2026: The year landlords finally lose their nerve

We have to factor in that there will be a change of PM mid year so we have to expect a ‘SOFT LEFT’ PM if there was anyone as most will be HARD LEFT on LLs/PRS anyway- Raynor/Burnham.

I am expecting rent caps or devolved rent controls to mayors like Khan.

If Labour will do a great job at crashing the PRS economy in 2026 through their dogma/anti LL lobby group policies then all their other non PRS polices are doomed to fail for the next 3 years.

Only hope now is to avoid an OTT fine (for minor issue/mistake) for us ‘database signed up’ non-rogue LLs and wait for a right leaning coalition government to rescue things like the New Zealand PRS law changes recently. BUT can I wait up to another 5 years for that as councils will want to fill their boots with PRS fine income stream before repealed laws/devolved powers kick in?

“Many critics in the comments ridiculed the idea”

No they didn’t. Please give an example.

If it is true that lenders will only lend if a property has an EPC rating of C or better then that will force a lot of landlords out of the sector at a stroke!

I’m leaving the PRS anyway, but 2 out of 4 of my properties cannot easily/cost effectively be upgraded to C or better, so I would have had to sell them to non-landlords anyway when the mortgages came up for renewal.

Reply to the comment left by Monty Bodkin at 02/01/2026 – 09:51
Monty – the RRA clearly marks a shift in power towards the tenant and away from the landlord. I’m surprised you can’t see that.
What I’ve referred to below isn’t an example in that power shift – the Crusader has done that frequently beforehand but it is an example of the disgraceful double standards that exist within this Act.
Firstly the Conservatives, then Labour, sucked up to the tenant pressure groups and big business by refusing to entertain the idea that a small landlord should be able to have a fixed term tenancy for student lettings. However, if you were a PLC, and you might possibly have made a party donation, and you have a block of student accommodation, then congratulations, you CAN have fixed term tenancies! That is a massive double standard. Many universities begged the government to allow all students to benefit from fixed term tenancies but the civil servants and ministers ignored the comments of people that know and understand that market because they are indoctrinated idiots.
I dropped the local Housing Standards team an email a while back asking if they inspected these PLC-run student blocks and was told there was no need to because they had signed up to a code of conduct. So if there were fire risks they wouldn’t know about it but it’s all ok because they’ve signed up to a code of conduct! This is the big news for civil servants and ministers – PLCs will sign up to anything if it’s in their best interests but it doesn’t necessarily mean that they will adhere to what they signed up for – especially if it costs money and hits profits.
Mind you, even local authorities that don’t understand basic finance (and I speak as a former Chief Accountant with a city council that left the service in 1986) have housing sections with blocks of flats where fire doors and alarms don’t work – their excuse isn’t protecting profits, it’s complete indifference to risk coupled with operational and political incompetence (see reports on Bristol City Council).
Happy New Year!!

The writing was on the wall for me in 2018, having read the Renters Reform Bill line by line; and started the selling off.

Reeves still needs prosecuting for her strict liability offence – s95 HA, so above the law then and can get away will “I didn’t know” or blame the agent whose responsibility it isn’t to obtain the landlords Selective Licence. Still waiting for Rayner to be prosecuted for fraudulent PRS Landlord and HMRC C&E breaches too, so also above the law.

Tent cities here we come.

Reply to the comment left by Martin Thomas at 02/01/2026 – 12:19
“Monty – the RRA clearly marks a shift in power towards the tenant and away from the landlord. I’m surprised you can’t see that.”

Hello Martin,

I think you’ve mis interpreted my comment.

The RRA is an awful piece of legislation with disastrous far reaching consequences.

I was saying that no one had ridiculed the ‘Landlord crusader’ for what in my view is stating the bleeding obvious. Nearly all the comments were in support.

You got this exactly right:

I think 2025 will go down as the year the UK’s private rented sector finally cracked, not because of one single blow, but because the cumulative weight of bad policies, hostile politics (and politicians) and clear disrespect for those who provide homes.

I’ve completed on 25 sales May 2025-Dec 2025. Another 5 in Jan hopefully. Then work on the next 10-20 for 2026 & see where we are Jan 2027.

I do know those that are replacing me-And young Landlords are still buying-are not like us that’s been doing it 28 years. They just looking at numbers & profit & best tenants in the world. Unlike us lot that have valued it’s a tenants home, even though we know we better off if we sell. But we can only take so much.

Our view is that by stripping sec21 the economy for sales,small trades men diy trades ,sales agents,soliciotrs inland revnue will suffer the highest.At the moment because of lot of sell up by the labdlords or investors the economy may be seen to be doing well but wait until this scenario comes to an end.At that time when there is nothing available to rent the same tenants who cried wolf to bring in RRB will be accusing us to reverse the law asap to reduce homelessness. Well this will not hapoen over one night thing plus people who left the game may have invested some where else with lot less hassle. By applying harsh rules where the owner will not be able to rent back again for twelve months ,who would want to continue. Also where tenants now have bit of family life with gardens etc they may have to adapt to live in multi story concrete scrappers with no outdoors family life. You can’t blame all on landlords and treat tenants as angels .

Joe

The final straw for me was not really the taxation and legislation but the fact that the toxic environment meant that the children were no longer interested in taking on the business, and we don’t want to continue into our 70s without that assurance.

So down from 4 to 1 and hopefully fully out in a year from now.