A new poll of 1,300 landlords, conducted by flatshare site SpareRoom, shows a drop in confidence about the rental market.

As of last month, only 19% of landlords said they were confident in the rental market against 54% in December 2023. Up until now, landlord confidence in the rental market has stayed relatively consistent since June 2021, with the past three years’ worth of survey data revealing a near 50/50 split between confidence and no confidence.

In the July 2024 poll, landlords were also asked if they believed that the new government’s housing policies would improve the rental market. 

A significant 79% said ‘no’, and only 3% did believe the new government’s policies would improve the market. The remaining 18% were split between ‘I don’t know’ (4%) and ‘too early to tell’ (14%).

SpareRoom director Matt Hutchinson says: “There’s a stark contrast in landlord confidence in the rental market now compared to the last three years, and there seems to be little faith in the newly elected government when it comes to housing policy. 

“Section 21, which is a valuable concession for landlords, is set to be abolished by our new government, with the Renters Reform Bill aiming also to ban the regulation which could perhaps be a reason for this dip in confidence.

“It will be very interesting to see if confidence grows based on key decisions government makes over the next year, which will naturally also reflect changes in rents across the country.”