Exiting landlords ‘disastrous for tenants’
Industry leaders are calling for urgent measures to retain landlords in the private rented sector as new data reveals a direct link between property sales and rising homelessness rates.
Analysis from the NRLA has found the number of households in the private rented sector (PRS) at risk of homelessness surged by 19% between the end of 2024 and the first quarter of 2025, with government data showing just over 6,500 households at risk between January and March this year.
Property sales drive homelessness risk
The latest trend reveals that landlords selling their properties is the single biggest cause of tenancy endings, accounting for almost three times more cases than any other reason. In the first quarter of 2025, 6,520 households qualified for homelessness prevention duties specifically because their landlord chose to sell, compared to 2,430 cases where landlords wanted to re-let to new tenants.
This represents a significant increase from the previous quarter, when 5,480 households were affected by property sales and 2,280 by re-letting decisions.
"The private rented sector has such an important role to play in elevating us out of the housing crisis that we're currently in," says Ben Rayner, director at Good Place Lettings. "Landlords leaving the market is a very real problem, one for which we have no quick answer."
Calls for landlord-centric solutions
Rayner believes targeted government intervention is necessary to stem the exodus of landlords from the market. "I'd love to see some landlord-centric policies put together to encourage people to continue renting their homes out to people who so desperately need them. We must help our good landlords!"
NRLA chief executive Ben Beadle echoed those sentiments and called on the Government to do more for landlords.
“In the Autumn Budget the Chancellor needs to support responsible private landlords to invest in new decent quality, long term homes to rent that tenants desperately need.”
“Landlords selling homes is disastrous for tenants. Even if properties sold end up back in the rental market, that’s scant comfort for those who have been forced to move as a result.
“For millions of renters across the country, whether a landlord sells a property or not will decide the fate of where they live.
There are increasing discussions around the importance of maintaining a healthy PRS as part of solving the housing crisis. Earlier this year, World Habitat, an international housing solutions charity, emphasised that in the UK the sector "not only provides affordable homes today but also has significant potential to help meet the growing demand for secure, affordable housing."
