‘Silver landlord’ surge set to sweep rental market after Budget
Older landlords will have a tax advantage if National Insurance is introduced on rental income, proptech firm Reapit claims.
A surge in ‘silver landlord’ activity is set to sweep the buy-to-let market if National Insurance is introduced on rental income in next month’s Budget, as has been widely rumoured.
That’s the prediction from business proptech firm Reapit, which says a NI exemption for landlords over the state pension age means older investors will have an advantage.
Balance the books
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is rumoured to be considering NI for landlords as she attempts to balance the books.

Dr Neil Cobbold, Commercial Director at Reapit, says: “While younger landlords are reshaping the market, agencies should not underestimate the resilience and value of older investors.
“If National Insurance is levied on all rental income but the current exemption for those over State Pension age holds, these investors could see higher net yields than their younger counterparts, making property investment more attractive to retirees.”
Valuable opportunity
He says this represents “a valuable opportunity” for agents.
“Older portfolio landlords who rely on experienced agents to professionally manage their properties can trust those agents to guide them in investing beyond their local area in areas that deliver strong rental yields,” he says.
Generational shift
Only last week, Hamptons released figures showing a big rise in the number of purchases by under-50s.
So far this year, 75% of shareholders in new property investment companies were 50 or younger, up from 68% a decade ago.
And millennial landlords, born between 1981 and 1996, will set up 33,395 new buy-to-let companies in 2025, more than twice (+142%) the number in 2020.
“This signals a generational shift in landlord demographics,” the firm claimed.