Landlords accounted for 13.3 percent of all home purchases across Great Britain between January and April, the highest share since 2016, as more rental properties were sold from one investor to another instead of leaving the sector entirely.
Landlord buying has picked up, but not because new investors are flooding in
Fresh Hamptons research shows landlord purchases have risen back to levels not seen since the second-home stamp duty surcharge was introduced a decade ago. The headline figure looks stronger than many landlords might have expected after the Renters Rights Act took effect on 1 May, but the underlying picture is more cautious.
Hamptons says much of the increase has been driven by homes changing hands within the investor market. In other words, smaller or stretched landlords are selling, while better-capitalised buyers are stepping in where yields still stack up. That matters because it suggests the private rented sector is not seeing a broad-based revival. It is seeing consolidation.
The regional split is even more telling. Landlords made up 23.9 percent of buyers across the North East, North West and Yorkshire & Humber, compared with 9.1 percent across London, the South East, South West and East of England. In the North West alone, the share of landlord purchases jumped to 25.3 percent.
For landlords, that points to a market where investment appetite remains highly selective. Cheaper regions with stronger yields are still attracting capital, while much of southern England remains harder to justify once tax, borrowing costs and compliance costs are added together.
Rents and supply still explain why some landlords are buying
The same Hamptons report says the supply of homes to let has fallen 25.4 percent since 2016, while average rents have risen 44.1 percent over the same period. That shortage is one reason some investors are still willing to buy, especially in areas where rents can better offset higher mortgage bills and a heavier tax burden.
This follows Landlord Knowledge’s March report on how buy-to-let investment was shifting north after the stamp duty surcharge hit its 10-year mark. The latest Hamptons figures suggest that trend is hardening rather than fading, with investors increasingly concentrating on areas where rental returns still look workable.
There is also a warning inside the numbers. A bigger landlord share of purchases does not automatically mean more rental supply. Hamptons argues many deals now involve one landlord replacing another, rather than adding fresh stock. Landlords reading too much into the rise in investor purchases may miss the more important point: the sector is circulating stock, not expanding it.
That fits with other evidence on constrained supply, including Landlord Knowledge’s earlier coverage of Savills data showing 700 rental homes a day leaving the market. If stock keeps shrinking while investor demand clusters in a handful of higher-yield regions, rent pressure is unlikely to ease much.
What this means for landlords
- If you’re buying: Yield and local demand now matter more than ever. Cheaper northern markets continue to look more workable than much of the South.
- If you’re selling: Investor demand has not disappeared, but buyers are choosier and more price-sensitive than the headline purchase share suggests.
- Watch for: Further evidence on whether landlord-to-landlord sales are replacing genuine sector growth.
- Bottom line: Buy-to-let activity is up, but this looks more like consolidation than a broad recovery.
Editor’s view
The numbers will tempt some commentators to call a buy-to-let comeback. That looks too generous. Landlords are still buying, but mainly where the sums are obvious and often from other landlords who have decided those sums no longer work for them.
Author: Editorial Team – UK landlord & buy-to-let news, policy, and finance
Published: 19 May 2026
Sources: Hamptons market insight report
Related reading: BTL investment shifts north as stamp duty surcharge marks 10-year anniversary
