93,000 landlords left the sector last year. And more look set to follow in 2026.
It’s a number that raises a lot of questions. But the one that’s stuck in my head is what they’re doing with the money they’re taking out.
The answer, probably, is not much.
In fact, it will most likely sit in the bank alongside more than half a trillion pounds that the UK already has invested in Cash ISAs (a number that’s growing at a rapid rate every year).
That tells us something about where the proceeds of the landlord exodus are heading, alongside the type of people that are leaving the sector.
In many cases, it’s the “accidental landlord” that’s being squeezed out – the people who chose property in the first place because they didn’t trust the stock market and wanted something tangible.
Those people aren’t suddenly about to change the habit of a lifetime. They’ll follow the path of least resistance, which is cash.
And for them, it’s fine.
Many of them will be older, mortgage-free and have incomes topped up with pensions. So a few years of inflation eating away at the value of their cash pile won’t derail them.
But what about you?
Much like property, part of cash’s comforting appeal is that it’s also tangible. Unlike property, however, over a working lifetime it’s a slow, compounding loss to inflation dressed up as caution.
So if you’re currently sitting on capital telling yourself you’ll deploy it next year, or once the political situation calms down, or once rates settle, you’re caught in that drift. Holding cash may feel like postponing the decision. But in practice, it is a decision. To lose money slowly while you wait for certainty that may never come.
You already know that property beats cash over the long run, or you wouldn’t be reading this. I’m simply reminding you to act on that knowledge.
All in all: don’t be an accidental landlord. Don’t be an accidental anything. If you’re going to invest in property, commit to it properly, with the right structure and the right support. If you’re going to do something else, fine – but make it an active choice.
Because the alternative is becoming a statistic in next year’s Cash ISA figures, wondering where the time (and your returns) went.