ONE IN FIVE LANDLORDS TOO EMBARRASSED TO ADMIT IT

One in five landlords are too embarrassed to admit it, according to a recent poll of almost 800 residential property investors*.

The findings show that on average 21 per cent of landlords have been too embarrassed to admit it before. Across the UK, more landlords in the East of England and the East Midlands said they were embarrassed to admit it compared to any other region (29 per cent and 28 per cent respectively).

At the other end of the scale, the English regions with the fewest embarrassed landlords were the South East and Yorkshire and Humber (18 per cent).

Just 13 per cent of landlords in Scotland said they had been too embarrassed to admit it before – the lowest across the UK (see full regional breakdown below).

Richard Blanco, who lets property in London and the East Midlands, says he hasn’t always been truthful when it comes to admitting he’s a landlord:
“Before becoming a landlord I thought long and hard about it because I had always disliked landlords as a student due to a bad experience I had over my deposit.

“These days I’m more upfront about it, but I tell people I work in property instead, because I still assume people won’t like me if tell them what I do.

“I also say that I work for the National Landlords Association (NLA) and that we campaign to improve the private rented sector, which tends to go down a bit better”.

The findings indicate that approximately 400,000 of the UK’s 2 million landlords avoid telling people what they do. The NLA, which is the largest representative body for landlords in the UK, says that despite the bad press, the majority of tenants are satisfied with their current landlord and tenancy.**

Richard Lambert, Chief Executive Officer at the NLA, said:
“The number of people looking to invest in property is rising all the time yet the stigma attached to being a landlord never seems to diminish.

“It’s the minority of rogues and criminal landlords that make the headlines, and this has a negative impact on everyone else.

“The majority of landlords are hardworking individuals who put their own money into providing homes for others, and they should not be ashamed to say so”.
Full regional breakdown

East of England 29
East Midlands 28
London 24
North East 19
North West 23
Scotland 13
South East 18
South West 23
Wales 17
West Midlands 19
Yorkshire and Humber 18
For further information, please contact:
Alex Brent
PR Executive, NLA
020 7820 7904
alex.brent@landlords.org.uk

Christopher Walkey

Founder of Estate Agent Networking. Internationally invited speaker on how to build online target audiences using Social Media. Writes about UK property prices, housing, politics and affordable homes.

You May Also Enjoy

Breaking News

Breaking Property News 5/10/26

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X. Architect-founded KnowYourNest brings property scores into the home search, with a free 1–10 score and full KnowYourNest reports from £9.95 By Author Andrew Stanton CEO Proptech-PR NestLink today launches free NestScore checks and KnowYourNest property intelligence reports for buyers and homeowners across England and Wales.…
Read More →
Breaking News

Gap between house prices and earnings narrows

Gap between house prices and earnings narrows – but higher borrowing costs limit affordability gains UK’s house price to income ratio falls from 7.6 to 7.3, an 11-year low, as earnings continue to outpace house price growth For first-time buyers, homes now cost less than six times earnings, falling from 6.1 to 5.9 However, monthly…
Read More →
Rightmove logo
Breaking News

New Scheme Could Double Solo Buyer New-Build Options

Your First Home could more than double new-build options for solo first-time buyers The number of available new-build homes in England affordable to an average single first-time buyer could more than double (+114%) under the new Your First Home scheme The maximum purchase price affordable to an average solo buyer could increase by nearly £49,000,…
Read More →
Breaking News

Annual house price growth halves in September

UK annual house price growth halved to 0.8% in September, from 1.6% in August Northern Ireland remained best performing region, with prices up 5.9% year on year in Q3 2026 East Anglia weakest performing region, with annual decline of 0.7% Terraced properties were the strongest performing property type, with a 1.8% rise, whilst flats remained…
Read More →
Estate Agents should not all look the same
Estate Agent Talk

Homesellers say valuation appointment is key

Nearly nine in 10 home sellers say the valuation appointment is key when choosing an estate agent   The latest research from GetAgent.co.uk has revealed that the valuation appointment remains one of the most influential stages of the home selling journey, with almost nine in 10 sellers saying it played an important role when deciding which…
Read More →
Rightmove logo
Breaking News

London’s rental market bucks the national trend

New analysis from the UK’s largest property platform Rightmove reveals that rental demand in the capital is up 7% in September while Great Britain overall is 2% below last year Rental demand in London had been running around 7% below 2025 levels on average throughout 2026 until the end of August before moving into growth…
Read More →