If you’re looking to invest in property with the view of renting it out, a buy-to-let mortgage is a great way of borrowing the necessary funds to do so. We looked at the latest reports to see how many Brits are investing in property using this lending method.
Buy-to-let statistics: Highlights
As of 2024, 4.7 million buy-to-let properties are being rented in the UK, around 1 in every 5 households.
The total value of buy-to-let lending in 2024 was £20.5 billion, up 12% from £18.3 billion in 2023.
As of February 2025, the average buy-to-let mortgage rate was 4.3% for a 2-year fix (75% LTV).
The value of buy-to-let lending dropped by 56% in the six months between December 2022 and June 2023.
The average buy-to-let rental yield for the UK in Q4 2024 was 6.93%
How many buy-to-let rental properties are there in the UK?
As of 2024, there are 4.7 million privately rented households in the UK – which is around 1 in every 5 households (19%). This has increased by 52% since 2009, when there were 3.1 million privately rented households in the UK.
What is the average buy-to-let mortgage rate in the UK?
As of February 2025, the average buy-to-let mortgage rate on a 2-year fixed-rate mortgage (75% LTV) was 4.3%. This is down from a decade-high rate of 6.22% in July 2023, but up slightly from an average rate of 4.28% in December 2024 and significantly higher than the rate of 1.78% seen 3 years previously in February 2022.
The lowest average buy-to-let interest rate in the past decade was seen in October 2021 at just 1.65%.
The total value of buy-to-let lending in 2024 was £20.5 billion, up 12% from £18.3 billion in 2023 but down from a much higher £41.4 billion in 2022.
The value of buy-to-let lending dropped significantly between 2022 and 2023, going from £9.7 billion in the last quarter of 2022 to £5.8 billion in the first quarter of 2023. It reached a low point in the last quarter of 2023, at £3.7 billion, but has since rebounded and stood at £5.6 billion in the last quarter of 2024.
Buy-to-let mortgage lending made up 8.2% of total mortgage values in the last quarter of 2024, compared to 7% in the last quarter of 2023 and 11.9% in the last quarter of 2022.
A typical deposit for a buy-to-let property is usually 25% of the property price, but this can vary between 20% and 40%. The minimum deposit will usually be higher than a standard residential mortgage deposit.
What is the average buy-to-let rental yield?
The average gross buy-to-let rental yield for the UK in Q4 2024 was 6.93%, compared with 6.53% in Q4 2023.
Buy-to-let mortgages in arrears and repossessions
There were 13,000 buy-to-let mortgages in arrears of more than 2.5% in Q3 2024, up 19% from the same period in 2023. A total of 710 buy-to-let properties were repossessed in the third quarter of 2024, up 73% from the previous year.
Who is the biggest buy-to-let mortgage provider in the UK?
Nationwide was the biggest UK buy-to-let provider in terms of gross lending in 2023, with a market share of 10.4% and total lending of £3.13 billion. Lloyds Banking Group comes in second place, with a 9.9% market share (£2.96 billion), followed by Natwest Group (8.6% and £5.86 billion), OneSavings Bank (6.2% and £3.56 billion) and Santander (5.5% and £3.14 billion).
How much do landlords make per property in the UK?
As of April 2024, a landlord could expect to make £424 a month on the average UK property, before tax and any other running costs. Over a year, this works out at £5,087.
However, it’s worth noting that there are likely other fees involved, such as service charges, maintenance costs, insurance, letting fees and any tax you need to pay on your income. These fees will also need to be deducted from a landlord’s overall income.
How have landlord earnings changed over time?
As of April 2024, the average yearly return on a buy-to-let property is £5,087, down from £9,309 in April 2020. This refers to the amount remaining once mortgage interest payments have been deducted from rental income.
This decrease is due to high mortgage rates in recent months. When buy-to-let mortgage rates increase, anyone looking to take out a new loan will have much higher monthly interest payments. This puts pressure on rental prices, which are already rising. We compared how buy-to-let returns have changed over time in line with changing house prices, mortgage rates and rent prices.
In April 2024, landlords would have paid approximately £830 in buy-to-let mortgage interest. An average monthly rental price of £1,254 leaves them with returns of £424, adding up to £5,087 over the year.
This is a substantial decrease in returns from April 2020, when just £256 in interest was paid, and there was an average rental price of £1,032, giving returns of £776. This adds up to £9,309 over the year.
These estimates show the owner of the average buy-to-let property could earn £4,222 less a year if a 2-year loan was fixed in April 2024 compared to April 2020.
Finder took the average monthly house prices according to the ONS house price index and interest rates on a 2-year fixed rate 75% LTV buy-to-let mortgage according to the Bank of England. The mortgage interest payments were then calculated for an interest-only mortgage. The average UK rent prices were also taken from ONS, and the average interest paid on a mortgage was then subtracted from the average rent received to get the returns.
Click here for more research. For all media enquiries, please contact –
Matt Mckenna
UK Head of Communications T: +44 20 8191 8806
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Sophie Barber is a content marketing manager for Finder in the UK. She has over 5 years experience in writing and publishing clear, concise and informative articles that help consumers make informed decisions. See full bio
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