Tenants living in the North West were the most affected – with 46% of landlords reporting an increase in the region.
David Cox, managing director of Association of Residential Letting Agents, said: “It is interesting that we have seen an increase in the amount of landlords selling their buy-to-let properties in the last month, which is likely to have been a result of political uncertainty.
“We know that Labour’s plans within the PRS were unpopular for many landlords and agents, so this increase in those selling their buy-to-let properties may have been a knee jerk reaction to the possibility of Labour’s proposals coming in to practice.”
Most (90%) agents were happy with the Conservative government’s victory at the UK general election as the Tories seem less likely to interfere with the market than Labour.
With Labour’s rent cap proposals thrown out, eight in 10 (79%) ARLA agents predicted rents tol increase over the next five years.
The number of buy-to-let landlords selling up increased significantly from March to April, ARLA reported. This is particularly the case in London, where the number of sold properties per branch has risen from three to six over the period.
Cox added: “It is going to be interesting to see what happens in the market in the next few months following the election result and whether we see an increase in supply of rented accommodation as a result of the Conservative’s promise to build 200,000 new starter homes offered at 20% discount to first-time buyers.
“This policy will help first-time buyers make that leap onto the housing ladder and as a result this will hopefully free up rental property.
“Hopefully, now the country is under less political uncertainty, we will begin to see the market pick up again and with the policies on offer in both the rental sector and housing market we should see the overall market heading into the right direction.”
