Renters’ Rights Bill forces small private landlords to exit the market

More individual private landlords are leaving the private rented sector ahead of the Renters’ Rights Bill, according to a new survey.

Data by Dwelly reveals a significant drop in the number of landlords, which fell by 1.04%, driven primarily by individual landlords leaving the sector.

The letting agency says the fall in the number of landlords is driven by legislative and financial pressure.

A significant shake-up is inevitably going to push some landlords from the sector

Dwelly analysed the latest government data released at the end of August, looking at the number of landlords declaring rental income between 2019/20 and 2023/24.

The analysis shows that the number of landlords doing so fell to 2.86 million in 2023/24, down 1.04% on the year and marking a clear decline from the five-year peak of 2.89 million reached in 2022/23.

This reduction has been driven by individual landlords, with their numbers falling by 0.7%, while jointly owned set-ups operating via partnerships have remained static.

Sam Humphreys, Head of M&A at Dwelly, says due to legislation such as the Renters’ Rights Bill, many small private landlords are leaving the sector.

He said: “Such a significant shake-up is inevitably going to push some landlords from the sector, and our analysis suggests that it’s the nation’s amateur landlords who are most likely to call time when the Renters’ Rights Bill comes into force.

“This is down to the fact that they simply don’t have the resources to pivot with such monumental changes and it’s understandable given all they have had to contend with following previous legislative changes.”

Wales saw the largest annual drop

According to the data, Wales saw the largest annual drop, with landlord numbers falling by 2.7%.

Yorkshire and the Humber and the South West also saw notable declines at -1.6%, followed by Northern Ireland and the North East at -1.5%.

The South East fell by -1.3%, while in contrast, London was the only region to record an increase, rising 0.4% to 474,000 landlords. Some regions, such as the West Midlands, Channel Islands and Isle of Man, remained static.