Landlords have accused the media of misrepresenting the buy-to-let sector, with new research from specialist lender Landbay showing that just 9% believe coverage of the market is fair and accurate.

The figure marks a sharp decline from last year, when a similar survey found that 19% of landlords felt the portrayal was reasonable.

The poll, conducted in May 2025, canvassed landlords with portfolios totalling around 3,000 properties.

Rob Stanton, sales and distribution director at Landbay, said the perception of landlords has become increasingly negative, fuelled in part by the media and exacerbated by ongoing legislative changes.

“The media – chiefly social but also the mainstream press – is traducing buy-to-let landlords. 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,” he said.

He warned that the exodus of landlords from the sector, driven by red tape and declining returns, would only worsen the shortage of rental housing.

“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.”

PORTFOLIO LANDLORD OPINIONS

The research also suggests that views vary significantly depending on the size and structure of landlords’ portfolios. While 10% of landlords operating through limited company structures – or using a blend of corporate and individual borrowing – thought the media depiction was accurate, only 4% of those borrowing solely as individuals agreed.

A similar trend was observed among smaller landlords. Just 4% of those with one to three properties felt fairly represented, compared to 10% of landlords with four or more properties.

Stanton said this sense of injustice was particularly acute among smaller landlords who have invested personal savings or inheritance to secure a future income.

“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.

“I think they genuinely care about the state of their properties and therefore find their demonisation even more unfair,” he said.

The findings come amid ongoing debate over the role of private landlords in the UK housing market. While some policy-makers have sought to tighten regulation of the sector, landlords and industry bodies have consistently warned that such measures risk driving investment out of the market and reducing the availability of homes to rent.