Buying property in the right areas is crucial for landlords, so where in the UK are the fastest-growing rental areas with strong tenant demand in 2026?
We’ve analysed the top towns and cities attracting property investors, based on data from Simply Business.
In this article we cover:
- fastest-growing buy-to-let areas
- best areas for HMO landlords
- best areas for portfolio landlords
- popular areas by property type
Where are the fastest-growing buy-to-let areas?
A fast-growing rental market could indicate high demand from tenants and strong average rental growth.
All of this could contribute to higher annual returns for landlords, particularly if they target areas with lower than average property prices.
Our analysis of over 100,000 landlord insurance policies found that Manchester had the highest growth* (8.6 per cent) in new policies between 2024 and 2025.
Neighbouring North West England’s city of Liverpool came in second with growth of 8.3 per cent.
The top five was completed by Leicester (eight per cent growth), Leeds, and Birmingham (both with annual growth of 7.9 per cent).
Despite not appearing in the top five for annual growth, London had by far the highest number of landlord insurance policies.
Top 10 fastest-growing buy-to-let areas
| 2026 ranking | Area | Region | Annual growth* | 2025 ranking |
| 1 | Manchester | North West | 8.6% | 5 (+4) |
| 2 | Liverpool | North West | 8.3% | 9 (+7) |
| 3 | Leicester | East Midlands | 8.0% | 3 |
| = 4 | Leeds | West Yorkshire | 7.9% | 4 |
| = 4 | Birmingham | West Midlands | 7.9% | 2 (-2) |
| 6 | London | London | 7.7% | 1 (-5) |
| 7 | Nottingham | East Midlands | 7.0% | 6 (-1) |
| 8 | Edinburgh | Scotland | 6.7% | 8 |
| 9 | Bristol | South West | 6.0% | 7 (-2) |
| 10 | Glasgow | Scotland | 2.9% | 10 |
*Annual growth is the percentage difference between the number of new Simply Business landlord insurance policies bought in 2025 compared to new policies bought in 2024. Data was analysed on 31 December 2025
Where are the best investment properties for HMO landlords?
Houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) are larger properties that can be let to three or more people from more than one household who share living facilities.
For example, a house share of five young professionals would count as a ‘large HMO’. Read our guide to HMOs for further details.
To successfully let an HMO, you need to be operating in the right market – somewhere with lots of students or young professionals could be an ideal location.
If you’re looking to buy and rent out a larger property, here are the top five hotspots where we insured the most HMO landlords during 2025:
- London
- Birmingham
- Bristol
- Manchester
- Leeds
- Nottingham
- Edinburgh
- Cardiff
- Liverpool
- Coventry
It’s no surprise that all of these cities have universities and strong employment markets, making them popular with young professionals – and so appealing to HMO landlords.
Edinburgh is the fastest-growing location for HMO properties, with the number of HMO insurance policies increasing by 14 per cent between 2024 and 2025.
Other areas with strong HMO growth include Manchester (13 per cent), London (11 per cent), and Nottingham (eight per cent).
Where are the best buy-to-let areas for portfolio landlords?
Although the majority of landlords own one property, for some investors the ultimate aim is to build a property portfolio.
These landlords usually start out with one property, using the returns to buy their next property and so on.
Investors with several properties sometimes specialise in a particular niche, such as student property, or focus on a certain location.
If you’re looking to expand your portfolio in 2026, these are the areas with the most multi-property landlords:
- London
- Manchester
- Birmingham
- Nottingham
- Glasgow
- Liverpool
- Edinburgh
- Bristol
- Leeds
- Leicester
Similar to the HMO hotspots, it’s unsurprising to see that portfolio landlords focus on big cities with high rental demand and lots of property options to choose from.
London is the fastest-growing area for portfolio landlords, with the number of multi-property landlords increasing by 12 per cent between 2024 and 2025.
Other areas with high growth in multi-landlord insurance policies include:
- Edinburgh (11 per cent)
- Leicester (11 per cent)
- Birmingham (10 per cent)
- Liverpool (nine per cent)
Read more: The ultimate guide to building a property portfolio
Popular buy-to-let investment areas by property type
The type of property you rent out is likely to have an impact on the prospective tenants it attracts.
For example, houses could be more popular with families, while flats may appeal to young professionals, and bungalows could be more suitable for older renters.
We’ve taken a closer look at where the most landlords took out insurance policies for different property types during 2025.
Houses
The top hotspot for detached houses was Nottingham, while London was most popular for terraced and semi-detached houses.
Maisonettes and bungalows
London (particularly the areas of Harrow and Wembley) was the most popular location for landlords renting out maisonettes, followed by Birmingham and Southampton.
Meanwhile, Nottingham, Leicester, and Norwich were the top buy-to-let areas for bungalows.
Flats
The top UK area for flats was London, followed by Scottish cities Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Aberdeen, with Manchester completing the top five.
Useful guides for buy-to-let landlords
- How to do a landlord tax return
- Landlord checklist – what to do before renting out a property
- How can landlords get a buy-to-let remortgage?
- What does landlord insurance cover?
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