Millennial and Gen Z landlords now account for 60% of new buy-to-let investors in England and Wales, but new analysis from Just Landlords suggests that many may be turning to social media for investment advice rather than seeking regulated guidance.
The insurer warned that younger investors could be missing crucial legal and compliance knowledge by relying on online content.
On TikTok alone there are more than 516,000 posts using the #PropertyInvestment hashtag, with interest in the topic rising 170% over the past three years.
Related hashtags such as #Landlord, with 412,000 posts, and #PassiveIncome, with 3.3m posts, have also fuelled engagement.
The platform sees about 133,000 monthly searches for “property investment” and 22,000 for “property investment for beginners”.
Steve Parker, managing director of Just Landlords, said: “The enthusiasm and curiosity we’re seeing among younger landlords is fantastic, but it’s concerning that many are relying on social media for complex legal and financial advice. When it comes to things like compliance and protection, simple mistakes can be costly.”
The Financial Conduct Authority has cautioned that unregulated financial advice circulating on social media can expose consumers to harm if it is unclear, misleading or produced by individuals who are not authorised to offer guidance.
The FCA’s latest guidance confirms that only firms or individuals authorised by the regulator should provide financial advice, and any content must be fair, clear and not misleading to ensure consumers make informed decisions.
