The majority of landlords (86.4%) are planning to increase rents in 2026, according to new Landbay research.
The sample size for this survey was 126 landlords. For context, according to HMRC in 2023 and 2024 renting income was declared by 2.86 million unincorporated landlords in the UK.
The lender’s Landlord Survey report, which surveyed landlords in December and January, found that 45.6% plan to raise rent in line with inflation over the next 12 months.
A further 22.4% are planning to raise rents between inflation and 7% while 12% plan to do so between 7% and 10%.
While 6.4% will raise rents by less than inflation, 13.6% of landlords expect no change.
At the same time, the research found that sentiment had been dampened among landlords with the majority (48.8%) not planning to buy properties over the next 12 months.
An additional 33.6% are planning to buy properties this year, with most of this cohort (15.2%) intending to buy just one property.
Despite this, the majority of landlords (47.2%) are not planning to sell any of their properties in 2026.
“The results of this new iteration of our survey show landlords are incredibly realistic about the current pressures in the sector, particularly around tax and regulation, but also that they are actively engaged with the market, and looking for ways to improve the performance of their portfolios,” said Rob Stanton, sales and distribution director at Landbay (pictured above).
