The Intermediary –- June 2026 - Flipbook - Page 28
BUY-TO-LET
Opinion
What does
professionalisation
mean for the PRS?
O
perating as a landlord
in today’s private
rental sector (PRS) is
no longer a lileleague game. Over
the past decade,
successive waves of regulatory and
fiscal reform have placed significant
administrative and financial pressure
on the market, disproportionately
impacting smaller players and
dividing landlords into those who
treat property management as a
business, and those who don’t.
For the hobbyist or ‘accidental’
landlord, the equation is becoming
harder to justify. The ‘golden era’ of
the early-2010s – where a generous tax
environment made buy-to-let (BTL)
especially aractive – has long since
closed. In its place, a more demanding
landscape has emerged, and many
smaller operators are choosing to exit
rather than adapt.
Data reflects a shift
Company-owned property holdings
have multiplied fivefold since 2016,
with more than 443,000 property
investment companies now active in
the UK. Nearly half of the buy-to-let
market is now controlled by landlords
with five or more properties – a share
that continues to rise as smaller
investors scale back.
Recent headlines have largely
aributed this trend to the Renter’s
Rights Act (RRA), and its impact
shouldn’t be dismissed. Elevated
borrowing costs, tighter refinancing
conditions and stricter affordability
criteria were already squeezing
landlords before 1st May, and the
added weight of regulatory complexity
has forced many landlords’ hands.
But to frame professionalisation
as a direct consequence of the
RRA alone is to overlook a
26
The Intermediary | June 2026
long-running transformation.
The shi began in earnest in the
post-Osborne era, as policy changes
steadily eroded the viability of smallscale landlording. The removal of
mortgage interest relief under Section
24, increased Stamp Duty on second
homes, changes to Capital Gains Tax
treatment, and looming changes to
Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
requirements combined to reshape
the sector. Professional landlords
are traditionally beer positioned to
thrive in this environment.
But this doesn’t mean
professionalisation is limited to
institutional or company structures.
As it stands, around 45% of landlords
in the PRS own one property. Many of
these landlords have always operated
responsibly and will continue to do so.
Changing expectations
What is changing is the baseline
expectation of landlords. Compliance,
documentation, good tenant
communication and high service
standards are no longer optional.
Those unwilling or unable to adapt
will find themselves exposed.
This doesn’t mean it’s the end for
smaller landlords for good. But it
does mean the gap will continue to
widen between those who raise their
standards, and those who don’t.
For tenants, the trend towards
professionalisation across the
sector brings advantages. It means
more consistent standards, clearer
processes, and faster response times.
We’ve seen this play out in the
build-to-rent (BTR) sector, where
property management is a core
business function, oen supported by
technology, on-site teams and publicly
visible reviews. This can directly
influence occupancy, reputation and
the tenant experience for the beer.
EMILY POPPLE
is director, landlord
experience at Goodlord
But the picture is not uniformly
positive. Questions are mounting
around who new models like BTR
ultimately serve. Whilst institutional
investment and professionalisation
is oen framed as a positive solution
to housing shortages, evidence from
London and Manchester suggests
that increased supply has not always
translated into reduced pressure on
rental prices.
There are also concerns around the
displacement effects of consolidation.
Institutional operators are beer
placed to weather the wave of changes
hiing the market. Through corporate
structures, they can offset mortgage
interest against rental income, benefit
from comparatively low corporation
tax rates, and absorb costs across
larger portfolios with higher yields.
As a result, instances of
institutional buyers acquiring
properties from smaller landlords are
becoming increasingly common.
However, as landlords across
the PRS professionalise, there is
an opportunity for smaller players
to adopt some of the strengths of
institutional models. But equally as
importantly, institutional providers
can learn from smaller providers
where tenant relationships,
responsiveness and flexibility are at
the heart of how they operate.
The challenge for policymakers
and industry alike is not to favour one
model over the other, but to ensure the
PRS retains enough plurality to serve
both tenants and landlords effectively
whilst keeping standards high. A
healthy rental market ultimately
depends on balance. ●
