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Professional landlords are snapping up rental properties on the cheap after a “knee-jerk” reaction to Labour’s reforms.
The number of tenanted properties sold at auction jumped 70pc in April compared with the same month last year as landlords raced to exit the market ahead of the Renters’ Rights Act, figures from property auctioneer Auction House showed.
Forty-six tenanted properties were sold at live auction in April 2026, up from just 27 in the same month last year.
Selling a property to another landlord is still permitted under the reforms and involves transferring the tenancy agreement without the need to evict renters first.
Tenanted properties tend to attract a discount of between 5-10pc compared with owner-occupier sales, according to the National Residential Landlords Association, because the pool of potential buyers is smaller.
However, Philippa Martinez, at Auction House Kent, said “accidental” or part-time landlords seeking a quick exit from the market meant properties with tenants in situ were selling at a 30-40pc discount – presenting an opportunity for larger, more prepared landlords to pounce.
She added: “It is a good time for those larger landlords that run their properties like a business, are experienced in what they’re doing and are unfazed by the new reforms to snap up a deal and add to their portfolios.
“You’ve got this knee-jerk reaction [from small landlords] and the big landlords have swooped in.”
