Half of tenants who left their rented homes last year were forced to do so because their landlord wanted to sell, a survey reveals.
According to the rental confidence index from PayProp, it reveals that of the property professionals surveyed, 50% said 'Landlords selling the property' was the number one reason for tenants moving.
This is in stark contrast to evictions, which were only a factor in 11.3% of cases.
Tenant rights group Generation Rent is among those warning that the trend of landlords selling up is a major contributor to homelessness.
Landlords are actively selling properties
The survey also revealed that more than half (54.5%) of landlords are actively selling properties and 67% of properties sold by landlords are purchased by first-time buyers.
The automated rental payment platform's managing director, Neil Cobbold, said: "We know from our survey that the majority of homes sold by landlords are purchased by first time buyers.
"So, every time a landlord puts a house up for sale, it will generally be permanently lost to the private rented sector (PRS).
"These buyers are generally also the more well-off tenants who are best equipped to deal with the steep PRS price increases we are seeing."
He added: "That loss of stock and well-financed tenants puts the PRS under pressure, with fewer homes to rent and lots of pent-up demand from less well-off tenants, which in turn can lead to higher rental prices as they compete for the remaining properties."
Landlords might be thinking about retiring
Mr Cobbold continued: "The question we should be asking is 'Why are so many landlords selling properties?'
"One reason may be the age of the average landlord, which according to the latest English Private Landlord Survey was 58 in 2021.
"By now, they may be thinking about retirement and taking the money they have invested in property as an annuity."
He adds: "However, in other cases, a lack of profitability will be an issue.
"A number of factors – an absence of tax reform to address mortgage costs; higher buy to let mortgage rates; increased regulation and the headlines around the abolition of Section 21 evictions – have all combined to make life uncomfortable for many landlords."
Keep landlords in the PRS
Mr Cobbold says that the government needs to find a way to keep landlords in the PRS - and to encourage investment.
If nothing is done, he says, rented home supply will remain under pressure and rents will continue rising.
The index also highlights that most property professionals know about the Renters (Reform) Bill which has reached the House of Lords.
However, 51% of respondents were positive about the future of the PRS, 13% had a negative - and 13% said they would leave the PRS in the next five years.
Issue of landlords selling up
The issue of landlords selling up has been in the headlines recently.
The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) has said that landlords selling up is the 'single biggest threat' to tenants.
It used government data to find that 45% of households that needed council support did so because of a landlord selling.
Ben Beadle, the NRLA's chief executive, said: "Landlords selling up is the single biggest challenge renters face.
"The only answer is to ensure responsible landlords have the confidence to stay in the market and sustain tenancies."
He says that the Renters (Reform) Bill needs to work for landlords as well as tenants and help boost supply in the PRS.
A leading cause of homelessness
Before the NRLA's statement, renter campaign group Generation Rent had warned that 'landlords selling properties is a leading cause of homelessness'.
But its chief executive, Ben Twomey, replied to the NRLA's claim by saying: "Landlord lobby groups have taken to quoting Generation Rent's concern that 'Landlords selling properties is a leading cause of homelessness', and are cynically using this to hold Parliament hostage to the idea that they will sell up over even the smallest strengthening of tenants' rights.
"Long term, if landlords sell up it makes little difference to the housing market.
"There will always be some landlords wanting to sell, for example, because they are retiring or because their mortgages have become too costly."
'Evidence that landlords are selling up'
Simon Thompson, the managing director of Accommodation for Students, said: "Regardless of what is being said, there is evidence that landlords are selling up.
"The reasons why can be debated but growing numbers don't like what they see in the Renters (Reform) Bill.
"Others will be struggling to make the numbers work with higher interest rates but we all want to see a thriving PRS."
He added: "We need to see a strong supply of homes to rent to help keep rent rises down for tenants and the encouragement of landlords to remain in the sector."
