That the first Landlords in England were in 1066 when William The Conqueror distributed land after the Norman Conquest !!!
Land ownership was further shaped by the Magna Carta in 1215, and a legal system of sorts surrounded this - but it was not until the 16th Century that the Landlord-Tenant relationship that we know today was established. However, at that time the only available properties were mostly in villages having been bought en-masse by those who were rich and from more urban areas
By the 19th Century, following the Industrial Revolution, financial returns from farming declined, as did money to be made from the village cottage industries, and to earn money workers had no choice but to move to the cities. At that time all the land in the towns and cities was still owned by Dukes and Earls, but with the growth of industry and the railways, the need for housing ever increased. However, most of the new Landlords responding to this urgent need to provide multi dwellings were not individuals but Companies – the most famous being ROWNTREE
Until the First World War in 1914 when 90% of the population were tenants, private Landlords were in control of the rental market often resulting in poor conditions - until the first Rent Act was passed in 1915. This was passed to prevent exploitation by some unscrupulous individuals. Then in 1919 The Housing & Town Planning Act was passed, and it is known as ‘The Addison Act’ because it was named after Christopher Addison the then Minister for Housing. Historically this act created the need for what followed which was that for the first time the Government would subsidise the cost of constructing 500,000 houses known today as council housing. But because of Government intervention the financial benefits for the private landlords dramatically reduced, and many sold up and stopped further investment in housing. On October 3rd, 1980, The RIGHT TO BUY legislation introduced by Margaret Thatcher came into force whereby tenants could buy the home they had been renting at a greatly reduced price and by 1991 only 7% remained as Tenants
Now there are approximately 2.82 million private landlords in the UK. A significant portion, around 68%, are over 55 years old. Most landlords are private individuals, with about 94% falling into this category
And the private rented sector is nowadays characterised by diversity and looks very different from decades past. The number of households in the sector rose by 52% between 2008-09 and 2023-24, from 3.1 million to 4.7 million households
The private rented sector is now the second largest tenure in England and is home to 19% of all households. Buy to Let Investment is therefore still considered to be a solid long-term investment used by many either as an alternative to a pension or in many cases to pay for university education