A survey by the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) found 56% of landlords had been affected by the loss of income from rent because of the impact of Covid-19 in 2020. As many as 12% said they had lost more than 20% of their income.

Meanwhile, a third of landlords indicated in the survey they were now more likely to either leave the market entirely or sell some of their properties.

Interim findings from the survey which evaluated the fourth quarter of 2020 also revealed of all those who had lost rental income, 22% had lost more than £5,000 and 59% had lost more than £1,000.

What’s more, 36% said the losses were continuing to increase.

And the study also found 26% of respondents had lost non-rental income because of the pandemic, with 12% having lost more than 20% of this.

Of those who had lost non-rental income, 41% recorded the loss of more than £1,000, with 20% having seen their figures reduced by £5,000.

Ben Beadle, chief executive of the NRLA, said: “Although most landlords have done everything they can to help tenants affected as a result of the pandemic, we have now reached the end of what they are able to do.

“Simply continuing to ban repossessions just means that tenants struggling to pay their rent are accumulating more debt reducing the chances that they will be able to pay it off. This ultimately will put more renters at risk of losing their homes.

“Ministers need to develop a proper plan to sustain tenancies and help the rental market recover. This needs to include a financial package to enable tenants to pay off any arrears built as a direct result of the pandemic.”