30 years of buy-to-let
Louisa Sedgwick, Managing Director of Mortgages, Paragon bank
Thirty years after buy-to-let was launched, our new report explores how the market has evolved, the role it has played in supporting the UK private rented sector, and the factors likely to shape its future.
Buy-to-let is 30. Launched in September 1996, buyto-let provided landlords with a mortgage product designed around the economics of residential letting.
Since then, it has become an established part of UK housing finance, supporting investment in privately rented homes during a period of significant change across the housing market.
Our new report, 30 years of buy-to-let, examines how the market has developed over three decades, from its early growth and the expansion of the private rented sector, through the global financial crisis, tax and regulatory reform, the pandemic, and the recent inflation and interest rate shock.
Drawing on industry data and analysis, the report explores:
• How buy-to-let helped support the growth of the private rented sector, which has grown from around two million households in England in the mid-1990s to almost five million today
• How property standards have improved over time, with landlords investing in the quality and energy efficiency of privately rented home
The report also considers the demographic, economic and policy factors that continue to underpin demand for rented housing, alongside the challenges and opportunities facing landlords as the sector enters its fourth decade.
Louisa Sedgwick, Managing Director of Mortgages at Paragon Bank, said: " When buy-to-let was introduced, it provided a solution to a growing need for privately rented housing and a way for landlords to access finance designed specifically for residential letting.
“ Thirty years later, the market is considerably larger, more professional and more heavily regulated, but the fundamental role it plays within the UK ' s housing system remains as important as ever. This report looks at how the sector has evolved over that period and the factors that are likely to shape its future."
• The professionalisation of the landlord market, including the rise of portfolio landlords and limited company ownership structures
Download the report to explore the story of buy-to-let over the past 30 years and the continuing role of the private rented sector within the UK ' s housing market.
ISSUE 10 | 25