Quarter of private sector landlords are looking to sell, new survey finds

international rentals

A quarter of landlords in the private rented sector are looking to sell at least one property over the next year which could lead to a shortage of homes to rent, according to new research.

Just over 25% are looking to sell, a survey of 2,500 landlords by the Residential Landlords Association has found, the highest proportion since the RLA started asking this question regularly in 2016.

The same survey shows that 23% of landlords report an increase in the demand for rental property over the previous three months, with 57% reporting it to be stable while over a third of landlords reported low levels of confidence in the private rented sector over the next 12 months.

The results come following the publication of Government data earlier this year which found that that 10% of private landlords, representing 18% of tenancies plan, to decrease the number of properties they rent out, while 5% of landlords, representing 5% of tenancies, plan to sell all of their properties.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has warned that the imbalance between supply and demand in the rental market is expected to see rent increases averaging 3% per annum over the next five years.

Amidst the rental home supply crisis that tenants now face, the RLA argues that it is vital that landlords retain confidence to provide the homes to rent that are desperately needed. This means ensuring that new regulations governing how landlords can regain possession of their properties in legitimate circumstances are fair and effective both for landlords and the tenants.

‘All the talk of longer tenancies will mean nothing if the homes to rent on not there in the first place,’ said David Smith, RLA policy director.

‘The Government’s tax increases on the sector are already making it difficult for tenants to find a place to live, with many landlords not renewing tenancies. If rushed and not thought through, planned changes to the way landlords can repossess properties risk making the situation even worse,’ he pointed out.

‘Action is needed to stimulate supply with pro-growth taxation and a process for repossessing homes that is fair to all,’ he added.