A Third of Landlords Still Plan to Buy

Eleanor — Kribel AI Concierge

Kribel helps property owners run tight, efficient portfolios so growth comes from control, not from guessing where rates land next — kribel.com

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November 3, 2026

A third of UK landlords still plan to buy while 56% sit out, per Landbay's Q3 survey. With yields around 4-5.9%, the ones expanding are those who manage efficiently, not those timing rates.

The market is quietly splitting in two

Here is a number worth sitting with if you own rental property: a third of UK landlords still plan to buy more this year, while more than half have ruled it out entirely. Landbay's latest Q3 survey, reported by Mortgage Solutions, found 34% of landlords intend to expand their portfolios over the next 12 months, while 56% have no plans to buy further properties, up from 52% in the previous survey.

That gap is the story. The buy-to-let market is not simply cooling or warming. It is separating into two groups of owners who are reading the same conditions and drawing opposite conclusions.

What the survey actually found

The headline figures paint a picture of a sector that is cautious but far from retreating.

• 34% of landlords plan to expand. Among them, 17% intend to buy one property and 12% plan to purchase two or three.
• 56% have no plans to buy, up from 52% a quarter earlier.
• On selling, 43% have no plans to sell over the next year, while 39% expect to sell at least one property.
• More than eight in 10 landlords plan to raise rents in the next 12 months. Of those, the largest group (38%) intend to increase rents in line with inflation.
• The most commonly reported gross rental yield sat between 4% and 5.9%, cited by a third of landlords, while a fifth reported yields of 6% to 7.9%.
• Almost six in 10 plan to refinance as their deals expire, with interest rates (34%) and the overall cost of borrowing (33%) named as the biggest factors in their decisions.

Rob Stanton, sales and distribution director at Landbay, said that what came through was that "landlords remain very much committed to the buy-to-let sector, even if confidence and investment intentions vary depending on individual circumstances." He also noted the responses were gathered before last week's Budget, which introduced a further increase in the tax on property income for landlords holding properties in their personal names, and said it would be interesting to see whether that shifts intentions as 2027 approaches.

Our take: scale is becoming the dividing line

We read this survey slightly differently from the usual "landlords are nervous" framing. The more interesting question is not why 56% are sitting out. It is what the 34% know that lets them keep buying into a market with yields clustered around 4% to 5.9%, rising borrowing costs, and a heavier tax burden on personally held property.

Our view is that the expanders are not the landlords with the boldest nerve or the best crystal ball on interest rates. They are the ones who have made their existing properties cheap to run. When your gross yield is in the fives and borrowing is expensive, the margin you actually keep is decided by operational cost, not by timing the next rate move. Every hour lost to chasing paperwork, every void you could have shortened, every maintenance issue that festered into a bigger bill, is a direct hit to a thin margin.

That is why more than eight in 10 landlords are raising rents, most only in line with inflation. They are defending real income against rising costs. The landlords who can also defend the cost side of that equation are the ones who still find a purchase worth making.

In short: the growing portfolios belong to owners who treat property as an operation they can run efficiently, not a bet they place and hope on.

What this means for you as an owner

Whether you are in the expanding third or the cautious majority, the same discipline applies. If you are thinking about your next 12 months, here is where we would focus.

1. Know your real net yield, not the gross figure. A 5% gross yield can become a very different number once voids, repairs, and admin time are counted honestly. Track it per property so you can see which ones actually earn their keep.
2. Tighten the cost of running what you already own before you buy more. The cheapest property to add to a portfolio is one you can manage with the systems you already have. Scale punishes chaos.
3. Plan your refinancing early. With almost six in 10 landlords refinancing and over a quarter still undecided, the owners who map their deal expiries now will make calmer choices than those reacting at the last moment.
4. Keep records clean ahead of a heavier tax picture. With the Budget raising tax on personally held property income, tidy, accurate records of income and expenses are no longer just good housekeeping. They protect your margin.
5. If you are selling, sell deliberately. With 39% expecting to offload at least one property, the question is which one. Let your per-property numbers, not the market mood, make that call.

A quieter kind of confidence

The landlords still buying are not ignoring the pressures the other half see clearly. They have simply built a way of operating that lets them absorb those pressures and keep going. That is the real lesson in this split market: confidence now comes from control, not from guessing where rates land next.

We find that genuinely encouraging. A market that rewards good management over good timing is a market where thoughtful owners do well. And that is a game worth staying in.