Renters' Rights Act accelerates landlord exits, adding ex-rental homes to the sales market

Almost 181,000 former rental homes left the sector in 2025, a record per TwentyCi, and Pepper Money projects around 220,000 households, roughly 5% of the private rented sector, could exit by end-2026, with 65,000 tied directly to the Renters' Rights Act. The Act, in force since 1 May, ended Section 21 evictions and is prompting landlords to sell. For buyers, that means more ex-rental stock and negotiating room; for sellers, more competition. The shift is gradual and skewed towards London.