Landlords are claiming that a string of recent data releases demonstrates the failure of government policy for the private rented sector.

The Royal Institution for Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is warning that private sector rents are set to increase by 2% over the next year as a result of the demand for such housing exceeding supply as landlords disinvest from the sector. This follows recent tax increases including restricting mortgage interest relief to the basic rate of income tax and a 3% stamp duty levy on the purchase of extra housing.

Alongside this it has been disclosed that just 18 individual landlords and property agents and five companies are registered on the database of rogue landlords for offences committed since April 2018. The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) argues that this means either the number of problem landlords is not as high as many have argued or local authorities are focusing too much time on licensing good landlords instead of rooting out the criminals.

John Stewart, policy manager at the RLA, said: “This series of statistics clearly shows the negative impact of government policies. At the end of the day it is tenants who are suffering. The drop off in supply caused by good landlords who find operating in the market more difficult means it is increasingly difficult for tenants to secure somewhere to live and they are then faced with higher rents.”