Short-term lets were a hot topic for landlords in 2019 and this is an area which is expected to continue in prominence over the course of 2020. Nationally, ARLA Propertymark estimates that as many as 500,000 private rented homes could soon switch from the traditional private rental market to holiday or short-let accommodation, primarily due to tax and legislative changes in the PRS. And a new report from the letting agents’ regulatory body, in partnership with Capital Economics, revealed that the number of active listings on Airbnb in the UK rose by 33% to 223,000 in 2018 from 168,000 in 2017.

Three-quarters of the way through 2019, research from Paragon shows that the state of the country’s Private Rented Sector (PRS) shows little change, as landlords remain cautious but continue to optimise their property portfolios for the challenges that lie ahead.

Whilst many of the landlord sentiment indicators in Paragon’s long-running PRS Trends report are historically low – the result of successive governments imposing fiscal and regulatory changes – there is still a story of resilience.

In its latest survey for Q3 2019, the average portfolio size amongst its experienced panel of 201 landlords has grown to 13.2 properties. With this increase, so too a rise in portfolio value, now at £1.82 million, a second successive record high.