Accidental Landlords Near Record High as Home Sellers Turn to Rentals: Report

A rental sign is posted in front of a Miami home on Dec. 12, 2023. Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesThe number of “accidental landlords”—homeowners who initially listed their properties for sale but pulled their listings after a few weeks and instead offered their homes for rent—has risen to near-record highs, online real estate company Zillow said.Unsold listings that are now offered as rental properties accounted for 2.3 percent of all housing inventory currently listed on Zillow, the company reported on March 11. It’s the highest number of homeowners turning their properties into rentals since November 2022, when accidental landlords reached 2.4 percent, Zillow noted.