Rental arrears hit all-time low

The proportion of landlords experiencing rental arrears has fallen to an all-time low, with 26% reporting arrears in the past 12 months, according to Pegasus Insight.

Pegasus’s latest Landlord Trends research found this was the continuation of a sustained six-year decline from the 42% peak recorded in 2020.

Despite a slight uptick in Q1 2026, the longer-run trend has reasserted itself, with Q2 representing the lowest incidence recorded since tracking began.

Where arrears do occur, they remain concentrated among larger portfolios. Two thirds (66%) of landlords with 11 or more properties experienced arrears in the past year, compared with 18% of those with between one and 10 properties.

While arrears have continued to fall, void periods remain a more persistent feature of landlords’ experience. Pegasus found that 41% of landlords experienced a void of more than seven days in the past 12 months, with each lasting 66 days on average.

Voids are markedly more common among larger portfolio landlords and HMO operators, with 68% of those with 11 or more properties affected compared with 35% of those with smaller portfolios.

“It’s important not to interpret this as evidence that those pressures have disappeared,” warned Bethan Cooke, director at Pegasus Insight (pictured above).

“With inflationary pressures persisting and landlords facing higher operating and regulatory costs, the [situation] remains finely balanced.

“The priority now should be to avoid adding further pressures that could ultimately feed through into rents or reduce the supply of homes available to tenants.”