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Number of London Landlords Leaving the Market Double the National Average
This article is an external press release originally published on the Landlord News website, which has now been migrated to the Just Landlords blog.
The number of London landlords leaving the buy-to-let market is double the national average, according to figures from ARLA Propertymark (the Association of Residential Letting Agents).
In addition to the data contained in its recent Private Rented Sector Report, for December 2018, ARLA Propertymark questioned its member letting agents over how many of their landlords are leaving the market.
In December last year, letting agent branches in the capital each saw an average of six London landlords sell their properties and exit the buy-to-let sector.
This compares to a national average of four per member branch over the same period, and is double the number of landlords leaving the market in the North East, East Midlands, West Midlands, East of England and the South West, which all averaged three sales per ARLA Propertymark member branch.
David Cox, the Chief Executive of ARLA Propertymark, assesses the reasons for this: “Over the last few years, landlords across the country have been pushed out of the market by increasing costs and legislation, and new investors have been deterred from entering. Last month’s Private Rented Sector results show that the issue has particularly intensified in the capital, which may be the result of landlords starting to receive their first tax bill incorporating the increase in taxes from the mortgage interest relief changes, which came into force last tax year.”
He looks ahead to what effect this might have in the future: “If this trend continues, coupled with the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan’s, recent pledge to introduce rent controls, it will only serve to make the situation worse for London’s renters, as more landlords are forced to sell up.
“As the supply of rental accommodation falls further, tenants will face more competition for properties, which will push up rents on good-quality, well-managed properties, and leave the vulnerable and low-income people, which rent controls are designed to help, in the hands of rogue and criminal operators.”
London landlords, have you sold your rental properties off recently?
