures show a private rented sector that's stable in profile but still navigating uncertainty on tax and standards," said Nathan Emerson, chief executive of Propertymark (pictured). "Many landlords are committed to their properties and tenants, yet awareness gaps around legislative change signal a need for clearer guidance and engagement, and the use of regulated and professional agents."
Emerson noted that as debates on rental standards and tax policy continue, reforms must recognise the diversity and motivations of landlords. "As debates on rental standards and tax policy continue, it's vital to ensure that reforms recognise the diversity and motivations of landlords, particularly smaller investors who make up the backbone of the private rented sector," he said.
