The chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association has told MPs to their faces that landlord confidence is at a record low, which could have a catastrophic impact on supply.
Ben Beadle made the remark during evidence to the Renters Reform Bill committee stage, where he appeared alongside Theresa Wallace, the Savills agent who is chair of the Lettings Industry Council.
Beadle described the County Courts system as being “on its knees” requiring reform if it is to cope with the fall out of the government’s Renters Rights Bill.
“We have been tracking sentiment of our members for the last 12 years and it’s at a record low, with only about 10% of landlords actively looking to invest and around a third looking to dispose of properties or exit the sector completely. We can see this in the significant number of sections 21s being used where the reason is the landlord is selling” he told the committee.
The committee consists of 16 MPs in addition to Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook: 10 are Labour MPs, three Conservatives, two Liberal Democrats and one Green MP.
Asked whether he considers current rent levels “fair and affordable” Beadle agreed the 8.4% increase seen over the year to September 2024 was “high by any measure” but insisted the rise was down to a lack of stock and the lack of properties.
He told members: “It can’t be normal that 21 people are competing for each property to let… the market is not normal, and issues are not going to be resolved by this Bill. There’s lots of good stuff, but it tinkers round the edges of the fundamental issue here which is supply … We need a vibrant private rented sector.”
Beadle called for resources to allow courts to be digitised and automatically link successful possession orders to the bailiffs’ service.
“We are currently waiting seven months on average to get possession of our homes – and that’s fast tracked. When we move to section 8, [using grounds] it will require more resource and more scrutiny – without this we are not going to see further investment. Our argument has always been about confidence and striking a balance.”
Ben told the committee the association does not oppose the abolition of section 21 provided the replacement is fair and workable, but has concerns the government has reneged on promises for “robust grounds.”
Meanwhile Theresa Wallace told MPs that landlords were scared by the Bill and are already leaving the sector with demand up and supply down.She said this is not just impacting rents, but the tenants able to secure tenancies, warning it is those the Bill was designed to help that are the ones who are being penalised.
This article is taken from Landlord Today