Smaller landlords feel most misrepresented by negative media coverage

Less than one in 10 landlords (9%) believe the media presents a fair and accurate picture of the rental property sector, a new survey by specialist buy-to-let lender Landbay has found.
The result marks a notable fall from 2023, when 19% of landlords said the media portrayal of them was accurate.
“The media – chiefly social but also the mainstream press – is traducing buy-to-let landlords,” said Rob Stanton (pictured), sales and distribution director at Landbay. “People seem to have a view that landlords are rolling in cash making huge profits; the situation has got worse over the last year presumably encouraged by the legislative agenda.
“As more landlords – small business owners – leave the market in the face of counter-productive red tape, the landlord-bashers are going to get a wake-up call when they realise the housing crisis has not disappeared and – because the supply of rental properties has shrunk – rents have risen.”
The poll, carried out in May 2025, surveyed landlords with a combined portfolio of around 3,000 properties.
Landbay said there was little variation in sentiment between landlords with houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) or multi-unit freehold blocks (MUFBs) and those with standard portfolios. However, views differed based on borrowing structure and portfolio size.
Among those using limited company structures or a mix of company and individual borrowing, 10% thought media coverage was unfair. Only 4% of landlords who borrow solely as individuals felt the same way.
The proportion was also lower among smaller landlords. Just 4% of those with one to three properties agreed with the media's portrayal, compared with 10% of landlords owning four or more properties.
“Landlords with only a few properties tend to be those that have invested all their savings and inheritance into their properties in the hope of providing themselves with a retirement income,” Stanton pointed out. “I think they genuinely care about the state of their properties and therefore find their demonisation even more unfair.”
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