Landlords are being forced out of the market warns industry body

Pressure on landlords continues to force them out of the private rented sector as tenant demand continues to jump, says industry body.

Propertymark’s Housing Insight report reveals demand continues to outstrip supply with the average number of applicants per member branch sitting at 10 people for each available.

Propertymark members also report many landlords are worried about the Renters’ Rights Bill, which could become law by summer this year.

Pressure on landlords

Phil Spencer, founder of Move iQ, urges the government to provide more investment for the private rented sector as landlords continue to leave.

He said: “For landlords and renters, the market looks bleak. Pressures on landlords continue to force them out of the market and renters are feeling the brunt of things with a lack of choice and the resulting increases in cost.

“This important sector of the market needs urgent nurturing as the valuable housing option it is.”

Uncertainty around Renters’ Rights Bill

Nathan Emerson, chief executive of Propertymark, echoed Mr Spencer’s thoughts and says more needs to be done to revitalise the sector before it’s too late.

He said: “In the lettings market, there remains no significant progress in the number of available properties to rent, therefore widening the gap between supply and demand.

“We need the UK government’s support to revitalise the market and incentivise investment before it’s too late.”

One Propertymark member in the East Midlands told the report many landlords are considering selling.

The member said: “Lots of uncertainty surrounding the Renters’ Rights Bill is causing concern among landlords, many of which have expressed an interest in selling their properties.”

Rents continue to climb

According to Propertymark’s Housing Insight report, the average number of properties available for rent dropped to 10.41 per member branch.

As rents continue to rise, with Propertymark reporting an increase of £1,381 in England, 32% of people have reported finding it difficult to afford their rent or mortgage payments.

Elsewhere in the report, the sales market saw the average number of new prospective buyers registered per member branch drop to 81 and on average, there were around 10.7 homes placed for sale per member branch.

Mr Emerson says with the stamp duty changes, the market should settle down.

He said: “It’s likely that we will now see a return to a normal pace in the sales market now that the Stamp Duty threshold changes have taken effect in England and Northern Ireland. This spurred on a spike in momentum which is likely to tail off in line with previous trends seen on the back of property tax changes.

“Moving forward however, these additional Stamp Duty changes will likely be absorbed into the overall price of the property allowing a healthy mix of properties and prospective buyers to continue as we move into the historically popular spring and summer months to buy and sell.”

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