The head of a leading PropTech company is forecasting a major shake-up in how the private rental sector will look by 2026.

A director at the lettings agents’ software firm has outlined four key areas where he expects significant change over the next year.

He predicts a rapid increase in consolidation, saying: “In 2026, more smaller landlords will decide it isn’t worth it anymore and smaller agencies will also look to exit. The regulatory pressure, the compliance burden, the margin squeeze: it adds up. The ones staying in are either scaling up or finding a specific niche they can own.”

New younger landlords will have new expectations, he forecasts: “The landlords coming into the market now are more digitally native. They’ve grown up with different expectations around communication, transparency, and data access. Agencies still operating the way they did five years ago are going to struggle to win them.”

The trend is shifting toward longer tenancies, not shorter he continues: “Periodic tenancies are making people nervous about churn, but I think the opposite will happen in reality. With supply and demand where it is, tenants are going to want to stay put. We’re moving toward something closer to the German model – people renting for years, not months.”

The agencies that are ready with the changes will be out on front he says. “May 1 2026 will expose who has and hasn’t done the work: the ones who trained their teams on Section 8, built out Section 13 workflows, and communicated clearly with landlords, will come out on top. Next year, preparation will pay off”.