Britain’s buy-to-let scene is shrugging off doom-and-gloom predictions, with a fresh survey of 300 UK landlords revealing a third are itching to grow their portfolios in 2025, while 43% reckon yields are on the up.
“It is encouraging to see landlords expressing such confidence in the UK buy-to-let market… This reflects the resilience of the sector and the continued demand for rental properties despite much speculation around landlords selling up,” says Paresh Raja, CEO of Market Financial Solutions, cheering the upbeat mood despite whispers of a landlord stampede sparked by the Renter’s Rights Bill.
Octane Capital’s Jonathan Samuels isn’t buying the panic either.
“It’s fair to say that the landlord exodus that has been so widely talked about in recent years has been largely over exaggerated,” he notes, brushing off the “consistent campaign” from the government to “deter landlords from the sector by way of legislative changes.”
He’s firm that landlords still view buy-to-let as a “worthy endeavour,” even with economic wobbles and red tape on the horizon.
The Market Financial Solutions poll backs him up—over 40% of landlords fret more about tenants’ rent-paying power than the quarter worried about rules, showing cashflow trumps compliance fears.
Rents are creeping up too—Goodlord pegged February’s average at £1,209 per property, a 0.2% nudge from £1,207, hinting at “another summer of significant rent increases.”
FCC Paragon’s data adds grit, with 235,837 rental households slipping into arrears in 2023/24—a 3.2% jump, a quarter of them in London.
But there’s a silver lining: mortgage rates are dipping.
“With reductions of up to 0.25 per cent across residential, buy-to-let and product transfers, first-time buyers, home movers and landlords all stand to benefit,” says Strive Mortgages’ Jamie Elvin, eyeing a “lender race to stay competitive” as swap rates slide. “As more lenders follow suit, further rate cuts… look likely,” he adds, keeping deal-hunters sharp.