The debate about the private rented sector is dominated by landlord exit and rising costs. The lending data published over the past eight weeks tells a different story about the landlords who remain: fewer arrears, fewer possessions, and rental income still outrunning financing costs.
1. Arrears: 0.44 per cent, half the owner-occupier rate
UK Finance’s mortgage arrears and possessions release for the second quarter of 2026, published on 14 August, showed 8,390 buy-to-let mortgages in arrears of 2.5 per cent or more of the outstanding balance — six per cent fewer than in the previous quarter, and 0.44 per cent of all outstanding buy-to-let mortgages. Homeowner arrears were 0.89 per cent, so a buy-to-let loan was less than half as likely to fall behind.
2. Possessions: 630 properties, down 22 per cent
Lenders took 630 buy-to-let properties into possession in the second quarter of 2026, 22 per cent fewer than in the preceding three months and 20 per cent lower than a year earlier. Levels remain significantly below the long-term historical average, according to UK Finance. The same release shows that most arrears cases across the whole mortgage book relate to loans arranged at least ten years ago: newer lending is performing well, and the pressure sits in legacy loans rather than the loans being written in this market.
3. Rental arrears at their lowest level on record
Landlord Today reported on 11 September 2026 that Pegasus Insight’s Landlord Trends research put the share of landlords experiencing rent arrears over the previous twelve months at 26 per cent — the lowest reading since the series began, down from a peak of 42 per cent in 2020. That is six years of improvement in rent collection, through the pandemic, the cost-of-living shock and the introduction of the Renters’ Rights Act.
4. The gap between rental income and funding cost has widened
UK Finance’s buy-to-let lending data for the first quarter of 2026 recorded 58,272 new loans worth £10.8 billion, up 3.3 per cent by number and 7.0 per cent by value year on year. Three figures matter for a landlord’s margin:
- The average interest rate on all new buy-to-let loans was 4.71 per cent, 29 basis points lower than a year earlier.
- The average interest cover ratio was 221 per cent, up from 204 per cent a year earlier and above the 218 per cent recorded in the previous quarter.
- The average gross rental yield was 7.21 per cent, against 6.93 per cent a year earlier. Paragon Bank’s separate Q2 measure, drawn from its own lending book, put average gross yield at around 7.02 per cent.
These are portfolio averages rather than any single property, but gross income was running roughly 2.5 percentage points ahead of the average cost of new borrowing.
5. Rents are still doing the work
Zoopla’s Rental Market Report for September 2026 puts the average UK rent for a new let at £1,343 a month, 2.6 per cent or £30 higher than a year earlier. Supply is tightening behind it: three per cent fewer homes are available to rent than a year ago, and competition has risen to 5.3 enquiries per listing, the highest for almost two years. In London, available stock is six per cent lower year on year and 13 per cent lower across inner London. Zoopla notes that rental growth over the past six months has run at an annualised rate of about four per cent, and expects UK rental growth of four to five per cent by the end of 2026. The RICS survey for August points the same way: tenant demand at a net balance of +18 per cent, landlord instructions at -14 per cent, and +44 per cent of surveyors expecting rents to rise over three months.
6. What could still go wrong
The honest counterweight is financing. The Bank of England held Bank Rate at 3.75 per cent on 17 September, but three of its nine members voted for 4 per cent, and CPI inflation rose to 3.1 per cent in August. Moneyfacts data reported in late September put average two-year fixed buy-to-let rates at around 5.3 per cent and five-year fixes at around 5.7 per cent, both edging higher, with the October Budget the next scheduled uncertainty. Landlords with a fix maturing in the next year should model the refinance at 5.5 to 6 per cent and check interest cover against a lender stress rate before the deal window opens.
In short
None of this makes letting simple, or removes the compliance workload that has grown around the sector, but it does put the narrative of landlord distress in context. Landlords still in the market are collecting rent more reliably than at any point in the last six years, financing at a lower average cost than a year ago, and holding assets whose gross yield has moved above seven per cent. Arrears falling, possessions falling and rents rising is not a market in retreat; it is one where the economics favour owners who are funded sensibly and let their property well.
Sources: UK Finance Mortgage Arrears and Possessions Update, Q2 2026; UK Finance Buy-to-Let Lending, Q1 2026; Pegasus Insight Landlord Trends via Landlord Today, 11 September 2026; Zoopla Rental Market Report, September 2026; RICS UK Residential Market Survey, August 2026; Bank of England Monetary Policy Summary, September 2026; Moneyfacts buy-to-let rate data, September 2026.
关于英国私人租赁市场（PRS）的讨论，往往被房东退出与成本上升所主导。但过去八周公布的信贷数据，描绘出留在市场中的房东截然不同的一面：按揭欠款更少、被收回房产更少，租金收入依然跑赢融资成本。
一、欠款率 0.44%，仅为自住房贷的一半
英国金融协会（UK Finance）于 2026 年 8 月 14 日发布的 2026 年第二季度按揭欠款与房产收回数据显示，欠款达到未偿余额 2.5% 及以上的租赁房产（buy-to-let）按揭为 8,390 笔，比上一季度减少 6%，占全部未偿租赁房贷的 0.44%。同期自住房贷欠款率为 0.89%，也就是说租赁房贷出现欠款的概率不到自住房贷的一半。
二、房产收回：630 套，下降 22%
2026 年第二季度，贷款机构收回的租赁房产为 630 套，比前三个月减少 22%，比上年同期低 20%。UK Finance 表示，这一水平仍显著低于长期历史均值。同一份数据还显示，整个按揭组合中绝大多数欠款案例来自至少十年前办理的贷款：较新的贷款表现良好，压力集中在存量老贷款，而不在当下市场新发放的贷款。
三、租金欠缴率处于有记录以来最低
Landlord Today 于 2026 年 9 月 11 日报道，Pegasus Insight 的《房东趋势》（Landlord Trends）研究显示，过去十二个月内遭遇租金欠缴的房东占比为 26%，为该调查开展以来的最低水平，较 2020 年 42% 的峰值明显回落。这意味着历经疫情、生活成本冲击以及《租客权利法》落地，租金收缴情况实现了连续六年的改善。
四、租金收入与融资成本之间的差距在扩大
UK Finance 的 2026 年第一季度租赁房贷数据显示，当季新发放租赁房贷 58,272 笔，金额 108 亿英镑，笔数同比增加 3.3%，金额同比增加 7.0%。其中三个数字直接关系房东的利润空间：
- 全部新增租赁房贷的平均利率为 4.71%，比上年同期低 29 个基点。
- 平均利息覆盖率（ICR）为 221%，高于上年同期的 204%，也高于上一季度的 218%。
- 平均毛租金收益率为 7.21%，上年同期为 6.93%。Paragon Bank 基于自身贷款组合的第二季度独立统计则显示，平均毛收益率约为 7.02%。
这些是组合平均数据，而非单一房产的实际表现，但毛租金收入大致比新增借贷的平均成本高出约 2.5 个百分点。
五、租金仍在发挥支撑作用
Zoopla 的 2026 年 9 月租赁市场报告显示，英国新签租约的平均租金为每月 1,343 英镑，比上年同期高 2.6%，即 30 英镑。供给端进一步收紧：可租房源比一年前减少 3%，每套房源的咨询量升至 5.3 次，为近两年最高。伦敦可租房源同比减少 6%，内伦敦减少 13%。Zoopla 指出，过去六个月的租金年化增速约为 4%，并预计到 2026 年底英国租金涨幅将达到 4% 至 5%。RICS 的 2026 年 8 月调查也支持这一方向：租客需求净值为 +18%，房东委托量为 -14%，有 +44% 的受访测量师预计未来三个月租金将上涨。
六、仍可能出现的风险
需要平衡看待的是融资端。英国央行在 9 月 17 日维持基准利率于 3.75% 不变，但九位委员中有三位投票支持加息至 4%，且 8 月 CPI 通胀升至 3.1%。9 月下旬由 Moneyfacts 提供、媒体引用的数据显示，租赁房贷两年期固定利率均值约为 5.3%，五年期约为 5.7%，月内均小幅上行；10 月预算案是下一个不确定来源。对于在未来一年内固定利率到期的房东，务实做法是按 5.5% 至 6% 的情境测算再融资成本，并在产品窗口开启之前按贷款机构的压力利率核对利息覆盖率。
总结
这些数据并不意味着出租变得简单，也没有减轻行业不断增加的合规负担，但它确实为「房东陷入困境」的叙事提供了参照：仍在市场中的房东，租金收缴情况是过去六年来最可靠的，平均融资成本低于一年前，持有资产的毛收益率已超过 7%。欠款下降、收回下降、租金上升，并不是一个收缩的市场，而是一个经济账开始向融资稳健、经营到位的房东倾斜的市场。
数据来源：UK Finance《按揭欠款与房产收回更新》2026 年第二季度；UK Finance《租赁房贷数据》2026 年第一季度；Pegasus Insight《房东趋势》（经 Landlord Today 于 2026 年 9 月 11 日报道）；Zoopla《租赁市场报告》2026 年 9 月；RICS《英国住宅市场调查》2026 年 8 月；英国央行 2026 年 9 月货币政策摘要；Moneyfacts 2026 年 9 月租赁房贷利率数据。