Almost 850,000 properties have left the private rented sector across Britain during the past decade, with the highest volume sold last year.

Data group TwentyEA’s latest Property and Homemover report shows that 18.6% of all private rental sector (PRS) stock has disappeared in the past decade.

While this effect cannot be attributed solely to the Renters’ Rights Act, the research shows more rental homes were sold as the legislation moved closer, with almost 181,000 offloaded in 2025.

Rental supply

Despite landlords continuing to exit the sector, rental supply has reached its highest level in seven years, rising by more than 17% so far in 2026 compared to 2025.

Supply is now at its largest point for seven years, but TwentyEA said a big factor in this is build-to-rent developments.

During the three months from April to June this year, property listings for these properties were 22% higher compared to the same period a year earlier.

Landlords leaving

Nick Huntley, director of TwentyEA, (pictured) says: “While it’s encouraging to see rental supply reach a seven-year high, that doesn’t tell the whole story.

“Many letting agents are still feeling the effects of landlords leaving the traditional PRS, reducing the stock they have available to market.

“The growth in purpose-built rental housing is helping to bring new homes into the sector, which is positive news for renters, but it complements rather than replaces the role of private landlords. The healthiest rental market is one where both parts of the sector are thriving and overall supply continues to grow.”

Many letting agents are still feeling the effects of landlords leaving the sector, reducing the stock they have available to market.”

The report also shows that online estate agency market share has fallen again but self-employed models continue to rise.

Online agents now make up 3.6% of the market for property exchanges, down 7% annually.

However, self-employed agents continue to gain momentum, with the market share of these types of brands increasing by 18.7% annually to 2.5%.

Strongest growth

TwentyEA said growth has been recorded across all price bands, with double-digit increases observed among properties priced above £200,000.

The strongest growth has come from the £350,000 to the £1million price band, which increased 22.1% year-on-year.

Self-employed agents have expanded their presence across all regions, except for Scotland, where market share declined by 0.5 percentage points.

The West Midlands and Wales observed the largest growth at 0.9 percentage points, TwentyEA says.

Self-employed agents have the strongest presence in Wales, where – during the past 12 months – they represent 3.5% of market share.