The latest English Private Landlord Survey (EPLS) offers one of the clearest pictures we’ve ever had of the private rented sector (PRS) in England – and it’s not based on lobbying or guesswork. It’s based on the UK Government’s own analysis of landlords and their business models.
You can read the full report here:
English Private Landlord Survey – Main Report
Below, we unpack what this official data tells us about the PRS today, and where it may be heading.
1. The size and importance of the PRS
In England, around one in five households now lives in the private rented sector. The PRS has roughly doubled in size since the early 2000s and has become a permanent, central pillar of the housing system, sitting alongside owner-occupation and social housing.
While the rate of growth has slowed and stabilised in recent years, the basic reality remains: millions of households rely on private landlords for their homes, including families with children, older renters and people who would previously have been in social housing.
Although the EPLS covers England rather than the whole UK, England’s PRS is by far the largest part of the UK-wide sector, so the trends it reveals are highly relevant across the country.
2. Why the EPLS matters so much
The English Private Landlord Survey is the government’s flagship survey of private landlords and agents. It is:
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Commissioned by the government department responsible for housing.
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Conducted by an independent social research organisation.
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Produced as official statistics, which means it is subject to strict rules on quality and impartiality.
The 2024 wave of the survey drew responses from thousands of landlords and hundreds of letting agents registered with tenancy deposit schemes. That’s important because it means the dataset is not just a small online poll or a trade body snapshot; it directly reflects a large portion of the actual PRS.
When we talk about the current state of the sector in this article, we’re talking about what the government’s own analysis shows – not a single campaign group’s perspective.
3. Six types of landlord – and why that matters
One of the most useful aspects of the EPLS is that it doesn’t treat “landlords” as a single group. Instead, the government used statistical segmentation to identify six distinct landlord types, based on portfolio size, reliance on rental income and investment behaviour.
Broadly, these can be grouped into three categories:
A. Small landlords (the majority by headcount)
These landlords make up the bulk of the sector by number but hold a minority of the tenancies.
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Small-scale retired landlords
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Typically own one or two properties.
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Often retired and using rental income to top up their pension.
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Less likely to see themselves as running a formal “business”.
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Small-scale short-term investor landlords
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Also tend to own a small number of properties.
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See property mainly as a way to generate income and capital growth.
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More likely to make relatively active investment decisions, including buying and selling.
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Small-scale investors for retirement
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Similar in size to the previous group but with a more long-term focus.
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Think of their portfolio as a retirement strategy rather than a vehicle for immediate income.
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B. Moderate to large “business” landlords
These landlords are fewer in number but account for a significant share of rented homes.
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Moderate-scale business & investor landlords
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Hold mid-sized portfolios.
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Treat property both as a business and an investment.
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More likely to belong to professional associations and derive a large share of income from rent.
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Large-scale business landlords
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Run property primarily as a business.
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Hold larger portfolios and often have more formal structures and processes in place.
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C. Corporate landlords
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Corporate landlords
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Operate through company structures.
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Usually manage larger, more professionalised portfolios.
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A key message from the segmentation is that:
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Most landlords by number are small-scale, often with only one or two properties.
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Most tenancies are provided by a smaller group of larger and corporate landlords.
This matters because tax changes, regulatory reforms and compliance costs will land quite differently on a retired couple with a single flat versus a corporate landlord running hundreds of units.
4. How landlords set rents – costs versus the wider market
The government’s analysis shows that rent-setting behaviour varies across these landlord types.
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Business-oriented and corporate landlords are much more likely to say they set the rent with a view to recovering their costs – including licensing, repairs and upcoming energy efficiency improvements.
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Small-scale retired and long-term retirement investors are less likely to explicitly price in their full cost base when setting the last rent, and may be slower to adjust rents in response to rising costs.
The survey also looks at what happens at renewal:
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Corporate landlords and business-style landlords are more likely to increase rent at the point of renewal.
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Small retired landlords are least likely to raise rents for existing tenants, which may reflect a more relationship-based or informal approach.
Taken together, this suggests that the professional and corporate segments – which control many of the tenancies – are playing a major role in rent inflation, especially where their running costs are rising.
5. Property conditions and energy performance
The EPLS combines landlord responses with data on property conditions and energy performance.
Because larger landlords own more properties, they naturally have a higher chance that at least one property has issues such as damp or a lower EPC rating. However, several patterns stand out:
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Moderate-scale, large-scale and corporate landlords are more likely to report at least one property with damp or an EPC below band C.
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When damp is identified, the most common response across all segments is to fix the underlying cause, rather than only treating the symptoms.
Energy efficiency is a key pressure point. Larger portfolios carry a greater burden of bringing multiple properties up to higher EPC standards, which directly feeds into investment decisions, rent levels and decisions to retain or sell stock.
6. Tenant selection, guarantors and financial risk
The survey offers a window into how landlords manage financial and letting risk.
Financial safeguards
Different landlord types use different tools to manage risk:
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Corporate and business landlords are more likely to use guarantors and, to a lesser extent, deposit-replacement products.
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Small-scale retired landlords are more likely to rely on rent in advance instead.
Willingness to let to higher-risk tenants
Across the board, there is a consistent pattern of caution:
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A very high proportion of landlords say they would not let to a tenant with a known history of rent arrears.
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A majority in every segment are reluctant to let to tenants who rely on housing support or benefits, largely due to concerns about arrears and administrative delays.
So while public debate often focuses on “rogue landlords”, the government’s own data suggests the bigger structural issue may be conservative tenant selection, which can make it hard for vulnerable or low-income households to secure a home in the PRS at all.
7. Who is planning to expand – and who is planning to exit?
Perhaps the most important forward-looking part of the EPLS concerns landlords’ future plans.
Growth plans
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Corporate landlords are the most likely to say they plan to expand the number of properties they let over the next few years. This aligns with the professionalisation and institutionalisation trend we’re seeing in parts of the PRS.
Exit and consolidation
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Large-scale business landlords stand out as having a particularly high proportion planning to reduce or fully sell their portfolios.
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Across all segments, a significant share of landlords planning to exit or shrink their involvement in the sector cite tax changes and the growing regulatory burden as key drivers.
For some small-scale retired landlords, decisions to sell may be more about age, personal circumstances or a desire to simplify their affairs, but for professional and business landlords, policy and tax shifts are clearly weighing heavily.
8. The reform backdrop: abolition of Section 21 and beyond
When the latest EPLS was carried out, the government was in the process of shaping major reforms to renting, including the eventual abolition of Section 21 “no-fault” evictions and a move towards periodic tenancies as the norm.
Those reforms have now crystallised into a wider package of changes that will:
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Make it much harder to end a tenancy without relying on specific legal grounds.
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Raise expectations around property standards and responsiveness to disrepair.
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Introduce more transparency via databases and redress schemes.
The EPLS therefore gives us a baseline picture of landlord business models and attitudes just before this new framework fully takes effect. As implementation proceeds, some landlords may decide to professionalise and expand; others may choose to sell up, particularly if they already felt squeezed by tax and compliance costs.
9. Affordability, enforcement and the lived reality
Outside the landlord survey itself, other official statistics and commentary highlight three key pressure points:
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Affordability for tenants
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Private renters tend to spend a larger share of their income on housing than mortgaged owner-occupiers, with low-income renters especially exposed.
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Pressure on landlord finances
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Rising interest rates, tax changes and the costs of improving energy efficiency are all pushing up the cost base for landlords, particularly those with higher leverage or older, less efficient stock.
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Enforcement capacity
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Local authority enforcement resources have been under pressure for years. New rights and standards on paper only become meaningful if they are backed by sufficient funding and enforcement on the ground.
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The government’s data captures landlords’ side of this picture; the wider policy debate is about how to balance better security and standards for tenants with a viable, investable PRS that continues to provide enough homes.
10. What this means for landlords and agents
Taken together, the government’s own analysis suggests the PRS is in a period of transition and consolidation:
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Small-scale landlords need to be realistic about their cost base, legal obligations and long-term plans. Many may decide to either exit or hand management to professional agents.
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Business and corporate landlords are likely to continue professionalising, with more emphasis on documented compliance, clear tenant selection policies, and structured approaches to arrears and repairs.
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Across the board, landlords will need to factor in the impact of ongoing and upcoming regulatory change on returns, risk and workload.
The days of largely informal, lightly regulated landlording are over. The direction of travel in the government’s own data and policy is towards greater professionalism, transparency and accountability.