The sentiment across the private rented sector (PRS) is worse than it’s ever been, research reveals.

The research comes from Goodlord and Vouch’s initial insights from the latest State of the Lettings Industry Report.

It found that more than half (54%) of letting agents are pessimistic about the industry and a huge 75% of landlords.

Meanwhile, the number of agents who believe Section 21 would have a negative impact on the sector has risen from 56% last year to 70% this year.

So-called ‘no fault’ evictions are set for an immediate ban when the Renter’s Rights Bill passes, which is likely to happen early next year.

Goodlord and Vouch suggest that this year’s survey is set to reveal a lack of widespread support among tenants for mandating periodic tenancies.

Of those surveyed, 58.5% of tenants indicate they would prefer a fixed-term, renewable tenancy agreement, and 30% favour a rolling, open-ended agreement.

Only 15% of tenants report feeling “trapped” by a fixed-term tenancy, suggesting the perceived benefits of mandatory periodic tenancies may not align with tenants’ preferences.

The full report will be published on 3 October.

Goodlord chief executive officer William Reeve says: “This year’s State of the Lettings Industry report comes at an absolutely critical time. There’s a new Government, a major piece of rental sector reform is soon to hit the statute books, and we are experiencing the most acute housing crisis in a generation.”

“As the initial data shows, this combination of factors is engendering wide-ranging pessimism and concern across the industry, and the imbalance between supply and demand looks set to get worse, not better. ”

Vouch managing director Tom Goodlord adds: “This report is a snapshot of an industry handling a huge amount of change and pressure. As the full survey results will show, the PRS is feeling the weight of this mounting set of challenges. There are opportunities available to address them, but time is of the essence.”