UK landlords go corporate at record pace
New data from property group Hamptons shows that the number of buy‑to‑let companies being set up in the UK continues to rise. In 2025, 66,587 new companies were established to hold buy‑to‑let property, representing an 8% increase from 2024 and a 363% rise over the past decade.
The upward trend in incorporations has been building since 2016, when full mortgage interest relief began to be phased out for higher‑rate taxpayers owning buy‑to‑let property in their personal names. Since then, company ownership has steadily become the default route for many landlords.
Today, around three‑quarters of new buy‑to‑let purchases are made through limited companies, with rising numbers also reflecting landlords transferring existing portfolios out of personal ownership.
The number of new companies established peaked at 6,493 in September 2025, the highest monthly figure on record. By the end of 2025, nearly 443,272 buy‑to‑let companies were registered with Companies House – almost five times the number recorded in 2016. Across England and Wales, company landlords now own more than 755,000 property titles, compared with 273,000 a decade ago.
This momentum has carried into 2026, with 5,922 new buy-to-let limited companies set up in January 2026 – 11% more than the same month last year, suggesting the trend shows little sign of slowing. We estimate that roughly 1.5 million rental homes are held in company structures.
Buy-to-let companies also ranked among the most common types of new businesses created in 2025. They were the second most frequently set up business category, behind mail‑order firms, but ahead of management consultants.
While 31% of these companies have their headquarters in London, their portfolios span far beyond the capital. In fact, 51% of purchases made by London-based companies are located outside the capital.
London-based companies now own more property titles in the East of England, South East, North West and North East than all other companies investing there from outside the region.
An increasing tax burden
Hamptons notes that move into limited companies is part of a wider trend. The total number of companies on the Companies House register has increased by 48% over the past decade, influenced in part by the rising tax burden on individuals.
Since the personal allowance and higher‑rate income tax threshold last increased in April 2021, having fallen by 27% in real terms today. Had these thresholds kept pace with inflation, the personal allowance would sit at £15,995 at present instead of £12,570, while higher‑rate tax would begin at £63,968 rather than £50,270.
For landlords – many of whom receive rental income alongside PAYE salaries – the freeze in allowances has been particularly painful. This has made the ability to hold and pay tax on rental income in a corporate structure increasingly valuable.
