Next prime minister must urgently tackle the supply crisis of rental homes in the south, warn landlord bosses
THE next prime minister must tackle the supply crisis in the private rented sector in the south east if homeownership ambitions are to become a reality.
That is the warning from the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) as new survey data shows that the supply of homes to rent in the region is likely to keep falling over the next year.
According to findings gathered by the research consultancy BVA-BDRC, 21 per cent of landlords in the region plan to cut the number of properties they let in the next 12 months - up from the 16 per cent who said the same a year ago.
In contrast just 12 per cent say they plan to increase the number of properties they let, down five points since Q1 2022.
Against a picture of falling supply, 74 per cent of landlords in the South East reported increased demand for rental housing in the second quarter of the year. This is up from 60 per cent who had seen the same trend a year ago.
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With the demand for rental housing outstripping supply, official data has found that private rents across the Portsmouth area rose by 3.3 per cent in the 12 months to June this year - the largest annual growth since March 2017.
Marion Money, regional spokeswoman for the NRLA, said: ‘Today’s figures show it was a nonsense to think that cutting the supply of rental housing, when demand is strong, would make it easier for those who want to buy their own home. All it is doing is driving up rents, leaving tenants with less cash to save for a deposit.’