69% of Landlords to Self-Manage in Two Years, Survey Finds

Editor's note: This brief was summarised by The Property AI Team from a report by Landlord Today. Read the original article for full details.

Survey Points to Self-Management Shift

A survey reported by Landlord Today indicates that 69% of landlords expect to self-manage their properties within two years. The finding comes from August's Landlord Survey, which also examined why landlords change how their properties are managed.

Compliance Tops the List of Reasons for Change

According to the survey, compliance is now the top reason landlords change their management arrangements. Compliance and legal complexity was the most common reason given, cited by 27% of respondents. That placed it ahead of wanting more control (22%), poor service (20%) and fees (14%).

Two-Thirds Have Changed Arrangements in Two Years

The survey found that two-thirds (65%) of landlords have changed their management arrangements in the last two years. Within that group, 27% had left a letting agent and now self-manage, while a similar amount (26%) had taken one on. A further 12% had switched agents.

What It Means for Letting Agents

For letting agents, the figures point to a market where instructions are not simply won or lost at the start of a tenancy. The survey suggests landlords are actively reviewing their arrangements, with a quarter of respondents having moved away from an agent to self-manage and a similar proportion having appointed one.

The prominence of compliance and legal complexity as a reason for change also matters for agents and inventory clerks. Landlords are weighing how their properties are managed against the demands of regulation, alongside considerations such as control, service quality and fees.

The survey does not set out which compliance requirements landlords had in mind, nor does it break the findings down by region, portfolio size or property type. The reported figures cover the reasons landlords gave for changing their management arrangements and the proportion who expect to self-manage within two years.