When you think of a landlord, what picture comes to mind? If you’re of a certain vintage, like me, it might be Rigsby from Rising Damp: middle-aged, mean-spirited and male. The stereotype has proved remarkably persistent. But the latest data tells a very different story.
According to the English Private Landlord Survey 2024 (opens in a new window), 50% of landlords in England are now women. That’s up from 44% in 2021, which incidentally was the first time gender was reported in the survey.
On International Women’s Day 2026, that statistic deserves more than a passing mention. It tells a story about how the private rented sector is changing, who is shaping it, and what that means for tenants.
Where we've come from
The fact that women now make up half of all landlords is remarkable when you consider where we’ve come from.
Until the 1880s, married women in England had no legal right to own property at all. Under the common law doctrine of coverture, a woman’s legal identity was absorbed into her husband’s upon marriage. Her property, her earnings, even her clothes, belonged to her husband. She couldn’t enter into contracts, make a will, or sue in court.
Single women and widows were a different matter. They were able to own and manage property in their own names.
I came across this when buying my first buy to let, a terraced house in Maidstone. I spotted in the Register of Title that the original developer, who built and sold the property in 1902, was a woman. How could this be, considering women did not receive equal rights to own property until 1926? A right granted in a section in the Law of Property Act 1925 called ‘Married women and lunatics’.
Intrigued, I discovered that the developer, Mrs Whatman, was the widow of the owner of the Whatman paper-making empire based in Maidstone. Her husband died in 1887, shortly before she started building large housing estates for families. She was building ‘single family homes’ for rent, long before it became the latest thing.
As Mrs Whatman was a widow, she was able to build an entire housing estate, and even donate land for a church, all in her own name. She died in 1905, more than 20 years before women were granted equal voting rights. But that’s another story.
Although women have had equal rights to own property for about a century, the practice of banks demanding a male guarantor on a woman’s mortgage application did not end until the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 came into force. For context, that was when I was at primary school.
The idea that women might account for half of buy-to-let mortgage applications would have seemed extraordinary just a few decades ago.
What the data tells us
The English Private Landlord Survey is a large-scale, representative survey commissioned by the government. It’s conducted every three years and is the most authoritative source of data on who landlords actually are, as opposed to who people imagine them to be.
The 2024 survey shows a private rented sector (PRS) dominated by small-scale investors. 83% of landlords own between one and four properties. 45% own just one. The median age is 59, and nearly two-thirds are aged 55 or older. And now, half of them are women.
There is a nuance, though. Men still dominate among landlords with larger portfolios. 63% of those with five or more properties are male. So while the gender split is equal overall, the picture changes as portfolio size increases.
It’s also worth noting that the 17% of landlords who own five or more properties account for 49% of all tenancies, so the shape of the PRS is more complex than the headline figure suggests
That said, the direction of travel is clear. Women are investing in property and becoming landlords in growing numbers.
What women bring to the private rented sector
Since founding The Independent Landlord, I’ve come into contact with large numbers of landlords and property investors, many of whom happen to be women. And while I’m wary of broad generalisations, some patterns do emerge.
First, women in property tend to bring strong transferable skills from previous careers. I’ve come across former solicitors, nurses, accountants, bank managers, marketing consultants and fundraisers who have all ‘pivoted’ into becoming landlords. They bring analytical thinking, attention to detail, customer focus and an ability to assess risk. These aren’t “female” qualities, of course, but they are qualities that make for good landlords.
Second, many female landlords I’ve spoken to place a strong emphasis on the tenant experience. They focus on creating homes, not just rental units. They care about the quality of the properties, the wellbeing of the people living in them, and the relationships they build with tenants. Some have won awards for their approach to property management, with glowing reviews from tenants who feel genuinely looked after.
This matters more than you might think. Research shows that tenants of landlords who self-manage their properties are considerably more likely to feel the landlord is caring, fair and trustworthy compared to those who deal with an agent. Many of the women landlords I know self-manage precisely because they want that direct relationship and the control over standards that comes with it.
Finally, women in property are often creative and adaptable. They use a wide range of strategies, from traditional buy to lets to HMOs or ‘co-living’ and supported living. Some have built multi-million pound development pipelines. Others manage their portfolios while travelling as digital nomads. The common thread is a willingness to learn, adapt, and find the approach that works for their circumstances.
Excellence as a mindset
At landlord networking events, the conversation often centres on numbers. How many units do you have? What’s the cash flow? What’s your strategy? These things matter, obviously. But they’re not the whole picture.
What’s talked about less often is what makes a great rental property from the tenant’s perspective. What does it feel like to live there? Is it well maintained? Does the landlord respond promptly? Do they care?
The government’s own definition of landlords who “demonstrate good practice” includes being engaged, belonging to a landlord association, staying aware of legislative changes, and being compliant with best practice. That’s a decent baseline.
I believe that good landlords go further. They measure their quality by whether they’d be happy for their own children or parents to live in the property. They treat tenants as customers. They invest in maintenance, they’re responsive, and they create environments where people feel safe and at home.
The visibility gap
Despite making up half of all landlords, women remain underrepresented in the wider property industry. Property investor events and conferences still tend to feature predominantly male panels and speakers. This doesn’t reflect the reality on the ground.
On a rare personal note, I might add that I’ve been patronised by a few men who have dismissed what I say on the grounds I can’t possibly know anything about being a landlord as I “only have four rental properties”. This of course overlooks the fact I was a board level lawyer for 12 years, have an MBA, and have a whole host of other transferrable skills that help me both as a landlord and in running The Independent Landlord.
And some assume that I’m just the front person, and that my husband is a silent investor. (He’s not, although he did come up with the name The Independent Landlord). I know I’m not alone among women in encountering this.
Representation matters because it shapes who feels welcome. If a woman thinking about investing in property sees only men on stage, she might wonder whether this is really for her. (It is.) If she can’t find female mentors or peers, she might feel isolated.
The good news is that communities of women in property are growing. Women are supporting and empowering each other, sharing knowledge, and raising standards. The more visible we become, the more others will follow.
Looking forward
Investing in property for the long term as landlords enables women to build wealth and financial independence on their own terms, outside of a corporate environment. It’s flexible. It rewards the skills that many women already have. And it offers something that matters to a lot of women: the ability to make a tangible difference to people’s lives by providing them with a good home.
A century ago, married women couldn’t legally own property. Today, they make up half of all landlords in England. That’s progress worth celebrating.
So the next time you hear the word “landlord,” don’t assume it’s a man. It’s just as likely to be a woman. And she’s probably doing an excellent job, whether she owns one property or one hundred.