Landlords selling properties represent the biggest threat to renters, reveals UK Government data.

Of those households eligible for support from their council to prevent homelessness following the end of a private rented tenancy agreement, 45% needed help because their landlord planned to sell the property in the second half of 2023.

This was over twice as much as landlords planning to re-let the property.

Today (15 May) members of the House of Lords will discuss the primary purpose of the Renters (Reform) Bill.

The Renters (Reform) Bill seeks to abolish fixed-term assured tenancies and assured shorthold tenancies.

It will impose obligations on landlords and others concerning rented homes and temporary and supported accommodation if passed.

In line with the debate, the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) has further highlighted the scale of the supply crisis across the private rented sector.

A poll of landlords for the NRLA has found 83% reported that demand for rental properties by tenants is ‘strong’.

Meanwhile, 31% say they plan to cut the number of properties they rent out, compared with just 9% who plan to increase the number of properties to let.

The findings are supported by recent Rightmove data which indicates that 50,000 properties are needed to bring the supply of rental homes back to pre-pandemic levels.

NRLA chief executive Ben Beadle says: “Landlords selling up is the single biggest challenge renters face. The only answer is to ensure responsible landlords have the confidence to stay in the market and sustain tenancies.”

“As peers debate the Renters (Reform) Bill, it is vital that it works for landlords as well as tenants. As it stands it would achieve this balance. We are calling on Peers to support the Bill to give the sector certainty about the future.”

“More broadly, all parties need to accept widespread calls for policies to boost supply in the private rented sector.”

Reacting to NRLA’s latest comments and poll results, Generation Rent chief executive Ben Twomey says: “Landlord lobby groups have taken to quoting Generation Rent’s concern that ‘Landlords selling properties is a leading cause of homelessness’, and are cynically using this to hold parliament hostage to the idea that they will sell up over even the smallest strengthening of tenants’ rights.”

“Long term, if landlords sell up it makes little difference to the housing market. Bricks and mortar do not sink into the ground, and the home could be bought by another landlord, a first-time buyer or even repurposed for social housing. There will always be some landlords wanting to sell, for example because they are retiring or because their mortgages have become too costly.”

“The short-term issue is that tenants have an appalling lack of protection when landlords choose to sell up – even under the new Renters (Reform) Bill as proposed, tenants would only have two months’ notice when evicted for this reason. Landlord groups won’t lift a finger to improve this position for tenants, while using the risk of homelessness to demand their own concessions from government.

“That is why the government should incentivise homes being sold with sitting tenants, or to them if they can afford to buy. They should also ban evictions based on sales for the first two years of a tenancy. Meanwhile, relocation relief should be offered if renters are evicted through no fault of their own, so that they do not need to pay the final two months’ rent while they save and look for a new home.”