There were 66,587 new companies were formed to hold buy-to-let property in 2025, an 8% increase on 2024’s total of 61,517 and a 363% rise over the last decade, according to Hamptons' analysis of Companies House records.

The rise comes despite the fall in the number of investors buying homes across Great Britain, with a 1.1% fall in 2025 from the 11.9% the year before.

Aneisha Beveridge, Head of Research at Hamptons, said: “Landlord’s shift towards limited company ownership continued through 2025 and shows little sign of slowing this year. While the tougher tax treatment introduced in 2016 sparked the initial move into corporate structures, five years of frozen personal allowances, combined with the impact of higher mortgage rates, which company landlords can fully offset against their tax bill, have fuelled the more recent surge. As more landlords find themselves pulled into the 40% income tax bracket, paying corporation tax at 19% or even 25% has become increasingly attractive.

“Today, limited company ownership makes financial sense for the majority of landlords, with around 75%-80% of all new buy-to-let purchases now made via a company. But it isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. For landlords who earn no income beyond their rents and remain lower-rate taxpayers, owning property in personal names can still be the better option, particularly as above-inflation increases have pushed up Companies House filing fees.”

Buy-to-let companies ranked second among the most common types of new businesses created in 2025.