12:01 AM, 18th May 2026, 54 seconds ago
Sheffield city centre is set to face the sharpest pressure from the Renters’ Rights Act, with a new analysis putting the private rented sector at 77% of all homes in the S1 postcode.
Inventory Base analysed housing stock at postcode district level to identify where the Act is likely to have the greatest operational effect on landlords and letting agents.
The firm says the Act’s impact will not be felt evenly across England, because some urban markets have a far heavier concentration of privately rented homes than others.
Sheffield’s S1 postcode tops the table, where 77% of dwellings are in the private rented sector, and social housing accounts for a further 11% of homes.
Inspect properties
The firm’s operations director, Sián Hemming-Metcalfe, said: “High-density rental markets aren’t going to experience this reform gradually, they’ll absorb it all at once.
“When over half the housing stock sits in the PRS, every regulatory change scales instantly.
“More properties to inspect, more compliance points to evidence, and more opportunities for disputes if standards aren’t met.”
She added: “The removal of Section 21 shifts the balance of risk, but the real pressure sits in execution.
“Meeting tighter safety expectations, maintaining consistent property standards, and evidencing that work properly (at volume) is where most operators will feel the strain.”
Areas with dense PRS
The inventory platform’s data shows that London’s EC3 ranks second, with privately rented homes making up 73% of local housing stock.
Leeds city centre follows, with LS1 at 71% and LS2 at 68%.
Manchester’s M1 and M2 postcodes are both at 68%.
Birmingham’s B2 and Liverpool’s L2 each record private rented sector concentrations of 65%, while London’s EC4 and Nottingham’s NG1 both stand at 64%.
Across England, 39 postcode districts have private rented sector concentrations of 50% or more.