Editor's note: This brief was summarised by The Property AI Team from a report by Property118. Read the original article for full details.
Property118 Survey: Larger Landlords Most Likely to Raise Rents
Landlords with one to three properties were more than twice as likely as those with ten or more to have made no rent increase at all in the past year, according to Property118's Q3 2026 Landlord Sentiment Survey. The survey found that the landlords putting rents up most are those with the largest portfolios, and they expect to keep doing so.
The survey ran from 1 to 8 October 2026. A total of 1,654 landlords took part, and 1,472 completed every page. For the first time this quarter, Property118 asked landlords how much they had increased rents across their portfolio in the last 12 months, and what they plan to do over the next 12.
Smaller portfolios hold rents, larger ones raise them
The share of landlords making no rent increase falls steadily as portfolios grow: from 37.8% of single-property landlords (base 172) and 34.8% of those with two or three properties (base 342), to 25.3% with four to nine (base 529), 18.1% with ten to 24 (base 277) and 13.2% with 25 or more (base 144).
Large rises run the other way. Some 14.5% of single-property landlords raised rents by more than 5% on average, against 27.1% of those with ten to 24 properties and 29.2% of those with 25 or more. Landlords with ten or more properties make up 28.8% of those who answered, but 38.0% of those who raised rents by more than 5% (117 of 308). Landlords with one to three properties make up 35.1% of respondents, but 47.5% of those who made no increase at all (184 of 387).
Property118 reported that this pattern held when region, borrowing, management, losses and age were taken into account.
Plans for the next 12 months follow the same split
Only 9.9% of single-property landlords plan above-inflation rises (base 171), against 25.5% of those with ten to 24 properties (base 278) and 28.0% of those with 25 or more (base 143). Some 28.7% of landlords with one to three properties plan to hold or reduce rents (base 513), against 18.3% of those with ten or more (base 421).
What landlords did last year is a strong guide to what they plan next. Of those who made no increase in the past 12 months, 44.1% plan to hold or reduce rents again (base 395). Of those who raised rents by more than 10%, 54.2% plan another above-inflation rise (base 72), as do 36.8% of those who raised them by between 5% and 10% (base 242).
Not everyone is staying on the same track: 10.9% of last year's non-increasers (43 landlords) now plan an above-inflation rise. Some landlords explained in their own words that they had held rents for as long as they could, but that rising costs now leave them no choice.
Regional picture
Landlords who own property only in London were the most likely of any group to have made no increase (35.6%, base 194), against 25.6% of those who own only outside London (base 1,138).
Source: Property118