The number of landlords in England has declined by 1.04% in the past year with the exit of individual landlords driving this reduction.

Lettings service Dwelly analysed the government data released at the end of August, looking at the number of landlords declaring rental income between 2019/20 and 2023/24.

The number of landlords fell to 2.86m in 2023/24, down 1.04% on the year and marking a clear decline from the five-year peak of 2.89m in 2022/23. 

Regionally, Wales saw the largest annual drop, with landlord numbers falling by 2.7%. 

Yorkshire and the Humber and the South West also saw notable declines at -1.6%, followed by Northern Ireland and the North East at -1.5%. The South East fell by -1.3%, while in contrast London was the only region to record an increase, rising 0.4% to 474,000 landlords. Some regions, such as the West Midlands, Channel Islands and Isle of Man, remained static.

Dwelly’s analysis suggests that it is the nation’s amateur landlords who are most at risk of exiting the market as the Renters Rights Bill fast approaches. The proposed abolition of Section 21 no-fault evictions, alongside wider reforms to tenancy agreements and compliance, threatens to make it even harder for individuals to operate without significant additional resources.

A spokesperson for the service says: “Such a significant shake-up is inevitably going to push some landlords from the sector and our analysis suggests that it’s the nation’s amateur landlords who are most likely to call time when the Renters’ Rights Bill comes into force.

“This is down to the fact that they simply don’t have the resources to pivot with such monumental changes and it’s understandable given all they have had to contend with following previous legislative changes.”