Major report will reveal letting agents’ concerns over sector

Letting agents across the UK are increasingly concerned about lack of stock as well as the state of the economy – as 10% of landlords have already left the sector and more are expected to follow suit in future.

More than 2,600 agents, landlords and tenants have taken part in this year’s ‘State of the Lettings Industry’ survey – the fifth and largest annual report of its kind – with the full findings set to shine a light on everything from sentiment about the abolition of Section 21 and the impact of pets in lets, through to optimism for the future and data on rates of arrears.

Carried out by Goodlord and Vouch State, this is the first major market survey to take place since the Government’s White Paper on rental reform was published and the initial insights from the report have been released.

· Economy has agents on edge

This year’s survey will reveal that a large majority of agents are concerned about the state of the economy – with a huge 80% of agents worried about the impact of the upcoming recession and the cost-of-living crisis on the Private Rental Sector. Many are predicting a rise in arrears, with 35% of agents saying they expected the cost-of-living crisis to have a ‘major and negative’ impact on tenants.

· Lack of stock concern intensifies as landlords leave

Another serious and ongoing concern which appears to have intensified over the last 12 months is the issue of lack of stock. The survey shows that two-thirds of agents (65%) struggled with a lack of stock in the past year. Perhaps more worryingly, however, is that 28% of all agents surveyed have seen more than 10% of their landlords leave the sector in the past year. And most agents (67%) said they expected more of their landlords to leave in the coming year.

· Industry optimism is lower than during pandemic

However, despite these concerns being likely to dent industry optimism going forward, currently only a quarter of agents (26%) say they’re pessimistic about the future of the lettings industry, while 43% are still feeling either ‘very optimistic’ or ‘somewhat optimistic’ about its future.

‘Causing serious concern across the sector’

Goodlord’s Tom Mundy said: “The upcoming State of the Lettings Industry report is our biggest and most in-depth to date. As the initial findings show, there is a range of things causing serious concern across the sector.

“Whilst the pace of lettings remains intense and the market buoyant, various macroeconomic and regulatory factors are cause for concern.”

He added: “Although these are yet to materially dent optimism amongst agents, landlords and tenants, we hope the full report will provide a range of useful insights to the market at a time of increasing uncertainty for all stakeholders.”

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