Small landlords selling off isn't a great news after all

Yep, the gravy train just hit the buffers for sure, it was going to get derailed by Japan raising rates anyway but this latest mess is a magnitude of disaster worse if you are trying to make profit from property, and Japan is still aiming to raise rates on top of this mess it looks like!

This thread is full of people disingenuously expressing faux concern for poor tenants getting evicted.

What they're really concerned about is their gravy train slowing down.

The reason there are so many sitting duck tenants is because house prices in this country have rocketed, cutting many out of the market as others have collected flats and houses as a non productive source of income.

In the long term, a move like this that expands access to property ownership should be celebrated

I am not selling. I only have 6, but I am looking to get more as soon as I feasibly can (had a lot to pay out over the last couple of years). I think It's despicable what the government have done/are doing but I am not going to jump before I am pushed.

But I thought all small landlords were evil money grabbing swines? Big corporate landlords won't be fun at all.

Great news that loads of renters as are being evicted before the change in law? Wrt younger generations. Many being evicted are families with young children. They'll now have to go through the immense stress of temporary accommodation.

It's all well and good gloating that the end of "the landlord as an occupation" era is finally over. Until people remember there's no current alternative for many renters.

ETA. Very expensive areas in London like Mayfair and Belgravia seeing falls in prices to still very expensive prices really doesn't help the average renter in the UK. Nor does a potentially cheaper future rental market across the board help renters needing somewhere now.

Landlords are trying to exit the market, but just because you want to sell up doesn"t mean there are buyers at your required price ( remember a lot of recent landlords have a LOT of BTL debt!) It is the trend that counts, the drops at the moment seem small ( not sure landlords would think a 10% drop in their income is small though?) but the trend is most certainly down.

The income thing is just bluster, soon they will be begging him to take the flat.

https://thenegotiator.co.uk/news/uk-housing-market-news/hundreds-of-high-end-properties-to-flood-london-market-after-collapse-of-shadow-bank/

@KeepPumping I assume the problem for renters is finding an affordable rental especially with many landlords currently exiting the market. Probably depends on area too. I don't think the slightly lower rents quoted in the article will help that many renters. Cities where rents were, and by the looks of it even with a drop in price, still expensive.
In Bristol, they have fallen 5 per cent year-on-year from £1,440 a month to £1,370.

And in Manchester, rents have dropped from £1,210 to £1,160 a month, down 4 per cent over the past year.

My colleague told us all the rentals he's tried want a higher minimum income than his (which although not high earning isn't particularly low).

Its great news as the market is now being flooded with flats and prices are having to come down. The exploitative "landlord as an occupation" era is finally over and this will be good for younger generations

No shortage of private rentals, the numbers coming here to work/study have fallen off a cliff.

https://www.msn.com/en-za/news/other/landlords-forced-to-slash-rents-as-enquiries-dry-up-where-have-all-the-tenants-gone/ar-AA1YXgDl

All these extra regulations have, entirely predictably, been disastrous for tenants. There's a shortage of private rentals and no additional social housing to compensate.

I'm unsurprised many landlords are selling but what a nightmare for tenants. Where do they go? Someone I work with is being evicted. His landlord is selling before the upcoming new law, but despite a reasonable salary my colleague is struggling to find somewhere else.

It's all well and good people saying landlords are exploiting the public but, true or not, the last thing that helps tenants are new regulations, without any current alternative for the many people needing somewhere immediately and not in a position to buy.

Exactly, it is all about demand for the product.

Yes agree, landlords are getting fed up and selling up. Too many rules and regs, and too many bad tenants not paying rent etc. It can take ages to get someone out, and some people leave the place in a dirty condition and leave stuff behind. Landlord has then got to clean up, repair damage, get rid of stuff Stressful.

Not such a nice man then, is he?

Will Big Corp ride to the rescue?

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/insight/landlords-slash-rents-as-demand-collapses/gm-GM31D42889

https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2025/08/warning-to-landlords-selling-up-dont-ask-too-much/

However, I would add that Rachel Reeves is also somewhat of a victim to the myriad nonsense regulations that businesses have to contend with. No wonder she couldn’t keep up with them all - and yet government expects everyone else to and happily fine you if you don’t.

You may well pay them to do a job but in the eyes of the law, landlords are ultimately legally responsible for actions performed by letting agents including their mistakes.

Letting agents are mostly a disgrace. Those I have dealt with rarely understand the law in detail.

You pay them to do a job, hold up their side of the legalities. It is literally what she is paying them to do.

She absolutely should have followed up. Agents act on behalf of landlords, not in place of landlords. If you don’t understand that, you shouldn’t be a landlord.

I've had a property with just under 1k less a month and had to evict - the kids can be very destructive, particularly teenage boys. You have to wonder why they don't get a mortgage...

‘I do wonder how Reeves is finding being a landlord and how her tenants must be feeling knowing they can do whatever they like to her house without her being able to do anything to get rid of them...”

Reeves is renting the house out for £3200 which on an annual basis is £38400! That is a full time average wage of an adult. So her tenants are more likely to be a rich professional family with kids who won’t give her much grief.

The larger agents I've had to deal with do not seem to fully understand the law - they seem to be lads in their 20's who want commission. I ended up with an independent agent because they knew their stuff and could and would protect me should I need it, rather than the tenant which the bigger companies protect. Letting agents connected to estate agents seemingly don't realise the landlord is their asset to protect because their £ comes via the renter. Whether they actually make notes on poor behaviour before sending them to another landlord if they have been evicted is doubtful to me too as they seem to "double dip".

I was not at all amazed her agent hadn't done what they said they would - looked like they could barely string a sentence together in the emails. I do wonder how Reeves is finding being a landlord and how her tenants must be feeling knowing they can do whatever they like to her house without her being able to do anything to get rid of them...

I’m selling my flat. I would describe owning it as being the most stressful expensive thing I have ever done and I have not had an easy life in general so that is saying something.

I wanted to keep it because the tenants are happy and settled there but due to another maintenance issue I just cannot afford it. I will get the maintenance issue fixed, which will probably involve me having to take out a loan then I will give the tenants notice and then I will sell it as soon as I can. I have absolutely hated being a landlord and have experienced people trashing the flat etc. I don’t think me not owning that flat will make anyone’s life easier apart from my own because I will sell it and then if the buyer rents it out they will charge a lot more rent than I have been doing. It’s in Wales so the tenants will have 6 months notice to find a new place and I won’t put it on the market until they have moved out so they won’t have to deal with viewings etc. i still feel bad that they will have to move out but I would literally go bankrupt if I had to keep it.

But she shouldn't have needed to follow up. The agents are paid to do this stuff and take responsibility for this side of things.

I can totally believe that this happened the way the agent said. I had to take over my mum's rental property when she died, and her agents promised me the world, but ultimately failed to deliver. I wouldn't have occurred to me to check on the things they said they'd do/done either. I only found out when it came to giving the tenants notice in order to sell and meet my mum's debts.