A report out this week from Landlord Trends research had a headline that felt, to me, like something that needed a moment’s pause: “Farewell to the small-scale amateur buy-to-let landlord.” The average investor portfolio in the UK has now risen to 7.3 properties. One in five investors describes themselves as full-time or self-employed in property. And among those using limited companies, the average portfolio stands at 15.3 properties – up from 12.8 just six months ago.
That’s quite a change in quite a short time.
It’s partly a story about who’s still here after the Renters’ Rights Act kicked in on 1 May, and who’s been leaving steadily ever since the tax changes started chipping away at the economics of holding property in your own name. The people who treated buy-to-let as a passive side-line – bought a flat because interest rates were low, thought little about yields or structures, and assumed the capital growth would take care of everything – have been quietly disappearing. What’s left is a smaller, more professional group of investors who are genuinely treating this as a business.
I don’t say that to be smug about it. I’ve watched the exits happening for several years, and there’s always something a little uncomfortable about other people being squeezed out of a sector you care about. But it’s worth being honest about what the data is showing us, because it has real implications for how you position yourself going forward.
The professionalisation is real, and it’s accelerating. 63% of investors planning to buy their next property say they’ll use a limited company, compared with 29% a year ago. That’s not just because of tax – it’s also about mindset. People who are still in this market aren’t dabbling; they’re building businesses and thinking ahead.
What does that mean in practice? A few things, I think.
First, competition from naive or accidental investors – the ones who’d outbid you at auction because they hadn’t done the numbers properly, or who’d rent below market rate just to keep a tenant – is diminishing. That’s a quiet positive for those of us still building portfolios.
Second, lenders are increasingly designing their products around portfolio investors with complex borrowing needs rather than someone with one property on a near-residential rate. The specialist lender market is evolving fast, and there are products and criteria available now that simply didn’t exist five years ago.
Third – and this is the thing I’d be careful about – regulatory expectations of us have risen considerably. The Renters’ Rights Act isn’t a minor irritant. Section 21 “no-fault” evictions are gone, all tenancies are now rolling periodic with no fixed terms, rent increases are capped at once per year, and a landlord database and ombudsman service are being built out through the rest of 2026. Investors who think the old playbook still applies are going to find the next couple of years increasingly difficult.
In my experience, the people who do best through regulatory change aren’t the ones who resist it or spend time complaining about how unfair it is. They’re the ones who understand exactly what it means, adapt their systems and processes accordingly, and get on with running a good portfolio. The Renters’ Rights Act demands better record-keeping, clearer communication with tenants, and a more professional approach to property management. Most serious investors were already doing most of that.
The sector is getting smaller and more serious. If you’re still here, still engaged enough to read a newsletter like this, you’re probably already on the right side of the changes. The question worth pondering is whether your structures, your processes, and your strategy are keeping up with the market you’re now operating in – because the market has changed, and it’s going to keep changing.
Here’s to successful property investing.
Peter Jones
Author, property investor and ex-Chartered Surveyor
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