Is It Still Worthwhile Becoming a Private Sector Landlord?
September 30, 2026
If you spend enough time reading property news, scrolling through social media or listening to certain commentators, you could be forgiven for thinking that becoming a private sector landlord in 2026 is financial suicide.
The Renters’ Rights Act has arrived. Taxation remains a constant talking point. EPC requirements are tightening. Every Budget seems to bring another round of speculation about what might happen to landlords next. At the same time, there is an increasingly lazy narrative that HMOs are somehow automatically poor-quality accommodation, temporary housing or overcrowded properties filled with asylum seekers.
That is not the HMO sector we operate in.
Foot Forward Property Investments has been developing, investing in and managing HMO properties for over 34 years. We are HMO investors ourselves, we develop HMOs for private investors and our associated management operation looks after more than 600 tenants every month. Across more than 450 HMO developments, we have experienced numerous changes in legislation, taxation, lending conditions, property cycles and tenant expectations.
Based on what we are actually seeing across the properties we manage every month, becoming a private sector landlord can still be an excellent investment decision.
In fact, for landlords who own the right type of property and operate it properly, we believe the opportunity has become stronger.
The private rental sector is changing, not disappearing
There is an important difference between saying that being a landlord has become more regulated and saying that being a landlord is no longer worthwhile.
The first statement is true.
The second certainly does not reflect what we are seeing.
The Renters’ Rights Act brought major changes to the English private rented sector from 1 May 2026. Assured tenancies moved onto a periodic basis, Section 21 possession was removed, rules surrounding rent increases changed and local authorities received stronger enforcement powers. Landlords now operate within a stricter regulatory environment than they did several years ago.
For a landlord who has historically relied on poorly maintained properties, weak management, questionable tenancy practices and minimum expenditure, that creates a problem.
For professional landlords already running good-quality accommodation properly, the picture looks very different.
We have spent decades developing HMOs around compliance, tenant safety, property condition and long-term management. Regulations moving further in that direction therefore do not suddenly make our investment model unworkable.
They make the gap between professional and poor-quality operators wider.
We have been exceeding HMO standards for decades
Foot Forward Property Investments has always taken a long-term approach to HMO development.
We were installing individual fire detection equipment, fire doors and appropriate safety measures in our HMO properties long before many of the standards people now associate with professionally managed HMOs became commonplace.
The same applies to energy efficiency. Our HMO developments are delivered to EPC C or above. We were working towards this standard before future EPC requirements became one of the biggest talking points in the landlord sector.
The government has now confirmed a direction towards domestic privately rented properties reaching EPC C or equivalent by 1 October 2030, subject to the associated rules and exemptions. Properties meeting EPC C under the existing Energy Efficiency Rating system can also receive transitional recognition under the future framework.
For an investor buying an old rental property that has received little meaningful investment for 20 years, improving it to modern standards could represent considerable work.
Our investors are starting from a different position. We take properties through substantial refurbishment programmes and build the required standards into the development from the outset.
That approach costs more than throwing some paint on a cheap terraced house and calling it an HMO. It also produces a completely different investment.
The Renters’ Rights Act has not killed professional HMO investment
There was an enormous amount of noise surrounding the Renters’ Rights Act.
For some landlords, it became the final reason to leave the market. Others were already tired of managing properties, dealing with maintenance and keeping on top of an increasingly regulated industry.
There were also operators whose business models depended heavily on practices that were becoming increasingly difficult to justify.
Our experience since the legislation came into effect has been very different from the doom and gloom.
We currently manage more than 600 tenants every month across our HMO portfolio and the properties we manage for investors. Our overall occupancy level now sits at a little over 94%, and it has continued moving upwards.
Does that look like tenants have suddenly stopped needing rental accommodation?
The wider rental market is hardly showing signs of disappearing either. Office for National Statistics figures published during 2026 showed average private rents in England continuing to increase year on year. In the 12 months to June 2026, the average monthly private rent in England rose by 3.4%.
There is still considerable demand for good-quality rented accommodation.
The more interesting question is what type of accommodation tenants actually want.
Tenant expectations have changed
A tired HMO with dated communal bathrooms, poor insulation, cheap furniture, constant maintenance problems and an absent landlord may have remained occupied relatively easily 15 years ago.
That does not mean the same property will compete effectively today.
Professional tenants increasingly have a choice, and landlords need to give them a reason to choose their property.
Our HMO developments are deliberately designed around what we know works from managing hundreds of tenants every month. We predominantly develop five and six-bedroom professional HMOs with private ensuites, properly designed communal areas, good broadband, outdoor space and, wherever possible, off-road parking.
They are not student HMOs. They are not temporary accommodation. They are not social housing HMOs.
They are private rented homes aimed at working professionals, including people employed in logistics, healthcare, local government, policing, engineering and the many other employment sectors across Doncaster and wider South Yorkshire.
The properties are then professionally managed after completion.
That distinction between a properly developed professional HMO and a poorly operated shared house has become increasingly relevant as regulation and tenant expectations have increased.
Landlords leaving the market can create opportunity for those staying
Much has been written about landlords leaving the private rented sector.
From our perspective as both HMO investors and managing agents, reduced supply does not automatically mean reduced opportunity for the remaining landlords.
Quite the opposite can happen.
When an older landlord sells a poorly maintained HMO and the purchaser converts it back into a family house, those rental rooms disappear from the market altogether. When another landlord decides that new regulations are too much work and sells their rental property, another unit of private rented accommodation may be lost.
The tenants who would have occupied those properties do not simply disappear.
They still need somewhere to live.
This is one reason we are seeing strong application levels across the HMO properties we manage. There is demand for affordable accommodation that is clean, safe, properly maintained and professionally managed.
We also deliberately avoid trying to push rents to unrealistic levels simply because a spreadsheet says we can.
A sustainable HMO investment needs a rental figure that works for both investor and tenant. Trying to squeeze every final pound from tenants can create increased turnover, longer void periods and considerably more management problems.
Long-term occupancy is far more valuable.
Being a landlord in 2026 is not a passive hobby
There is one area where we agree with some of the negative commentary.
Becoming a private landlord and trying to casually manage everything yourself is becoming harder.
HMO properties in particular are highly regulated. Depending on the property and local authority, landlords may need to deal with HMO licensing, planning, fire safety, electrical inspections, gas safety, EPC requirements, property standards, tenancy administration, deposits, maintenance, inspections, rent collection and numerous other responsibilities.
The Renters’ Rights Act has added another layer to that environment. Government guidance confirms stronger enforcement powers for local authorities and expanded rent repayment order provisions, including an increase in the potential maximum award from one year to two years of rent for qualifying offences.
Anyone entering the market with the attitude that tenants are simply there to provide monthly income while the landlord spends as little as physically possible should probably stay away from private rented property.
That model is dying, and we have no problem with that.
We have argued for better property standards, safer HMOs and stronger professional management for decades because badly operated HMOs damage tenants, local communities and the reputation of responsible landlords.
The landlord who struggles and the landlord who succeeds are often buying completely different properties
This is where many discussions about whether property investment is still worthwhile become too simplistic.
Two people can both describe themselves as HMO landlords while owning investments that have almost nothing in common.
One investor might buy the cheapest property they can find in an oversaturated area because an online sourcing agent has shown them an attractive gross yield calculation. The refurbishment is done cheaply, rental figures are optimistic, the property is difficult to manage remotely and there are numerous competing rooms within walking distance.
Another investor might purchase a professionally selected property in an established employment area, complete a full refurbishment, create five or six ensuite bedrooms, achieve EPC C or above, use realistic rental figures and appoint an experienced local HMO management company.
Calling both investments “an HMO” tells you very little about their actual prospects.
Property selection, development quality, location, compliance, rental demand and management determine the result.
Cheap does not automatically mean good value.
Fully managed HMOs make far more sense for many modern landlords
A large proportion of our investors are busy professionals, business owners, existing landlords and overseas investors who have no interest in personally answering maintenance calls or studying every change to rental legislation.
They want the property exposure and rental income without creating another full-time job for themselves.
That is exactly why our service runs from acquisition through to long-term management.
Our team identifies the property, handles the development process, oversees planning and compliance, manages the refurbishment and prepares the property for professional occupation. Once completed, our associated management company handles the tenants, rent collection, inspections, maintenance coordination, licensing, compliance administration and day-to-day operation of the HMO.
We only manage the HMO properties we develop.
It means the management team inherits a property that has been built to a standard we already understand rather than trying to rescue somebody else’s badly designed development six months later.
For an investor entering the private rented sector in 2026, having that infrastructure behind the property can make a considerable difference.
We lead with NET yield, not an attractive gross percentage
Another reason people become disappointed with property investment is because they buy based on gross yield.
A 12%, 13% or 14% gross yield advertised online can sound fantastic until management, utilities, maintenance, insurance, licensing, cleaning, compliance, void allowances and the other operating costs of an HMO are taken into account.
We have always preferred to discuss NET yield.
Across the type of professional HMO properties we develop in South Yorkshire, we commonly target NET yields above 9%, with individual developments varying according to purchase price, development cost and achievable local rents.
Those figures are built around actual properties we manage, actual tenant demand and actual operational experience.
After more than 450 HMO developments, we have a substantial amount of evidence showing what works and what does not.
We do not need to guess.
So, is becoming a private sector landlord still worthwhile?
Based on our own experience as landlords, HMO developers and managing agents, yes, there is still a strong case for private rented property in 2026.
What has changed is the standard required to operate successfully.
Buying any cheap property, putting locks on bedroom doors and hoping five tenants appear is not a sensible HMO strategy. Neither is treating tenants badly, delaying repairs, ignoring compliance or assuming regulations somehow do not apply to you.
Professional landlords need professional properties.
We have spent more than 34 years developing that model across South Yorkshire. Today we manage more than 600 tenants each month, have completed over 450 HMO developments and are currently running at a little over 94% occupancy across the HMO properties under our management.
Those are the figures we pay attention to when deciding whether there is still demand for professionally operated private rented accommodation.
Not another doom-filled social media post.
For investors who want to build an HMO portfolio without personally dealing with the development, licensing, compliance, tenants and ongoing management, Foot Forward Property Investments provides a fully managed HMO investment service from initial property purchase through to long-term operation.
You can view our current HMO investment properties and learn more about our development and management service at: