RLA: Landlords losing confidence

Landlords are the least confident in London.

RLA: Landlords losing confidence

Landlords are losing confidence with 55.1% of private landlords in Q3 having said they are less confident about the market, the Confidence Index from the Residential Landlords Association (RLA) has found.

About a third (34%) of landlords are planning to sell property over the next year - compared to 22% two years ago.

Just 13% plan to purchase at least one property to rent out, down from 18% two years ago.

Confidence is at its lowest in London and Wales and highest in the West Midlands followed by the North East and Yorkshire and The Humber.

David Smith, policy director for the RLA, said: “We warned the government that the tax increases they have imposed on landlords would be counter-productive and these figures show how right we were.

“All they are achieving is driving landlords to leave the market, damage investment and so making it more difficult for tenants to find somewhere suitable to live.

“Whoever is in government following the election needs to completely change the approach and start to support good landlords to encourage them to invest to meet the rising demand for rented housing.”