Limited company landlords drive mortgage activity but awareness remains patchy
29 August 2025
- 20% of landlords have at least one buy-to-let property in a limited company
- Incorporation continues to appeal as a route to tax efficiency, suggesting room for further growth
- Awareness of specialist limited company lenders remains relatively low
London, 29th August 2025
The latest Landlord Trends research from Pegasus Insight reveals that limited company ownership is now a significant driver of buy-to-let mortgage activity. One in five landlords (20%) owns property through a limited company: 7% of landlords have their entire rental portfolio held within in a limited company, while 13% have a mix of individually-held and incorporated properties.
The average proportion of a limited company landlord’s portfolio held in this way has more than doubled from 36% in Q1 2020, to 74% in Q2 2025. This increase continues to be primarily driven by landlords incorporating at the point of new rental property purchase, with almost all of those planning to buy a new buy-to-let property in the next 12 months intending to do so within a limited company.
Incorporation is most common among portfolio landlords with four or more buy-to-let mortgages, with 34% of them having at least one incorporated property.
However, awareness of the specialist lenders operating in this market remains relatively low, suggesting that many landlord borrowers may not be fully informed about the breadth of options available.
The findings come at a time when landlords are facing renewed regulatory and tax pressures. The forthcoming Renters’ Rights Bill (RRB) is already influencing landlord behaviour, prompting many to raise rents in anticipation of tighter controls, while discouraging new investment. Against this backdrop, incorporation remains a route to greater tax efficiency for many landlords, a structural trend which looks set to continue.
Mark Long, founder and director of Pegasus Insight, commented:
“Limited company ownership has moved from the fringes of the buy-to-let market to the mainstream. The incorporation model is especially attractive for portfolio landlords, who are typically higher-rate taxpayers and therefore more sensitive to tax changes. These landlords tend to be larger, more sophisticated operators and critically, they are more likely to be active borrowers. That makes them a vital audience for lenders and brokers alike.
“At the same time, our research shows that awareness of the limited company mortgage market is still patchy. Many landlords don’t have a clear picture of which lenders are active in this space or the range of products available. For advisers, that’s both a challenge and an opportunity. With incorporation continuing to gain traction, there’s considerable scope for lenders to raise their profile and for brokers to add real value by steering clients through the complexity of limited company borrowing, while never straying into the realms of giving tax advice themselves. Ensuring that landlords are fully supported in this segment will be crucial for sustaining buy-to-let activity in the years ahead.”
