As Peers prepare to debate the Government’s Renters (Reform) Bill today, the NRLA has warned that landlords exiting the sector are the ‘biggest threat’ to renters as supply narrows and rents continue to rise rapidly.
One borough in London saw rents rise by 27% over the past 12 months while overall they increased by some 11% across the UK, according to letting agency Benham & Reeves.
The NRLA says its claim is based on new official data that reveals 45% of those facing homelessness who needed help from their local council cited their private landlord wanting to sell the property as the key reason.
This, the membership organisation says, further exposes the supply crisis across the private rented sector.
While supply is dwindling, 83% of landlords quizzed by the NRLA said demand for their properties was strong but a third said they planned to cut the number of properties they rent out, while just 9% planned to expand their portfolio.
“Landlords selling up is the single biggest challenge renters face,” says Ben Beadle (main image), Chief Executive of the NRLA.
“The only answer is to ensure responsible landlords have the confidence to stay in the market and sustain tenancies. As Peers debate the Renters (Reform) Bill, it is vital that it works for landlords as well as tenants.
“As it stands it would achieve this balance. We are calling on Peers to support the Bill to give the sector certainty about the future. More broadly, all parties need to accept widespread calls for policies to boost supply in the private rented sector.”
Ben Twomey (pictured) Chief Executive of Generation Rent, says: "Long term, if landlords sell up it makes little difference to the housing market. Bricks and mortar do not sink into the ground, and the home could be bought by another landlord, a first-time buyer or even repurposed for social housing.
"There will always be some landlords wanting to sell, for example because they are retiring or because their mortgages have become too costly.
"The short-term issue is that tenants have an appalling lack of protection when landlords choose to sell up – even under the new Renters (Reform) Bill as proposed, tenants would only have two months’ notice when evicted for this reason. Landlord groups won’t lift a finger to improve this position for tenants, while using the risk of homelessness to demand their own concessions from government."
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