Thousands of landlords are planning to release properties from their portfolios amidst challenging market conditions.

This is according to the Simply Business Landlord Report, compiled from the analysis of a survey of 1,455 UK landlords.

It reveals that despite demand for rental property continuing to soar, a quarter (25%) of landlords plan on selling an investment property in the next 12 months.

Over the past 12 months, one in ten (9%) landlords have released a rental property from their portfolio. The South East, Wales and the South West were revealed as top areas for sales.

Conversely, the North West, Scotland and the East of England emerged as the top regions for landlords buying properties across the UK.

Though constantly changing legislation was cited as the most common reason for putting property up for sale, rising costs across the board also proved to be a glaring challenge.

Almost one third (31%) of landlords reported an increase in buy-to-let mortgage payments in the past year, with nearly one-fifth (19%) reporting that their mortgage repayments had risen by up to 501%.

Despite the current climate, many landlords still consider rental property to be a worthwhile investment, with half (50%) saying that they would recommend investing in buy-to-let property.

Simply Business UK CEO Alan Thomas  comments: A combination of economic uncertainty, changing regulations, and rising costs means there’s no shortage of challenges facing the nation’s landlords in 2023. The cost of living crisis has affected all corners of society, and the buy-to-let sector is no different.

Our inaugural UK Landlord Report shows that landlords see rising costs as the single biggest threat to the rental market. An ongoing theme in recent years has been uncertainty, with two thirds (66 per cent) telling us that constantly changing and confusing government legislation is one of their greatest challenges.

Insuring more than 300,000 landlords allows us to gain first-hand insight into the integral role they play in the housing market, plus the challenges they’re facing. It’s important that landlords are given the time and information they need to prepare for significant upheaval in the coming years, so they can continue to provide much-needed housing for almost five million households nationwide.