The undiscovered asset class
Shared housing is an increasingly crucial part of the housing stock — affordable homes for people who don't wish to, or can't afford to, buy or rent alone. The sector has been run so badly for so long that serious capital has stayed away. That is the opportunity.
Resilient income
Rent is split across multiple tenants, so a property is never totally empty. Vacancies are fractional rather than binary — one room turning over doesn't stop the other seven paying.
Structurally limited supply
You can't easily create new HMOs. They are existing buildings that require licensing, and councils are increasingly reluctant to grant new permissions under local planning restrictions.
Demand rising
Rents are outstripping wage growth, so tenants are searching for better economics. A bills-inclusive room leaves more room to save than a whole flat, with more independence than staying at home.
Higher yields
Room-by-room letting produces gross yields far above single-family rentals — when the asset is run properly. Operations, not acquisition, is where HMO returns are made or lost.
Low carbon per tenant
Using existing housing effectively reduces the carbon impact of new builds, and eight people under one well-insulated roof have a far smaller footprint than eight people in eight flats.
A professionalising sector
Tax, licensing, planning and energy rules are forcing traditional landlords out — experienced landlords are exiting at record rates. Professional operators are consolidating the stock they leave behind.
A £78 billion asset class at a structural inflection point
Institutions are entering the sector for the first time — Brookfield's recent acquisition of a 997-bed HMO portfolio signals where the market is heading. Meanwhile tax, licensing and energy rules are pushing amateur landlords out: in 2025, 16% of all property sales were formerly rented homes. Professional operators are consolidating the stock they leave behind.
The asset class only works if the operations do
Running HMOs used to be easy and profitable. It is now genuinely hard: tighter licensing, hostile planning, rising energy costs and higher tenant expectations. Most of what operators call maintenance is fixing what wasn't built properly the first time — the single largest cause of uneven cashflow. Solve maintenance and control energy, and the income is reliable and predictable.
That is why we publish our building and maintenance principles and run every property to one operating method.
Book a call