The great retreat of the private landlord from London’s housing market is accelerating in ways that have very real consequences for the city’s renters and its broader economy.
Research from Savills estimates that £48 billion was wiped from the value of private rented sector properties in 2025 alone, as tens of thousands of small-scale landlords sold up or chose not to replace departing tenants.
Approximately 93,000 landlords exited the market last year, and the estimate for 2026 is even more alarming — with projections suggesting another 110,000 could follow.
The factors driving the exodus are well-documented by now: Section 24 restrictions on mortgage interest relief, successive tax changes under both Conservative and Labour governments, rising mortgage rates, and the incoming Renters’ Rights Act taking effect in May 2026.
What is less well-understood is who is buying the properties these landlords are selling. The answer, increasingly, is institutional investors — large Build-to-Rent operators and corporate structures that can exploit scale, professional management and tax-efficient limited-company structures in ways individual landlords simply cannot.
Limited-company buy-to-let purchases reached record levels in 2025, accounting for 43% of all buy-to-let mortgages — a transformation in how rental housing is owned that has happened with remarkable speed.
The irony for renters is that this consolidation does not necessarily mean worse housing. BTR properties tend to be newer, better-managed and more energy-efficient than the Victorian terraces that make up much of London’s private rental stock.
But consolidation does mean higher rents in many areas, as supply tightens and the remaining landlords — both institutional and individual — face fewer competitive pressures.
Prime Central London values remain 24.5% below their 2014 peaks in nominal terms, according to Savills, with modest further softening possible before any recovery materialises.
For those who remember when renting in London felt precarious but affordable, the direction of travel is uncomfortable. The city’s rental market is professionalising — and that comes at a price.