The Past | The Present | The Future of the PRS
The Renters’ Rights Bill received its Royal Assent on 27/10/2025 and is now law.
While the full implementation of all changes has not yet been confirmed, key changes such as ending “no-fault” evictions and restricting rent increases to once a year with two months’ notice are anticipated to apply to new and existing tenancies from 2026.
There’s no shortage of headlines documenting the effect these changes have already had on the Private Rented Sector (PRS) with a mass exodus of smaller, private landlords with a multitude of reasons.
Evidence of the Shift
The numbers tell the story clearly:
- The number of homes available to rent has fallen for more than a year straight, according to RICS.
- Around 2,000 households a month in England are losing their homes because landlords are selling up, according to the NRLA.
- Up to 18% of all homes currently for sale are former rentals — the highest level since records began.
The biggest growth in rental supply is coming from Build-to-Rent and corporate-owned housing, not private landlords.
In his recent article ‘The Great Rental Reshuffle: Why 290,000 Landlords Have Vanished and What Comes Next‘, property expert Adam Lawrence questions:
“As small landlords retreat, a new type of owner is stepping in: large-scale institutional investors. These corporate landlords are behind the growing “Build-to-Rent” (BTR) sector, developing entire blocks of flats and housing estates specifically for long-term rental. Why are big corporate landlords racing to grow their portfolios just as so many smaller landlords are choosing to sell up?“
He predicts that by 2030, institutional landlords are expected to own about 10% of all rental units, a five-fold increase from their ~2% share today.
We take a deeper look into what’s behind the great rental reshuffle and look at the reasons why the corporate landlords expect to succeed where private landlords expect to struggle or fail.
For smaller landlords, it’s become harder to make the numbers stack up:
- Rising taxes and tighter rules have chipped away at profits. The removal of mortgage interest relief, the extra stamp duty on second homes, and the constant threat of new capital gains tax changes have made things far less appealing.
- Higher interest rates mean higher mortgage payments. What used to generate a healthy monthly profit now, for many, barely breaks even.
- Regulatory pressure has gone up while trust in government direction has gone down. With reforms like the Renters Reform Bill and possible rent caps on the horizon, many landlords feel they’re being boxed in.
- Exit timing. A lot of smaller landlords started during the buy-to-let boom. They saw property not just as a source of income, but as a way to build equity and cash in later — often to fund retirement. Now, many are choosing to sell before conditions get worse.
Why Big Players Are Buying While Small Ones Are Selling
Corporate landlords — think Build-to-Rent funds, pension investors, and property companies — aren’t chasing capital gains in the same way as many individual landlords were. They see housing as a long-term, reliable income stream, not a nest egg to sell later.
Here’s what gives them the edge:
- Tax advantages. Big operators can offset profits, pool costs, and structure portfolios more efficiently. For them, rental housing can even help reduce their overall tax bill.
- Economies of scale. Running hundreds or thousands of units means they can negotiate cheaper maintenance, legal, and management services. What’s a headache for a one-property landlord is a line item on a corporate spreadsheet.
- Stable income focus. They’re not waiting for prices to soar. They’re happy earning steady rent over time, knowing their financing and risk management are more robust.
- Government alignment. The policy landscape increasingly favours professionalised rental operations. Build-to-Rent is being quietly encouraged as a solution to the housing crisis — and that plays perfectly into corporate hands.
In short, many private landlords have used property as a ladder to build wealth to ‘cash-in’ during their lifetimes, whereas most corporate landlords are using property to retain wealth with no ‘exit date’ and have no need to consider short term cash-in value.
Why the PRS Is Now Stacked Against Smaller Landlords
Every change we’ve seen in recent years makes life a little easier for the big players and a little harder for everyone else:
| Area | Small Landlords | Corporate Landlords |
|---|---|---|
| Tax & finance | Pay higher effective tax rates, can’t offset interest, limited mortgage options. | Use company structures, borrow cheaply, claim expenses efficiently. |
| Compliance costs | Each property must meet the same regulations, but without economies of scale. | Compliance spread across large portfolios; internal teams handle it. |
| Risk exposure | A single void or problem tenant can wipe out profits. | Risk spread across hundreds of properties. |
| Exit options | Often forced to sell on the open market, facing CGT and slow sales. | Can refinance, restructure, or sell blocks in bulk to funds. |
Even the shift in public policy has a bias built in. The government wants more professionally managed, energy-efficient, long-term rental stock — but that’s something only large-scale operators can easily deliver.
Small landlords, by contrast, face higher borrowing costs, smaller margins, and constant legislative change. The message between the lines from the government is clear: the PRS is no longer designed for ‘amateur’, ‘part-time’ or ‘accidental’ landlords.
What Might These Changes In PRS Ownership Mean Going Forward?
If things carry on this way, we may see:
Policy shaped by scale. As the balance of ownership shifts, housing policy could increasingly be written with corporate needs in mind, not individual investors.
An uneven playing field. Undoubtedly, some small landlords will still exist — but only the most efficient, well-structured ones will survive in a system designed for big operators.
What Happens Next?
Some parts of the law, like the abolition of Section 21 “no-fault” evictions and the conversion of tenancies to a new standard, are likely to come into effect sooner, possibly within the first half of 2026.
Other provisions, such as the Decent Homes Standard, may not be implemented until much later, potentially 2035/2036.
For smaller landlords who have had enough of the PRS, the race to sell their properties before the abolition of Section 21 has moved up a gear and the risk of technicalities derailing the process is greater than ever. Landlords who are waiting for their Section 21 applications to be read in court will still be subject to any new requirements and tenant protections introduced while they are waiting and if their application is rejected on a technicality after the abolition of Section 21, they will not be able to reapply.
Many landlords could then face months, if not years, running empty properties while they wait for a sale to be agreed and complete.
A More Reliable Option in Challenging Times
If you’re one of the many smaller landlords who can see the writing on the wall and want to step away from the PRS while conditions are still in your favour, don’t go it alone. Selling a tenanted property or a whole portfolio in today’s market can be complex — but it doesn’t have to be stressful.
Landlord Sales Agency specialises in helping landlords like you sell quickly, fairly, and with minimum disruption to you or your tenants. Whether you’re freeing up equity, retiring from the sector, or simply ready to move on, they understand the pressures you’re under and know how to achieve the best outcome in the fastest possible time.
We have a database of 30,000+ buyers including corporate buyers eager to grow their acquisitions, looking for a trade price sale. Sellers normally walk away with 85–90% of the high street value, with no other costs to pay.
When you factor in the savings on voids, running costs, and time wasted, the premium for a bespoke service designed specifically for selling rental portfolios is a very small price to pay for a fast, smooth exit.
We take on the entire portfolio, whether it’s two properties or twenty.- We do all the work to ensure every property is legally compliant and ready for sale.
- We provide buyers with everything they need to make fast investment decisions — rental income, outgoing costs, tenant history and references — all presented clearly as yields and potential growth figures.
If you’re thinking about selling, now’s the moment to act — and Landlord Sales Agency can make it happen smoothly and efficiently.