HMO stock drops as landlords leave the sector

The number of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) stock drops by more than half (60%) in some parts of England as landlords leave due to HMO stigma, according to new data.

Research by HMO management platform COHO reveals in England, the number of available house shares has fallen by -15.2% between June and September 2025.

COHO claims an HMO landlord exodus is underway as many leave due to the increased “HMO stigma being peddled by certain corners of Westminster” and before the Renters’ Rights Bill becomes law.

Demand has fallen

According to COHO’s research, demand has fallen in 11 of the 12 major English cities that COHO analysed, with Bradford (-59.1%) and Leeds (-55.4%) seeing more than half of the available stock leave the market.

Meanwhile, stock has diminished by more than 20% in Manchester (-33.3%), Brighton (-32.9%), Leicester (-24.6%), Nottingham (-23.7%), and Sheffield (-21%).

London is the only city to have seen an increase in house share stock, with numbers rising by 4.7% between June and September.

Meanwhile, house share demand data shows that over the same time period tenant appetite for house shares has increased by just 3.3% in England, growth that is not strong enough to explain such a drastic decline in availability.

In Bradford, where availability has dropped by almost -60%, demand is up by just 14.3%, while in Leeds, home to the second most severe stock drop, demand has actually fallen by -1.1%.

HMO sector is a vital tool in the nation’s battle against the housing drought

COHO believes the drop in supply could be down to the fact that between June and September, many students will have secured last-minute accommodation.

However, the management platform also believes HMO landlords have started exiting the sector, claiming they’re “being driven out by the increased HMO stigma being peddled by certain corners of Westminster and the press in relation to England’s migrant housing crisis.”

COHO Founder and CEO, Vann Vogstad, said: “Any data that points towards a declining supply of shared houses should be a real cause for concern on Downing Street. The HMO sector is a vital tool in the nation’s battle against the housing drought, but the sector is facing hard battles from two fronts.

“First there’s the fact that the entire sector is being unfairly maligned on the Right of the political spectrum, placed at the centre of some kind of batty migrant conspiracy theory. We already know that this is causing planning councils to shy away from approving new shared living schemes, but is it now also causing HMO landlords to cut their losses and sell up.”

Swathes of HMO landlords decide that enough is enough and leave the sector altogether

Mr Vogstad adds the Renters’ Rights Bill is another factor causing HMO landlords to leave the sector.

He said: “The incoming Renters’ Rights Bill looks like it is going to be given the green light, full steam ahead, without proper consideration given to the ways in which it disincentivises landlords, again causing many to leave the rental sector. Then we’ve got Labour’s rumoured proposal of taxing rental income.

“This in particular, is going to be a huge blow to HMO landlords whose rental income per property tends to be greater than your standard buy-to-let. We can’t be surprised now if swathes of HMO landlords decide that enough is enough and leave the sector altogether.

“If this is indeed happening, there’s no prize for guessing what comes next. Further rental supply shortages which in turn means a massive hike in rent prices. Everybody loses.”