‘Rents will soar and landlords quit’ due to tenants reform Bill

LAWS making it harder to evict tenants sparked fears of a “serious housing crisis” yesterday.

Experts say the Renters Reform Bill could force hundreds of thousands of landlords out of the market, pushing rents up as more tenants compete for fewer homes.

The move comes as estate agents Hamptons reported monthly rents outside London had breached £1,000 for the first time.

Tory MP Craig Mackinlay said: “The reality is landlords will abandon the market and we will have a very serious housing crisis on our hands.

“I’m worried about landlords leaving the market.There’s a huge amount of disquiet about this.

“From colleagues I’m talking to, they’re not happy.We have seen too much of a war against landlords.”

Evictions

A cornerstone of the Bill, which is set to become law next year, is Section 21, which scraps “no-fault” evictions. It will make it harder for landlords to remove tenants who refuse to pay their rent or damage the property.

Landlords will lose power to raise rents more than once a year, cannot refuse to let to those with children and must show why requests to have pets are unreasonable.

Meanwhile the number planning to sell rented properties has reached its highest rate on record.

In the first three months of this year, 33 per cent of private owners in England andWales planned to cut the number of properties they let.That is up from 20 per cent who said the same thing last year.

Just 10 per cent plan to increase the number of properties they rent out. The planned disinvestment comes despite demand being at a record high, according to research commissioned by the National Residential Landlords Association.

More than two thirds (67 per cent) of landlords said demand for properties from prospective tenants was increasing – and the NRLA says the supply crisis will deepen further.

NRLA chief executive

Ben Beadle said: “Renters are bearing the brunt of the supply crisis.Without change, matters will only worsen.

“The Government needs to reverse its damaging tax hikes on the sector, which have discouraged the provision of the homes tenants desperately need.

“Moreover, responsible landlords need to have confidence that they can take back possession of their properties swiftly and effectively when they have good reason to when Section 21 ends.”

Damian Thompson, of Nationwide Building Society, said: “Government must not lose sight of the mounting pressure landlords face through interest rate rises, rental arrears and the need for certainty over increased EPC [energy performance certificate] requirements.

“If these are not adequately addressed, it will drive good landlords out of the sector, further exacerbating the under-supply of privately rented homes.”