Up to a million properties could be unavailable for residents looking to rent in the private sector, according to the Arla Propertymark.

Arla attributes this to landlords exiting the market in favour of short term lets due to the legislation changes made by the government.

Data collected by the company shows that 10 per cent of landlords are ‘likely’ to consider switching to offer short-term lets, which would equally an estimated 230,000 properties. Including landlords that are ‘fairly likely’ to consider changing from offering long-term lets to short-term lets, the overall number of properties rises to 470,000.

Looking at the growth in short-term lets, the number of listings on Airbnb in the UK rose by 33 per cent between 2017 and 2018, from 168,000 to 223,000.

The data shows that 16 per cent of landlords said they only offer short-term tenancies, and a further 7 per cent offer both short-term and long-term lets.

Overall, 2.7 per cent of landlords have already changed from long-term lets to short-term lets, which equates to 46,000 properties.

Arla Propertymark chief executive David Cox says: “The growth in short-term lets is particularly concerning for the traditional private rented sector.

“As landlords are continuously faced with increased levels of legislation, it is no surprise they are considering short-term lets as a chance to escape this.

“Unless the sector is made more attractive, landlords will continue to exit the market resulting in less available properties and increased rent costs.”