Two thirds of landlords over 75 now cite age as a reason to sell, yet the oldest are the most likely to stand still

Age has become one of the strongest forces shaping landlords’ plans. In our Q3 2026 survey, 68.6% of landlords aged 75 or over said their own age, retirement or health is a factor in deciding whether to sell (base 191), as did 58.7% of those aged 65 to 74 (base 487). Yet the over-75s are also the age group most likely to keep their portfolio exactly as it is.

These figures come from our Q3 2026 Landlord Sentiment Survey, which ran from 1 to 8 October 2026. 1,654 landlords took part and 1,472 completed every page. For the full results, including how sentiment has moved since Q1 and Q2, see the main Q3 2026 results article.

Four in five of our respondents are 55 or over, and a third (33.0%) are aged 65 to 74. This article looks at how plans change with age, how far older landlords have already reduced their portfolios, and what separates those who are leaving from those who are staying put.

Age is now a reason to sell for most landlords over 65

This quarter we asked landlords which factors, beyond the ones they ranked, influence their decisions to sell and to buy. Respondents could choose more than one option, so totals exceed 100%.

The share citing their own age, retirement or health as a reason to sell rises steadily with age: from 24.5% of landlords aged 45 to 54 (base 188), to 38.9% of those aged 55 to 64 (base 517), 58.7% of those aged 65 to 74 (base 487) and 68.6% of those aged 75 or over (base 191).

The same pattern holds for buying. Age, retirement or health weighs on decisions about whether to buy more property for 61.2% of 65 to 74 year olds (base 466) and 71.6% of the over-75s (base 183).

Critical Finding: For the majority of landlords over 65, the question is no longer only whether the numbers work. It is how long they want to keep doing this, and what happens to the portfolio when they stop. Across the whole survey, almost half of landlords (46.5%, base 1,474) now cite age, retirement or health as a factor in selling.

The 65 to 74 exit: a third fewer homes than at their peak

We also asked landlords for the largest number of rental properties they have ever owned at one time. Comparing that with what they own now shows where the exit is already happening.

Two thirds (66.9%) of landlords aged 65 to 74 now own fewer properties than at their peak (base 465), and more than a quarter (28.6%) are down to half or less. Taken together, this age group owns 35.7% fewer properties than the combined total at each landlord’s peak. For landlords aged 55 to 64 the shortfall is 23.5% (base 489), and for those aged 45 to 54 it is 18.1% (base 185).

This is also the age group selling most actively now:

• Plans: 72.8% of 65 to 74 year olds expect to sell some or all of their portfolio over the next three years (base 493), the highest of any age group.

• Recent sales: 36.2% sold at least one rental property in the last 12 months (base 489).

• The last two years: 45.8% say their portfolio has shrunk because they have been selling (base 489), against 37.1% of all respondents.

Key Insight: Landlords in their late sixties and early seventies are not just thinking about leaving; most are already well on the way. As a group they hold around a third fewer rental homes than they once did, and they are the most likely of any age group to be selling now.

The oldest landlords are the most likely to stand still

The over-75s break the pattern. Although they are the most likely to cite age as a reason to sell, they are the least active sellers of the older age groups.

Over a third (34.0%) of landlords aged 75 or over expect to keep their portfolio as it is over the next three years (base 194), against 24.1% of those aged 65 to 74 (base 493) and 26.6% of those aged 55 to 64 (base 523). They are less likely to have sold in the past year (26.8%, base 194) and, over the last two years, almost two thirds (65.8%) say their portfolio has stayed roughly the same (base 193), against 51.5% of 65 to 74 year olds (base 489). They have also come down less from their peak: 26.5% fewer properties combined (base 184), against 35.7% for the 65 to 74 group.

This does not mean the oldest landlords are staying in the sector. Most (63.4%) still expect to sell some or all of their portfolio, and the share planning to exit completely (25.8%) is no different from the 65 to 74 group (28.4%). What falls away is trimming: 37.6% of over-75s plan to sell some properties, against 44.4% of 65 to 74 year olds.

Key Insight: The over-75s divide into two camps. A majority are planning to leave, at about the same rate as landlords ten years younger. But a larger minority than in any other age group have settled into holding what they have, neither buying nor selling.

Age is the backdrop; policy is the trigger

Why do some older landlords stay put while others sell? Not because age matters less to them. Among landlords aged 65 or over, those planning to stay the same cite their own age, retirement or health just as often as those planning to sell or exit (61.2% against 62.4%; bases 178 and 479).

The difference is in the policy pressures they feel. Older landlords planning to stay are much less likely to cite:

• Section 24 mortgage interest restrictions: 20.2%, against 37.4% of those selling or exiting.

• Higher income tax rates on rental income from April 2027: 49.4%, against 62.4%.

• Selective and additional licensing and council enforcement: 39.9%, against 54.9%.

Difficulty removing tenants who do not pay or cause damage is a concern for both groups (51.7% and 59.1%), and the gap is not large enough to be meaningful.

Among the over-75s, the landlords who do not cite age as a reason to sell are the most settled of all: 45.0% of them plan to stay the same (base 60), against 27.7% of those who do cite age (base 130).

Key Insight: Age is a shared backdrop for almost every older landlord. What tips individual landlords towards selling is tax and regulation. Those least exposed to Section 24, the April 2027 changes and licensing are the ones most likely to keep going.

Debt-free, in profit and a little less gloomy

The circumstances of the oldest landlords help explain why fewer feel that pressure. Six in ten (60.8%) of the over-75s have no mortgages (base 194), against 41.5% of 65 to 74 year olds (base 489) and 13.5% of those aged 45 to 54 (base 193). Without borrowing, Section 24 has little bite.

Three quarters (75.3%) of the over-75s say no part of their portfolio is making a loss after all costs and tax (base 190). Only 12.6% report any loss, against 24.3% of 65 to 74 year olds (base 489) and 36.8% of 45 to 54 year olds (base 193). Where older landlords are losing money, they are much more likely to want out: among 65 to 74 year olds reporting any loss, only 10.9% plan to stay the same (base 119).

The over-75s are also slightly less pessimistic. 68.6% are not confident about the outlook for the private rented sector (base 194), against 76.8% of 65 to 74 year olds (base 492). Only a third (32.5%) are “not at all confident”, against almost half (48.2%) of the 65 to 74 group.

When we asked landlords to rank six factors in their decisions to sell, the over-75s placed a cut in capital gains tax first (weighted score 4.24, where a higher score means more important; base 187). The death of a spouse or partner also ranks much higher for them (3.36) than for respondents as a whole (2.65, base 1,426), a reminder that for many older landlords the timing of a sale is tied to life events rather than the market.

Key Insight: The oldest landlords are typically mortgage-free, in profit and long established: 41.8% have been letting for more than 30 years (base 194). For many, the case for selling now is weaker than the case for holding, and the tax cost of selling may be a reason in itself to wait.

Succession is a minority concern; for many, nothing would keep them in

We asked landlords what, if anything, would make them want to stay in the sector or expand. We expected inheritance and succession planning to feature strongly among older landlords. It does feature, but for a minority: about 6% of answers from landlords aged 65 or over (36 of 603) mention inheritance tax, capital gains tax, children or passing the portfolio on, against about 4% of younger landlords.

Far more common is the view that nothing would change their minds. Around a third of the over-75s who answered (34.1%, base 164) and 30.3% of 65 to 74 year olds (base 439) said nothing would keep them in or that they are leaving, against 15.9% of landlords under 65 (base 681).

Themes from older landlords included:

• Passing it on: wanting to leave the portfolio to their children without most of it being lost to tax, and in some cases hoping a son or daughter will take it on.

• Capital gains tax: several said CGT is what keeps them from selling, and some asked for relief for inflation or long ownership to be restored.

• Selling against the clock: landlords in their seventies who feel they must sell now because of the combined effect of CGT and inheritance tax, despite the portfolio having supported them for decades.

• Lost trust: a sense that it is too late for any change to win them back, and that they cannot rely on what any future government will do.

Key Insight: Succession planning matters to some older landlords, but it is not the main story. The bigger signal is how many older landlords now say nothing would persuade them to stay, which suggests the decision for many has already been made.

How we analysed the results

• Questions: Q27 (age, base 1,496), Q3 (plans for the next three years, base 1,629), Q19 and Q18 (other factors influencing decisions to sell and to buy, multi-select, bases 1,486 and 1,466), Q20 (sold in the last 12 months, base 1,502), Q1 (portfolio change over the last two years, base 1,642), Q16 (largest number of properties ever owned, base 1,495) against Q9 (number owned now, base 1,531), Q14 (gearing, base 1,539), Q25 (share of portfolio making a loss, base 1,485), Q17 (confidence, base 1,534), Q7 (sell-decision ranking, base 1,499), Q28 (years as a landlord, base 1,497) and Q30 (free text, base 1,314).

• Bases: percentages are of landlords who answered both questions in each comparison, so bases vary.

• Age groups: under 35 and 35 to 44 are combined as “under 45” because each is too small on its own; this group is shown in charts but treated as indicative. The 37 respondents who preferred not to give their age are excluded from charts.

• Peak against now: 1,406 landlords gave both figures and an age. 45 whose current portfolio was higher than their stated peak are excluded, mostly because the largest-ever question stopped at 100.

• Small numbers: no group with fewer than 50 respondents is reported. Differences are described as meaningful only where they pass a standard statistical test at 95% confidence.

• Comparisons over time: none are possible by age. Q2 did not ask age, and Q1 used different age bands (under 40, 41 to 55, 56 to 70, 71 and over) and asked about plans for the next 12 months rather than three years. The questions on sales, losses, peak portfolio, confidence and reasons to sell and buy are new this quarter.

• Who took part: respondents are self-selecting Property118 readers, not a random sample of all UK landlords. They are mostly experienced landlords aged 55 or over, and every question in Q3 could be skipped.

What Does This Mean for Landlords?

Age is now one of the defining features of the private rented sector, at least among Property118 readers. Most of our respondents are past 55, and for the majority of those over 65, their own age, retirement or health is part of the decision about whether to sell.

The exit is most visible among landlords aged 65 to 74. As a group they already hold around a third fewer rental homes than at their peak, and they are the most likely to be selling now. The over-75s look different: most still plan to sell or leave, but a third have settled into holding what they have.

What separates older landlords who stay from those who sell is not how old they are, but how exposed they are to tax and regulation. The landlords most likely to keep going are typically mortgage-free, making a profit and less affected by Section 24, the April 2027 income tax changes and licensing. Those carrying debt or losses are the most likely to sell.

It is important not to overstate what these results show. They describe engaged Property118 readers rather than every landlord in the UK, and they show associations, not causes. Intentions are not the same as sales, and age, borrowing and profitability are all linked. We also cannot yet say whether these patterns are changing, because this is the first quarter in which we have asked age in this form.

For landlords approaching retirement, the results are a reminder that how and when to step back is a decision worth planning rather than leaving to circumstance, with professional advice on the tax consequences. For policymakers, they suggest that a large share of rental homes is held by landlords who are already deciding when to stop, and that tax and regulation are what turn that decision into a sale.

Have Your Say

Are you approaching retirement as a landlord, or past it? Are you selling, holding, or planning to pass your portfolio on, and what is driving that decision? Please tell us in the comments below; your experiences help explain what the numbers show.

Look out for the Q4 2026 survey at the end of December. The more landlords who take part, the stronger the evidence we can put in front of journalists and policymakers. Read the full Q3 2026 results.