Landlord rent incomes hit record
3 weeks ago | 5 comments
Tenants face rent squeeze as landlord supply falls – RICS
8:01 AM, 11th June 2026, 3 weeks ago
8
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Landlords are facing renewed rent pressure as tenant demand rises and the supply of available homes remains constrained.
The latest RICS UK Residential Market Survey for May shows tenant demand recorded a net balance of +14%, while landlord instructions stayed firmly negative at -28%.
Rent expectations strengthened to +36%, the highest reading since May last year, as members continued to report pressure in the lettings market.
House prices down
House prices continued to edge lower with the net balance staying at -35% for the second month in a row.
Respondents in the South East and East Anglia reported stronger downward pressure on prices, while Northern Ireland continued to record price growth.
Near-term sales expectations improved to -25%, after readings of -32% and -34% in the previous two reports.
Over 12 months, sales expectations moved into neutral territory at +2%.
Price expectations remained weaker over the next three months, with a net balance of -45% expecting prices to fall.
Activity downturn stabilising
The organisation’s head of market research and analysis, Tarrant Parsons, said: “The latest survey data suggest the recent downturn in activity may be beginning to stabilise, with several key indicators broadly holding steady.
“However, as they remain in negative territory, it would be premature to interpret this as the start of a recovery.”
He added: “The decline in CPI inflation to 2.8% in April provided some temporary relief, but the Bank of England has signalled that further inflationary pressures are likely as higher energy costs continue to pass through.
“Against this backdrop, the prospect of further rate rises cannot be dismissed, and until there is greater clarity, market sentiment is likely to remain fragile.”
Sales market remains weak
The RICS report also shows the sales market remaining weaker with new buyer enquiries posting a net balance of -34% in May,
That’s unchanged from April and marks the first time since January that the headline demand indicator has not moved further into negative territory.
Agreed sales also held at -37% with more respondents reporting falling sales than rising sales.
Completion times lengthened again, rising to 21.5 weeks, the longest recorded since the dataset began in 2017.
Property sector reaction to the RICS UK Residential Market Survey
Tom Bill, the head of UK residential research at Knight Frank, said: “The Renters’ Rights Act has led to tight supply in the lettings market as more landlords sell up, which has ultimately made life tougher for tenants by pushing rents higher.
“The prospect of stricter regulations around energy performance certificates means other landlords are considering doing the same, which will keep upwards pressure on rents.
“It highlights the unintended consequences of government interventions in the housing market.”
Tomer Aboody, the director of specialist lender MT Finance, said: “With a further decline in demand and transactions, there is a lack of confidence in the market as buyers adopt a cautious approach.
“As the Chancellor targets landlords further with higher stamp duty for those buying second homes, would-be tenants are seeing rents increase as a consequence of lower supply.
“This demonstrates that further punishing landlords has the opposite impact to what the market actually needs.
“Until there comes a time when the government doesn’t regard landlords as the enemy, the fallout will be felt by tenants.”
Tags:
Housing market, landlord supply, Property market, rent expectations, RICS residential survey, tenant demand, uk rents
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Member Since July 2013 - Comments: 136
10:00 AM, 11th June 2026, About 3 weeks ago
I had 6 family rental properties in 2016 and srarted to sell after section 24. This effectively meant having to pay tax on the mortgages as if it was a income. More and more regulations with no help from councils to evict bad tenants.
All properties sold by last year as things were looking bad for small decent landlord.
Does anyone have the figures for how many rental properties were sold since 2016, it has to be a large figure so has to be harder for families to rent.
Well done government, how much income have you lost in landlord taxes?
Member Since May 2017 - Comments: 805
10:17 AM, 11th June 2026, About 3 weeks ago
Well done government, how much has housing the homeless in B & B’s cost you?
Member Since June 2025 - Comments: 1
1:44 PM, 11th June 2026, About 3 weeks ago
They simply have no clue…
Member Since February 2014 - Comments: 44
3:01 PM, 11th June 2026, About 3 weeks ago
This is by far the worst government of my 71 years and the last wasn’t much better, I sold one late last year and am selling another next month and then one a year until they are all gone it just isn’t worth all the stress and hassle anymore I’m aching with all the kicking this Gov has given me and there’s more coming.
Member Since June 2026 - Comments: 2
6:33 PM, 11th June 2026, About 3 weeks ago
The instructions number is the one to watch, and it probably understates what’s coming. Supply doesn’t fall evenly, the leveraged tail goes first. In the records there are roughly 38,000 owners carrying short-term bridge debt that can tip into distress as it matures, and just over a thousand property companies already in formal distress, up almost threefold year on year. When those exits happen the homes rarely come back as rentals, so a -28% instructions reading converts into rent pressure with a lag. What this survey is picking up is earlier financing stress arriving in the lettings data. (Our research at GalimAI, from Companies House and Land Registry filings.)
Member Since June 2026 - Comments: 1
9:21 AM, 12th June 2026, About 3 weeks ago
I have four rented properties and I’m going through the process of selling Two, if nothing changes tax wise the other two will follow.
I have rented house for 40 plus years and have never known so much pressure to keep to regulations and make a profit.
This government is just going over everything to see where they can squeeze tax, it’s aroad to nowhere.
M
Member Since April 2023 - Comments: 4
6:41 PM, 13th June 2026, About 3 weeks ago
Hi All,
I am 72 and have been renting properties for over 35 years with the majority of our portfolio being in North Wales. We have a mixed portfolio with half our properties in a Ltd company and the other half owned by our parthership(my wife who by the way is 76 & I). We own and manage all of our properties which number between both entities 34 and we have decided to sell the company and are considering taking a hit on the value just to get out of this over regulated, over taxed situation that when we started represented a simple almost hassle free( I say almost if you have good tenants)way to earn a crust with a growing inflation proofed investment. This government in the main plus the previous conservative one have destroyed the incentives for landlords to invest in properties. It’s a crazy situation where us landlords are now giving new tenants the keys to properties where with the protected deposit money included have paid us no more than 1% of the property value. With new renting rules it could be many months to get your property back if a tenant defaults and that’s only if a judge treats the situation by the law book which invariably they don’t. Landlords are treated appallingly by the courts.
It is no surprise landlords want out when tenancies end and I’m one of them.
Member Since June 2019 - Comments: 873
7:14 PM, 13th June 2026, About 3 weeks ago
So if sales are down around 35% why has the completion time increased, I suspect conveyancing staff dragging their heels so they do not run out of work.