The Intermediary – June 2025 - Flipbook - Page 33
BUY-TO-LET
Opinion
The public (and
ChatGPT) are wrong
about landlords
A
lile while ago, I
asked ChatGPT – just
for fun – to describe
the stereotypical
landlord in the
UK. The response
was both amusing and depressingly
familiar. According to the artificial
intelligence (AI) chatbot, the typical
landlord is “dishevelled and hands-on,
rather than slick and professional.”
The caricature is of a middle-aged
man in a paint-splaered fleece –
probably a former tradesman who
picked up a few cheap houses in the
‘90s and now coasts by collecting
rent. He’s tight with money, avoids
spreadsheets, and isn’t big on service.
This may seem like a cartoonish
stereotype, but it’s one many people
genuinely believe.
The outdated image of landlords as
amateurish and disengaged isn’t just
lazy – it has real-world consequences.
It shapes how landlords are portrayed
in the media and how they’re treated
by policymakers.
The frustrating thing is that it
couldn’t be further from the truth.
Today’s landlord is increasingly
professional, strategic, and commied
– and the data proves it.
Our own data shows a 50% rise in
landlords under 40 over the past five
years, and separate research from our
colleagues at Paragon Bank shows a
61% increase.
Crucially, these younger landlords
own more than five properties each,
on average, according to UK Finance.
Nothing but a number
Becoming professional
Let’s start with age. It’s true that the
median landlord is 59, and two-thirds
are aged 55 or over, according to the
English Landlord Survey (ELS). Many
of these were early adopters who got
into buy-to-let (BTL) when it was in its
infancy in the 1990s and early 2000s.
That may sound like confirmation
of the stereotype – but dig deeper
and a different story emerges. UK
Finance data shows the average age of
a landlord taking out a BTL mortgage
was just 43 in February 2025, down 3.5
years since 2014.
Another clear sign of this
professionalisation is the soaring
popularity of limited company
ownership structures.
In 2024, a record 61,517 new limited
companies were set up to hold buyto-let properties – a 23% increase
on 2023’s already record-breaking
figure. The total number now
exceeds 400,000, according to estate
agents Hamptons.
This isn’t happening by accident.
Landlords are incorporating in order
to operate more tax-efficiently, more
Serious service
What does that tell us? That landlords
are geing younger, and they’re not
simply topping up their pensions –
they’re building serious portfolios and
treating them as long-term businesses.
Some may argue these landlords
are the exception – that most own just
one or two properties and are in it for
passive income.
It’s true that 45% of landlords own
a single property – but they account
for just 21% of tenancies, according to
the ELS. Meanwhile, the 17% who own
five or more properties are responsible
for 49% of all tenancies in England.
That alone challenges the idea
of a sector dominated by parttime dabblers. Managing multiple
properties requires financial
discipline, legal knowledge, and
operational rigour – the hallmarks of
any professional business.
DAVID WHITTAKER
is CEO of Keystone
Property Finance
Landlords may not
always shout about what
they do – but that doesn’t
mean they deserve to be
dismissed as amateurs.
It’s time we update
the image”
professionally, and with long-term
strategy in mind.
The idea that most landlords see
property as a something they do on the
side doesn’t hold water, either.
A recent survey by Landbay
found that more than half of
landlords manage their properties
full-time. This includes not just
larger portfolio owners, but many
smaller landlords who take their
responsibilities seriously.
Yes, there are still small-scale
landlords with one or two properties,
but the direction of travel is clear. The
sector is becoming more professional,
structured and long-term in
its outlook.
Landlords may not always shout
about what they do – but that doesn’t
mean they deserve to be dismissed
as amateurs.
It’s time we update the image.
Landlords are not the problem
caricatured by public perception –
they’re part of the solution, and they
deserve to be treated accordingly. ●
June 2025 | The Intermediary
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