‘There’s a chronic supply shortage in the rental market at the moment, and while it’s positive that the number of properties available to rent seems to be rising but it isn’t nearly enough to fix the market for tenants. Competition is getting more and more fierce, and with legislative changes hitting landlords from all sides, the cost of renting is only increasing.

The Government’s recent announcement around licensing changes for landlords is a prime example. Licensing doesn’t work and it never has done. It means councils will spend time and energy administering schemes, rather than concentrating on increasing housing stock in their areas and enforcing against rogue, criminal landlords.

Coupled with the gradual removal of mortgage interest relief, new energy standards for landlords and the ever increasing fees for these schemes, landlords are being expected to bear more and more costs which is probably why the number of landlords leaving the market has remained at the all-time high we saw last month.

We’re all striving for the same end goal of improving the private rental sector for consumers, but the only thing which will truly create a better, fairer market, is a dramatic increase in supply.’