A third of private sector landlords would sell rental properties if rent controls were introduced, a poll by the National Residential Landlords Association reveals.

The data, compiled by Pegasus Insight, found that in the second quarter, 82% of landlords in England and Wales reported strong demand for properties from tenants.

Demand was strongest in the South West, followed by the South East, the East of England and the East Midlands.

The North East had the lowest levels of demand, with 68% of landlords describing it as strong.

But despite strong demand, landlords were twice as likely to have sold properties over the previous year than to have purchased rental homes.

The data shows that 8% had bought properties to rent out, compared with 17% who had sold.

Looking to the year ahead, while 10% said they planned to purchase new homes to rent out, one-third planned to sell over the same period.

Furthermore, amid calls by policymakers for rent controls, the research found that 33% of landlords said this would lead them to sell some, or all, of their rental properties.

Earlier this year, The Mayor of London promised to build more than 6,000 rent-controlled homes and “pursue dodgy landlords” who don’t follow the rules by getting up to two years of rent back for tenants.

In April, prior to being re-elected as Mayor, Labour’s Sadiq Khan said: “I’ve been calling for the power to freeze rents in the capital for years, but the government has refused. I’m not willing to stand by and do nothing so I commit to delivering new rent control homes across London, with 6,000 in the first phase.”

In Scotland, rent controls were introduced in September 2022. Last April, a rent cap was set at 3% in most instances, which was in effect until the end of March this year.

The Scottish government introduced a wide-ranging Housing Bill in March, which requires local authorities to assess rents in their area at least every five years and recommend whether ministers should impose rent controls.

However, in light of the governing Scottish National Party’s collapse of power-sharing with the Green Party and poor election results last month, Scottish minister for housing Paul McLennan is reviewing key parts of the legislation.

NRLA chief executive Ben Beadle says: “Whichever way you look at it there are more renters looking for a place to live than there are homes available.”

“Ultimately rent controls would be a disaster for tenants. All they would do is choke off supply further, undermining what little choice tenants currently have when looking for somewhere to live.”

“Housing is expensive because we don’t have enough of every type of property, be it for owner occupation, social rent or private rent. The only way to solve this crisis is to boost supply right across the board.”