New research suggests Millennials and Gen Z investors are set to represent 62% of landlords within a decade. 

Meanwhile inheritance will prove the main entry point into buy to let – 36% of future landlords expect to inherit property.

And there will be a more diverse landlord base; ethnic minority representation set to double from 11% to 23%, while female landlords will grow from 36% to 42%

This is all according to Rely, the buy to let lender from OSB Group.

Its research points to a structural shift in the UK’s landlord population that will reshape the buy to let finance market over the coming decade. 

Today, Baby Boomers and Generation X account for 54% of landlords. 

Within a decade, that falls to 37%, as Millennials rise to 44% of the market and Gen Z reaches 18%. 

The sector itself, housing around one in five UK households, remains stable. What changes is the profile of the people running it.

Rely claims that the incoming cohort is also more diverse with ethnic minority representation among landlords set to more than double from 11% to 23%, and the proportion of female landlords rising from 36% to 42%. 

And the next generation of landlords is expected to enter with a smaller initial portfolio than the landlords they are replacing, building incrementally over time rather than acquiring quickly. 

Alongside this, hold periods are expected to be longer, with succession a key consideration from early in their ownership journey.

Some 50% of future landlords plan to pass their property to family when they eventually exit, up from 42% of today’s landlords. 

Rely comments: “The buy to let relationship with this cohort is therefore not a transactional one. 

“They are long-term participants in the sector with a clear intent to keep property within the family, making the quality of advice and lender support they receive at the point of entry formative for the entire relationship.”

You can download the Next Gen Landlords research here.