The landlord exodus continues, but no one in power seems to care

Another week, another set of grim headlines for the UK’s landlords, yet the national news remains eerily silent on the issue.

On Property118, three stories paint a stark picture of a private rented sector in crisis, with landlords leaving in droves.

If policymakers and housing ministers like Matthew Pennycook – and even the Conservative shadow housing minister Baroness Taylor in the Lords – choose to ignore this trend, they do so at their peril.

They might plead ignorance over the facts or want evidence of a landlord exodus, but the consequences could be catastrophic, not just for landlords but for tenants, communities and the economy.

Prime landlords quit

First, an analysis from Knight Frank, reveals that London’s most sought-after lettings markets are in upheaval.

Landlords are offloading prime properties in response to the impending Renters’ Rights Bill, which promises stricter eviction rules and heightened risks for rent arrears.

Combined with tougher Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) requirements and soaring mortgage rates, the Bill is already prompting sales, reducing availability and inevitably pushing rents higher.

If landlords with prime properties can’t make the numbers work, who can?

Landlords consider leaving

The situation isn’t limited to London’s elite areas. Aldermore’s research shows that nearly one in three landlords is considering quitting the PRS altogether.

Escalating maintenance costs, tougher regulations and, again, the looming Renters’ Rights Bill are driving this exodus.

Worryingly, 34% of landlords cite soaring maintenance costs as their primary concern, matched by an equal number worried about the Bill’s impact.

Nearly a third have already started selling properties, exacerbating the scarcity of rental homes.

Demand outstrips supply

Propertymark’s Housing Insight report adds to the alarm with tenant demand continuing to outstrip supply, with an average of 10 applicants per available property at member branches.

Landlords, already under pressure, are leaving and Propertymark says they are increasingly worried about the Bill, which could become law by summer.

As supply dwindles and demand spikes, the pressure on rents will only intensify.

Government to blame

This growing trend of landlords selling up isn’t new, but it appears to be accelerating – and it’s entirely down to government policies.

Take Section 24, for instance, which makes renting more expensive by taxing landlords on turnover rather than profit, effectively turning them into unpaid tax collectors for the government.

Then there’s the frozen Local Housing Allowance (LHA), set significantly below the 30th percentile it’s supposed to reflect.

Rents might be high, but landlords aren’t profiting.

We struggle with tax burdens, mortgage interest, maintenance costs and insurance which are rising faster than inflation, squeezing margins to breaking point.

All the while negative media stories about us proliferate.

Landlord critics

Organisations like Shelter and Generation Rent, often vocal critics of landlords, are part of the problem too.

They need a quick lesson in economics rather than carrying out surveys and campaigns that demonise landlords, yet they do little, or nothing, to provide actual roofs over heads.

The irony is palpable: these groups claim everyone deserves a safe, secure place to live without sacrifice, but it’s landlords who make all the sacrifices – only to be labelled as ‘rogue’ enemies.

The government and these advocacy groups seem determined to ignore basic economics.

Anti-landlord policies, increased regulation and taxation are driving landlords and their rental properties out of the market.

The only realistic solution is for policymakers to shift their mindset toward supportive policies for landlords.

If costs to landlords fall and supply increases, rents would naturally drop.

It’s simple supply and demand, yet the government appears wilfully blind to this simple fact.

When landlords leave

If this trend continues unchecked, the future is bleak.

I’ve told critics that they should wait until most private landlords have sold up to banks and housing associations.

Rents could double or triple as the market consolidates into a few monopolistic giants, much like the energy and water companies have done.

Regular maintenance will become a rarity, you just have to look at what is happening to social and council homes, and the right to be housed could devolve into the right to a cardboard box on the street.

Sadly, we’ve been here before – in the 1970s, when rental availability plummeted. History warns us: be careful what you wish for.

Homelessness will grow

Critics might argue that homes don’t disappear – they’re just sold or bought by larger landlords. But who benefits?

This is an unpalatable opinion for many people, but it appears increasingly to be true: often, those benefitting are those who’ve recently arrived in the country.

They’ve been handed safe, decent homes while long-term residents end up in homeless accommodation for a long time.

In London, the social housing waiting list is more than 100 years while social media carries footage of someone being prioritised and getting a home after just two weeks in the country.

That is simply wrong.

The government, Shelter and Generation Rent may think they’re champions of tenants, but their policies are fuelling a slippery slope toward widespread homelessness.

Landlords, the wake-up call is here.

We need policymakers to take real action, not turn a blind eye.

The PRS is on the brink, and without change, we’re all headed for a housing crisis none of us can afford.

Until next time,

The Landlord Crusader