The Renters Reform Bill will increase pressure on landlords and may force even more to quit the market, warns the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

Its alarm comes as the number of landlords planning to sell rented properties has already reached its highest rate on record, according to new data from the NRLA. It found that in Q1, 33% of private landlords in England and Wales planned to downsize, up from 20% the same time last year. Meanwhile, only 10% of landlords plan to increase the number of properties they rent out as 67% said demand for properties from prospective tenants was increasing.

Higher rents

The RICS predicts that with demand continuing to outstrip supply, rental prices will be driven higher over the next few months. Samuel Rees, senior public affairs officer, explains that it's increasingly concerned about the pressures facing the rental market. 'Demand for rental homes remains high, but stock remains low, and landlords are increasingly exiting the market '� which is translating into higher rents.'�

Adds Rees: 'The government's proposed changes'�will increase pressure on landlords and may force even more to exit the market. The government needs to ensure that proposed reforms to the rental market are delivered in such a way that it increases support for landlords and tenants and maintains and grows supply.'�

Instructions dropped

Its poll reveals that tenant demand increased in the three months to April according to a net balance of +41%, while landlord instructions dropped, with a net balance of '�24% of respondents reporting a decline.

Buy-to-let landlords offloading property are behind rocketing receipts of Capital Gains Tax, according to new figures from HMRC which show it collected �18.1 billion in CGT in 2022/23, �7 billion more than two years previously. The growth is set to continue as the CGT annual tax-free exemption has been cut from �12,300 a year to �6,000 and will fall to �3,000 from April next year, according to NFU Mutual.