Buy-to-let and the next generation of landlords

Originally published by Mortgage Soup

There has been plenty of discussion recently about the future of buy-to-let, whether landlords can continue to make their investments work, and what the private rental sector (PRS) might look like in five or ten years’ time.

These are all reasonable questions, particularly given the changes landlords have faced in recent years, but I think we also need to consider something else, namely where the next generation of landlords is coming from and how they might enter the market.

I was discussing some of these issues at the recent Brightstar Specialist Lending Expo, where I made the point that you cannot destroy the PRS because it is a fundamental part of our housing fabric. Millions of people rely on rented accommodation, and that requirement does not disappear simply because the economics or regulation of being a landlord has become more challenging.

Indeed, there is an argument that demand for rented accommodation becomes even more important during difficult economic periods, particularly when higher mortgage rates, deposit requirements and affordability pressures make home ownership harder to achieve.

Today’s market is changing, not disappearing

Nobody should underestimate the challenges facing landlords today, with higher borrowing costs, taxation, the Renters’ Rights Act and other regulatory requirements all having an impact on the way property investment operates and the returns landlords can achieve.

However, it is important to distinguish between landlords facing greater challenges and the suggestion buy-to-let itself is somehow on the wane, because the evidence we see at Fleet points towards a sector which is changing rather than disappearing.

Our latest Q3 Rental Barometer, for example, showed the average number of properties owned by Fleet landlord applicants has increased from 12 in Q3 2025 to 18, while the proportion owning 15 or more properties has risen from 23% to 30%.

These are figures from our own borrower applications rather than the entire landlord population, but they demonstrate the increasing importance of professional and portfolio landlords, many of whom are treating property investment as a business and making decisions accordingly.

That is particularly relevant for us as a lender, given we established the business to support the needs of professional and portfolio landlords, and it remains central to the way we approach the market today.

Affordability and the role of lenders

Of course, one of the biggest considerations for landlords, whether they own one property or 20, is affordability, particularly when refinancing existing borrowing or assessing whether a new investment will generate sufficient rental income to make financial sense.

Higher interest rates have made those calculations more difficult for some borrowers, and while lenders cannot remove those pressures altogether, we can respond by providing a wider range of mortgage options which reflect different landlord requirements and ambitions.

For example, we recently introduced one-year fixed-rate products, adding another option alongside our existing two-year and five-year fixed rates and tracker mortgages, while also reducing pricing across our two-year HMO range.

The purpose is to give advisers and their landlord clients greater choice when considering borrowing costs, affordability and how long they want to commit to a particular mortgage product, rather than assuming one approach will suit everyone.

This is especially important in a market where landlords are managing existing portfolios, assessing refinancing opportunities and making decisions about future investment against a backdrop of continuing uncertainty over interest rates.

Where will tomorrow’s landlords come from?

Which brings us to an interesting question about the future of the sector, because while existing professional landlords are clearly playing an increasingly important role, we also need to think about who might be required to replace them in the years ahead.

For previous generations, becoming a landlord might have involved buying an initial investment property, building equity and gradually adding further properties, but that route is arguably more difficult today given deposit requirements, higher borrowing costs and the financial commitments involved.

I do not see lenders substantially increasing LTV limits as a simple solution to this, particularly when responsible lending and the risks associated with property investment must remain central considerations.

However, another possibility is the next generation of landlords may increasingly inherit their way into buy-to-let, whether through individual properties, established portfolios or limited companies being passed down through families.

That creates some interesting questions about succession planning, ownership structures, refinancing and whether those inheriting property businesses will want to continue running them, particularly when landlord responsibilities are becoming more demanding.

It also creates opportunities for advisers to build relationships with that next generation of property owners, helping them understand their borrowing options and make informed decisions about properties or portfolios they may never have expected to own.

The PRS will continue to be needed, and while the landlord population of tomorrow may potentially look rather different from today’s, the requirement for specialist lending, knowledgeable advisers and responsible property investment is unlikely to diminish.

For me, the question is not whether buy-to-let has a future, but how we ensure both today’s, and the next generation of landlords, has the support, products and advice needed to play its part in that future.