The life-long maintenance of haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) critically relies on environmental signals produced by cells that constitute the haematopoietic niche. Here we report a cell-intrinsic mechanism whereby haematopoietic cells limit proliferation within the bone marrow, and show that this pathway is repressed by E-selectin ligand 1 (ESL-1). Mice defificient in ESL-1 display aberrant HSPC quiescence, expansion of the immature pool and reduction in niche size. Remarkably, the traits were transplantable and dominant when mutant and wild-type precursors coexisted in the same environment, but were independent of E-selectin, the vascular receptor for ESL-1. Instead, quiescence is generated by unrestrained production of the cytokine TGFb by mutant HSPC, and in vivo or in vitro blockade of the cytokine completely restores the homeostatic properties of the haematopoietic niche. These fifindings reveal that haematopoietic cells, including the more primitive compartment, can actively shape their own environment.