The substantial majority of landlords lack any optimism about their sector as they enter 2024.

That’s the result of a new sentiment survey conducted amongst 1,042 landlords by an industry supplier.

Some 89 per cent of respondents have between one and three properties within their buy-to-let portfolio. When asked on their perceptions of the rental market for the year ahead, just 21 per cent stated they were optimistic/

Some 24 per cent were pessimistic, while 55 per cent remained neutral. 

And while 24 per cent intend to increase rents in the New Year, 68 per cent will maintain them at current levels, while eight per cent actually intending to reduce them. 

With inflation yet to be fully tamed, the cost of maintaining, repairing and running their portfolio ranked top of the challenges in the year ahead, followed by legislative changes. Finding and retaining good quality tenants also ranked high along with higher interest rates for buy-to-let mortgages. 

Finally, the landlords were asked which of the proposed changes to be introduced as a result of the Rental Reform Bill landlords believed would prove the most challenging. 

The abolition of Section 21 evictions ranked top as the biggest potential challenge for landlords in 2024. Limits to rental price increases and changes to notice periods ranked second, while greater rights for tenants when it comes to owning pets placed third. 

“It’s clear that the Rental Reform Bill and the abolition of Section 21 evictions, in particular, remain a concern for many landlords. It’s seen as fundamental to protecting their property when significant issues arise and with so many factors now working against them, many landlords have reached their tipping point and have exited the market” says Sam Reynolds, chief executive of Zero Deposit, the firm that commissioned the research.

“This comes at a time where more stimulus is needed to encourage landlords to invest in the sector, such as a more lenient tax regime. Without this, and in the absence of any meaningful progress in the building of new homes, the supply of rental stock will remain insufficient and rental prices will continue to rise in 2024. More bad news for the nation’s renters. 

“Landlords electing to not increase rents, despite a vast number of reasons to do so, speaks to an understanding of their tenant’s financial constraints. In many cases, and in my experience, this underlines the impact of a positive relationship between landlords and tenants with just a small proportion planning to increase rents in the new year.”