✅ Updated March 2026
Finding Motivated Landlords for Rent to Rent:
8 Proven Sources
The fastest route to rent to rent deals is finding landlords who are already motivated to find a solution. This guide identifies the 8 best sources of motivated landlords and exactly how to approach each one. For more detail, see how VAT applies to rent to rent.
What This Guide Covers
What Makes a Landlord Motivated for Rent to Rent
A motivated landlord is one who has a problem your service solves. The more acute their problem, the more receptive they will be to your proposition. The most common landlord pain points that drive motivation are:
- Void periods — a property sitting empty while mortgage payments continue
- Problem tenants — late payments, damage, antisocial behaviour
- Distance — landlords who live far from their property and find management difficult
- Time pressure — professional landlords with multiple properties who want to reduce management burden
- Accidental landlords — people who inherited a property or could not sell and became landlords reluctantly
- Tired landlords — experienced landlords who are fed up with the regulatory burden and want a simpler life
Your job is not to persuade every landlord — it is to find the ones who already have a problem and put your solution in front of them at the right time.
The 8 Best Sources of Motivated Landlords
1. Rightmove and Zoopla — stale listings
Properties listed for 3+ weeks without letting. Sort results by ‘Oldest Listed’. These landlords are experiencing voids right now. For more detail, see our Rightmove approach strategy.
2. Facebook marketplace and community groups
Landlords advertising properties to let directly often do so because they have had bad experiences with agents or struggled to find tenants. Search Facebook Marketplace for rental properties in your area.
3. Accidental landlords
People who have inherited a property or moved in with a partner and cannot sell their old home. They often have no landlording experience and find the whole process overwhelming. Find them through probate solicitor networks and word of mouth.
4. HMO licensing enforcement notices
Councils publish lists of properties subject to enforcement action or improvement notices. A landlord facing a costly compliance requirement is often very open to handing over management to a professional.
5. Letting agents with void stock
Build relationships with local letting agents. Agents sometimes have properties on their books with persistent voids that they struggle to fill. They may refer these landlords to you. For more detail, see how to approach estate agents.
6. Property networking events
Property investment clubs, HMO networking events, and local landlord association meetings attract exactly the people you want to meet. Become a regular presence and you will build relationships that generate referrals.
7. Direct mail to postcodes with high rental density
Use Land Registry data to identify areas with high concentrations of rental properties, then run a targeted letter campaign to those addresses.
8. Your personal network
Tell everyone you know what you do. Accountants, solicitors, mortgage brokers, and other professionals who work with landlords will refer motivated clients to you if they know you exist. For more detail, see finding the right accountant.
How to Approach a Motivated Landlord
When you identify a motivated landlord, your approach should be warm, professional, and focused on their problem — not your product:
- Start with empathy — acknowledge their situation before pitching. ‘I can see your property has been on the market for a while — that must be frustrating with costs still running.’
- Explain the solution simply — ‘What I do is take on properties like yours on a long-term management arrangement. I guarantee you a fixed monthly rent regardless of voids and handle everything — tenants, compliance, maintenance.’
- Remove the risk — ‘There’s no cost to you to explore this. I’m happy to meet at the property, run the numbers, and show you exactly what you would receive.’
- Ask for the meeting — the goal of the initial approach is always to secure a face-to-face meeting. Do not try to close the deal by phone or email.
Frequently Asked Questions
What type of landlord is most likely to say yes to rent to rent?
Landlords who have experienced recent voids, problem tenants, or who are managing from a distance are the most receptive. Accidental landlords and tired landlords who want simplicity are also highly motivated. The more acute their current pain, the more attractive your guaranteed rent solution will be. For more detail, see how to deal with bad tenants.
How many landlords do I need to contact to close one rent to rent deal?
Expect to contact 30–60 landlords to generate 5–10 meaningful conversations, and 5–10 conversations to close one deal. Conversion rates improve significantly with experience — an operator who has completed 10+ deals will close a higher proportion of conversations than someone on their first deal. For more detail, see how to land your first rent-to-rent deal.
Should I target landlords with one property or portfolio landlords?
Both are valid targets. Single-property landlords are often more emotionally motivated (more acute pain) and easier to find through portal listings. Portfolio landlords may be harder to reach but represent a bigger opportunity — winning one portfolio landlord can give you 3–5 properties simultaneously.
Never Run Out of Landlord Leads Again
Property Accelerator teaches you a complete system for finding and converting motivated landlords — so your rent to rent business always has a full pipeline.
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