Nearly a third of landlords plan to reduce the size of their portfolio in the next two years, with 16% aiming to sell all their properties, official research shows.

The English Private Landlord Survey of landlords and letting agents reveals that this figure has jumped from 2021 when 22% planned to reduce their holdings and was doubtless sparked by tax and legislative concerns.

In contrast, only 7% want to increase their portfolio compared with 11% three years ago.

The survey shines a light on the PRS and finds that while the average landlord age is 59, the number of female landlords (50%) has increased since 2021 (44%). Just under half of all landlords (45%) own one rental property, representing 21% of tenancies, while 38% owned between two and four rental properties, representing 30% of tenancies.

The median gross rental income landlords received in the last 12 months was £19,200, up from £17,520 in 2021. It also found that 41% of landlords had no borrowing on any of their properties.

There are now 4.7 million households in the PRS, and 4.2 million live deposits registered with one of the three government-backed Tenancy Deposit Protection schemes.

The survey found that the main reason for a tenancy ending was because the tenant gave notice

The survey found that the main reason for a tenancy ending was because the tenant gave notice (44%) while 26% came to the end of their tenancy period and decided not to renew 13% left before the end of their tenancy, 8% of landlords asked the tenant to leave, 6% evicted the tenant and 4% chose not to renew the tenancy.

One in ten landlords with five or more properties said their most recent tenancy ended with an eviction, compared with one in 20 single-property landlords. Of those who had to use the Courts and Tribunals Service in the last two years, 57% reported they were ‘fairly dissatisfied’ or ‘very dissatisfied’ with the experience.

The government’s survey of the PRS is ongoing and randomly samples landlords and agents who use a government-approved tenancy deposit scheme. Those selected are sent an invitation from NatCen Social Research.