The private rented sector now houses one household in five, and it looks nothing like the market of a decade ago. Here is the shape of it: who owns it, who lives in it, and which of the two is under more pressure.
Who actually owns the rented stock
Nearly half of Britain's rented homes belong to landlords with a single property, and most of those were acquired before 2016. Institutional build-to-rent, which gets most of the coverage, still accounts for a small share of tenancies — but it is where almost all of the new supply is being built.
Three forces reshaping it
- Mortgage costs on buy-to-let have roughly doubled since 2021, and the increase has been passed on.
- Minimum energy standards are pushing older stock towards either retrofit or sale.
- Build-to-rent is professionalising expectations of what a landlord provides.
What it means for tenants
Longer, more standardised tenancies in new stock; shorter and more variable ones in older stock, where a landlord may be deciding year to year whether to stay in the market at all.
What it means for owners
The gap between a well-run property and a neglected one has widened. Tenants now compare a Victorian conversion against a managed block with a concierge, and price the difference accordingly.
The rented sector grew because building slowed and buying got harder.Slateon Research
