The number of new landlord companies registered annually has increased by more than 1,700% since 2000 according to analysis of Companies House data.
Research by specialist insurance provider Just Landlords identified 34,128 incorporations during 2025, compared with 1,882 in 2000.
Almost 14,000 further companies were registered during the first five months of 2026. The study found that the six years from 2020 to 2025 produced more incorporations than the entire period between 2000 and 2019.
Registrations totalled 23,998 during the 2000s and 77,097 between 2010 and 2019, before climbing to 141,292 from 2020 to 2025.
PROFESSIONAL APPROACH
Just Landlords says the figures pointed towards further professionalisation of the private rented sector as more landlords adopt limited-company structures for portfolio management.
Changes to mortgage interest tax relief, property taxation and regulation may have contributed to the trend. Registrations increased by almost 59% in the two years following the introduction of the additional-property Stamp Duty surcharge in April 2016, although the figures do not establish that the tax change caused the increase.
London accounted for almost a third of landlord company registrations since 2000, but its share of new incorporations has declined as growth has spread to other regions.
Scotland recorded the fastest growth between 2020 and 2025, with annual registrations rising by 171%. Northern Ireland followed at 148% and Wales at 144%.
The West Midlands recorded growth of 108%, while the North West and Yorkshire and the Humber both registered increases of 106%. London’s annual total rose by 104%.
REMARKABLE SHIFT
Clark Ross (main picture), Managing Director of Just Landlords, says: “The scale of this shift is remarkable. We’re seeing clear evidence of the continued professionalisation of the private rented sector, with a growing number of landlords now operating through formal business structures.
“What’s particularly interesting is that growth is no longer concentrated in London alone. Some of the strongest increases have been seen across Scotland, the Midlands and the North of England, suggesting that professional landlord businesses are becoming an increasingly important part of regional housing markets across the UK.
“There are a number of factors that may be driving this shift. London’s property values have long made it the dominant market, but the comparatively lower entry costs in regional cities mean landlords can build a more diversified portfolio for the same initial outlay, and potentially see stronger yields in the process.”
The figures relate to company registrations rather than confirmed active landlords or properties, meaning they should not be read as a direct measure of the size of the private rented sector.
