The situation is unlikely to change anytime soon, according to Richard Valentine-Selsey, director of residential research at Savills.
“There is not enough supply coming on to the market, and we need more investment in the sector to bring more homes available to rent,” he said.
That included individual landlords and big institutional landlords, he said.
However, the number of properties available to rent may be set to fall, rather than go up.
The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) said its survey of members revealed that 31% of those asked said they planned to cut the number of properties they rented out, compared with 9% who planned to increase their offer.
“Landlords selling up is the single biggest challenge renters face. The only answer is to ensure responsible landlords have the confidence to stay in the market and sustain tenancies,” said Ben Beadle, chief executive of the NRLA.
The association said guarantor agreements could be useful for tenants who might otherwise struggle to access rental accommodation.
However, Tom Darling, campaign manager at the Renters’ Reform Coalition, said: “It’s clear we have housing shortage, but throwing ever more landlords at the problem is not going solve anything.
“We need a more heavily regulated private rented sector along with an expansion of social housing. We’ve called for a ban on landlords selling for the first two years of a tenancy – this would reduce some of the friction we are seeing.”
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