Landlords appear to be shrugging off the Government’s latest tax increases, according to fresh data suggesting that buy-to-let investors are now accounting for a larger share of property purchases than before the Chancellor’s recent reforms.
The analysis, conducted by estate agency Hamptons on transaction data from its parent firm, Countrywide, shows that landlords were responsible for 10.7% of accepted offers in Great Britain this November—up from the 2024 year-to-date average of 10.2%. These findings challenge warnings that new stamp duty surcharges would deter investors from expanding their portfolios.
Last month’s Autumn statement by Chancellor Rachel Reeves raised the stamp duty surcharge levied on second-home and buy-to-let purchases by two percentage points to 5%. This means that an investor buying a £500,000 property now faces an additional £37,500 tax bill, up £10,000 on the previous rate.
Industry groups had feared this move would trigger a dramatic slump in buy-to-let activity, further constraining Britain’s already limited supply of rental homes. Yet, so far, the response from landlords has not matched those grim forecasts.
“Early signs suggest that new landlords have shown relative resilience to yet another cost increase,” said Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons. “While the number of buy-to-let purchases remains muted by historic standards, their numbers have not collapsed.”
The latest figures contrast with the long-term trend of shrinking buy-to-let participation since a wave of tax reforms targeting landlords began in 2016. Back in 2015, private investors snapped up 16% of all UK properties. According to Hamptons, that figure is now significantly lower and is likely to end the year at around 113,630 new buy-to-let deals—40% fewer than eight years ago.
Even so, the resilience of the sector is apparent across various regions. In the more affordable North East, landlords accounted for 18.4% of purchases in November. Yet London, often viewed as a tough market for landlords due to high prices and lower rental yields, still saw 14.7% of its transactions made by property investors.
Meanwhile, rising rental costs—an increasing burden for Britain’s tenants over recent years—seem to be moderating. Average rent growth slowed to 2.6% year-on-year in November, bringing the average monthly rent across Britain to £1,382. This steadier pace offers some relief to renters, who have contended with steep increases following the pandemic.
The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) argues that a decline in landlords since 2016 has contributed to tenant hardship. The group points to official data showing that 7,130 households required council support for homelessness between April and June 2024—an increase from 5,400 between October and December 2023.
For now, the market’s initial response to the latest tax hike suggests that landlords, while more selective in their purchases, are not willing to exit the sector en masse. Instead, they appear to be recalibrating strategies, targeting areas where yields remain attractive and absorbing the added tax burden rather than abandoning the buy-to-let market altogether.