The number of buy-to-let landlords in the UK has fallen by 154,000 since 2015 despite the volume of rented homes increasing by 171,000 over the corresponding period, as the average size of a landlord portfolio increases to a new recent high of 1.44 properties, fresh figures show.
Countrywide’s latest monthly letting index for August reveals that the number of landlords has fallen over the last two years, owed largely to negative changes introduced by the government, including higher stamp duty and the phasing out of mortgage tax relief, and yet there has been an increase in the supply of homes available to rent, from 4.9 million in 2015 to 5.1 million today.
The number of landlords owning just one buy-to-let property has fallen to 73%, down from 86% in 2010, while the number who own 10 or more properties has increased by 33% in the last decade.
Landlords based in the North East are likely to own the most rental properties (1.54), followed by landlords based in Yorkshire and the Humber (1.52) and London (1.51.
Across Great Britain average rents for new lets rose to £954pcm in August, up 1.6% on the same time last year.
Rents increased the most in the South West (4.7%), Scotland (2.8%) and East of England (2.5%), while London saw rents rise for the second consecutive month, up 1.8% year-on-year.
Johnny Morris, research director at Countrywide, said: “The increasing number of rented homes is being driven by landlords expanding their portfolios rather than new landlords entering the market.
“Increasing regulation in the sector accompanied by recent changes to income tax relief on mortgage interest payments seem to be favouring more experienced, professional landlords. Despite expanding portfolio sizes the sector is still characterised by those owning just one or two homes, 73% of landlords own one home.
“Rents rose in all regions across Great Britain to stand 1.6% up on the same time last year. The number of landlord purchases continues to remain low which is feeding through into fewer homes on the rental market.
“Rents in London rose for the second consecutive month, driven by a pickup in rents in outer London.”
New lets (pcm)
Region
|
Average rent Aug-17
|
Average rent Aug-16
|
YoY
|
London
|
£1,716
|
£1,686
|
1.8%
|
East of England
|
£940
|
£917
|
2.5%
|
South East
|
£1,039
|
£1,025
|
1.3%
|
South West
|
£795
|
£760
|
4.7%
|
Midlands
|
£668
|
£664
|
0.5%
|
North
|
£638
|
£631
|
1.0%
|
Wales
|
£654
|
£649
|
0.8%
|
Scotland
|
£656
|
£638
|
2.8%
|
Great Britain
|
£954
|
£939
|
1.6%
|
Source: Countrywide
The number of homes and number of landlords in Great Britain
Source: Countrywide & DCLG
The number of rental homes and landlords in Great Britain
|
GB Rented Homes
|
GB Landlords
|
2005
|
2,566,032
|
1,906,511
|
2006
|
2,757,585
|
2,067,387
|
2007
|
2,893,394
|
2,180,574
|
2008
|
3,037,393
|
2,283,432
|
2009
|
3,364,160
|
2,623,264
|
2010
|
3,471,956
|
2,808,451
|
2011
|
3,797,290
|
3,063,077
|
2012
|
4,085,011
|
3,258,980
|
2013
|
4,336,161
|
3,380,556
|
2014
|
4,491,642
|
3,437,718
|
2015
|
4,940,781
|
3,715,669
|
2016
|
4,860,650
|
3,620,396
|
2017
|
5,111,709
|
3,561,498
|
Source: Countrywide & DCLG
Percentage of single property landlords and homes owned
|
Single property landlords
|
Homes per landlord
|
2005
|
86%
|
1.35
|
2006
|
85%
|
1.33
|
2007
|
84%
|
1.33
|
2008
|
84%
|
1.33
|
2009
|
85%
|
1.28
|
2010
|
86%
|
1.24
|
2011
|
85%
|
1.24
|
2012
|
84%
|
1.25
|
2013
|
82%
|
1.28
|
2014
|
81%
|
1.31
|
2015
|
80%
|
1.33
|
2016
|
79%
|
1.34
|
2017
|
73%
|
1.44
|
Source: Countrywide
Landlord purchases by region
Region
|
Landlords buying in the same region
|
Properties per landlord
|
London
|
71%
|
1.51
|
East of England
|
76%
|
1.39
|
South East England
|
77%
|
1.41
|
Yorkshire and the Humber
|
77%
|
1.52
|
Wales
|
79%
|
1.37
|
West Midlands
|
82%
|
1.45
|
North East England
|
82%
|
1.54
|
East Midlands
|
83%
|
1.49
|
South West England
|
85%
|
1.41
|
Scotland
|
88%
|
1.37
|
North West England
|
89%
|
1.41
|
GB
|
73%
|
1.44
|
Source: Countrywide
New lets (pcm)
Region
|
Average rent Aug-17
|
Average rent Aug-16
|
YoY
|
London
|
£1,716
|
£1,686
|
1.8%
|
East of England
|
£940
|
£917
|
2.5%
|
South East
|
£1,039
|
£1,025
|
1.3%
|
South West
|
£795
|
£760
|
4.7%
|
Midlands
|
£668
|
£664
|
0.5%
|
North
|
£638
|
£631
|
1.0%
|
Wales
|
£654
|
£649
|
0.8%
|
Scotland
|
£656
|
£638
|
2.8%
|
Great Britain
|
£954
|
£939
|
1.6%
|
Source: Countrywide
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