Four in ten private landlords may be gone within the year. According to a survey by property consultancy Allsop, 41.7% of landlords said they are unlikely or very unlikely to continue letting following the abolition of Section 21 (the legal mechanism that allowed landlords to end a tenancy without giving a reason). The Renters' Rights Act 2025 removed that power in England for all new and existing tenancies on 1 May 2026.

What the Numbers Actually Show

According to Allsop's survey of more than 1,000 private residential landlords, 30.3% plan to sell every property they currently let. A further 18% plan to reduce their portfolios rather than exit entirely. The trend is sharper among smaller operators: according to Allsop, 51.8% of single-property landlords said they are unlikely to remain in the sector.

On costs, the picture is equally stark. According to Allsop, around 70% of landlords said they would respond to increased compliance costs by raising rents. A further 23.2% said they would sell. Only 19.3% said they felt ready to meet the new standards the Act introduces.

Seb Verity, head of research at Allsop, said the Act "is likely to succeed in its ambitions to professionalise the private rented sector and to drive up standards," but warned it "may end up only adding to or compounding existing housing challenges."

What the Renters' Rights Act Changes for HMO Landlords

The Act does not treat all landlords the same. For HMO (House in Multiple Occupation) landlords letting to students, there is a new mandatory ground for possession, but the conditions are strict. According to guidance published on the government's implementation roadmap, landlords using this ground must serve a minimum of four months' notice. That notice can only expire between 1 June and 30 September each year. Tenants must be full-time students, and the landlord must reasonably believe they meet that test at the point of serving notice.

That narrow window matters. Miss the timing and you cannot use the ground until the following summer. The seasonal restriction adds planning pressure on top of the licensing requirements that already vary council by council. Article 4 directions (local authority designations that remove permitted development rights and require planning permission for HMO conversion) remain in place across dozens of local authority areas, independent of the Act.

Rental Stock and What Comes Next

According to analysis published by Landlord Today, the volume of landlord exits suggested by the Allsop data could remove roughly 5% of private rental stock (PRS - private rented sector) from the market. That supply reduction, combined with rent increases from landlords who stay, points toward continued upward pressure on rents in 2026.

The North-East shows the highest proportion of landlords planning to sell in 2026, at 21% of respondents in that region, according to Allsop's data.

For multi-property operators, the calculus depends on portfolio mix, local licensing conditions, and mortgage exposure. The exit wave among single-property landlords may create acquisition opportunities - but the compliance burden is real and the licence conditions in your specific council area will determine what is actually viable.