This is the highest proportion since the RLA started asking this question regularly in 2016. Some 23% of landlords report an increase in the demand for rental property over the previous three months, with 57% reporting it to be stable.
Just over a quarter of private landlords are looking to sell at least one property over the next year, The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) has found.
This is the highest proportion since the RLA started asking this question regularly in 2016. Some 23% of landlords report an increase in the demand for rental property over the previous three months, with 57% reporting it to be stable.
David Smith, policy director for the Residential Landlords Association, said: “All the talk of longer tenancies will mean nothing if the homes to rent on not there in the first place.
“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.
“Action is needed to stimulate supply with pro-growth taxation and a process for repossessing homes that is fair to all.”
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. Meanwhile 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 argued 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.
