The proportion of private landlords who report increased demand for rental properties has more than tripled compared with demand for properties seen before the COVID pandemic, reveals research from the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA).
Some 71% of landlords reported increased tenant demand in Q3 2023, a record high.
This is up from 65% the same time last year, and 22% in Q3 2019 before Covid-19 lockdown measures were introduced by the government.
Demand is strongest in the West Midlands — where 76% of landlords reported increased tenant demand — followed by 75% saying the same in Wales and 74% in the South East (excluding London).
Despite record demand, more than one in 10 (12%) landlords said they sold property in Q3 2023.
This is more than double the 5% of landlords who confirmed they purchased property in the same period.
Similarly, 28% of respondents said they plan to cut the number of properties they rent out over the next 12 months — contrasting with the 8% of landlords who plan to increase the number they let over the coming year.
The NRLA warns that the ongoing imbalance between the demand for, and supply of, private rented housing will continue to erode the purchasing power of tenants.
In addition, without measures from the government to support the supply of private rented housing, tenants will continue to struggle to hold rogue and criminal landlords to account given the shortage of alternative accommodation across the sector.
Ben Beadle, CEO at the NRLA, said: “Would-be renters face a desperate situation as ever-growing numbers seek to access a dwindling number of available homes.
“The government needs to accept the folly of a tax system that makes investment in holiday lets more sustainable than long term homes to rent.
“We need pro-growth tax measures.
“This should include ending the stamp duty levy on the purchase of homes to rent out, as well as reversing mortgage interest relief changes which have hit the sector hard.”
