The English Private Landlord Survey

About the study

The English Private Landlord Survey (EPLS) is a nationally representative survey of landlords and letting agents acting on behalf of landlords who own and/or manage privately rented properties in England.  It was commissioned by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).  It provides unique insights into how private landlords acquire, let, manage and maintain privately rented accommodation, and the potential impact of legislative and policy changes in the sector. Comparable data were collected in 2018, 2021 and 2024. 

Findings

There are approximately 4.2 million live deposits registered with one of the three government-backed Tenancy Deposit Protection (TDP) schemes that operate in England. Around 1.3 million of these deposits (30%) were registered directly by landlords, with approximately 513,000 landlords responsible for them. The remaining deposits were registered by agents acting on behalf of landlords.

• Just under half (45%) of all landlords owned one rental property, representing 21% of tenancies. Nearly half of tenancies (49%) were owned by landlords with five or more properties.
• Around three in five landlords had some form of borrowing on at least one of their properties, 30% had borrowing on only one property and a further 30% had borrowing on more than one property.
• 26% of landlords reported they identified damp or mould in at least one of their properties in the last year.
• More than half of landlords requested either a guarantor or rent in advance for their most recent letting, with 7% of landlords asking for both.
• Landlords were more likely to increase the rent on new lettings (58%) than when renewing or extending a tenancy (52%).
• Tenants were more likely to initiate ending a tenancy than landlords. 44% of landlords reported their last tenancy ended because the tenant gave notice, while 8% of landlords said they asked the tenant to leave.
• Landlords generally reported complying with required legal and health and safety actions for their most recent tenancy, including 91% of landlords who provided prospective tenants with a copy of the EPC, and 79% carried out ‘Right to Rent’ checks 
• More landlords in 2024 reported planning to decrease the size of their portfolio than in 2018 and 2021, 31% of landlords reported planning to decrease the size of their portfolio over the next two years compared to 22% in 2021 and 16% in 2018.

Methodology

EPLS 2024 is a large-scale web survey of agents and landlords who have tenancy deposits registered in England with one of the three government-backed Tenancy Deposit Protection (TDP) schemes. It aims to inform government understanding of the characteristics and experiences of landlords and how they acquire, let, manage and maintain privately rented accommodation.

The 2024 survey was conducted April – May 2024 and received responses from 9,216 landlords and 685 agents acting on behalf of landlords.  The report covers direct landlords only.