Survey finds more landlords add to portfolios even as rent increases slow
New research indicates that pressures in the rental market may be easing, as more landlords report acquiring additional properties in the past year.
A survey conducted by the TDS Charitable Foundation, which promotes education on housing rights and responsibilities in the private rented sector, gathered responses from over 2,000 private landlords in England. The findings show that 23% of landlords have increased their property portfolios over the last 12 months, up from 19% a year earlier.
Meanwhile, the proportion of landlords selling properties remained steady at 14%, compared to 13% last year.
Landlords who purchased properties this year acquired an average of 2.5 properties each, an increase from 2.2 last year, according to the TDS survey. This figure also surpasses the average of 2.3 properties sold by those exiting the market during the same period.
The expansion in rental supply has coincided with a reduction in the proportion of landlords raising rents. According to the survey, 56% of landlords increased rents in the past year, down from 61% the previous year.
A separate survey by the foundation found a slight decrease in the number of tenants struggling to pay rent, with 32% reporting difficulties, compared to 35% last year. Among full-time students, the proportion facing affordability issues dropped from 45% to 32%.
Official data from the Office for National Statistics supports these findings, showing that average rent increases across the UK slowed to 6.7% in the year to June 2025, down from a peak of 9.1% in the year to March 2024.
“While cost pressures in the sector might be easing, many tenants are continuing to struggle to afford their rents,” said Steve Harriott, chief executive at TDS Group and a trustee at the Charitable Foundation.
“Measures in the Renters’ Rights Bill to help tenants challenge unreasonable rent increases will count for nothing unless they are equipped with the information about rents and provided with the detailed information that they need to exercise these rights effectively. Alongside this, it’s clear that many low-income tenants are continuing to struggle to cover their rents due to the ongoing freeze on housing benefit rates.”
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