Section 21 to shrink rental sector by 20% with rents to climb 13%

October 3, 2019

The latest report from Capital Economics, commissioned by the National Landlord Association, suggests that the abolition of Section 21 could lead to: –

  • A 20% decline in rental stock across the private rental sector, with those on housing benefit or Universal Credit worst hit with a 59% reduction in available properties.
  • As well as an increase in rental costs for 13% of properties.

Tom Gatzen, the co-founder of room share platform ideal flatmate, commented:

“For far too long there has been an overreliance on the rental sector to house those that can’t afford to buy as a result of the Government’s consistent failure to provide more affordable housing.

We’ve already seen the rental landscape evolve with more renters having to rent rooms rather than outright properties due to high financial barriers, and the abolition of Section 21 will only see this increase as demand grows and the number of available properties declines.

While the latest shake-up of the sector has been done with the best intentions of tenants at its core, such a drastic move needs to be better thought through and complemented with additional policy changes, to ensure the sector remains viable for the landlords that form its foundations.

As it stands, those most in need are in line to be hit the hardest, while the rest of us will see yet more of our income go towards covering our rent.”

Properganda PR

National and local media coverage for property businesses. Journo quotes delivered in minutes.

You May Also Enjoy

Breaking News

Nationwide extends six times lending to home movers and remortgage

Nationwide enhances support for people looking to move up the property ladder or get a new mortgage deal Five-fold increase in Nationwide loans to first-time buyers at or above 5.5x income in 2025, compared to 2024 Increased first-time buyer support follows regulatory changes to improve affordability Nationwide is today announcing a major boost to the…
Read More →
Breaking News

Breaking Property News – 21/1/2026

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.   Jon Cooke steps down as Non-Executive Director at GPEA Jon Cooke will continue to focus on innovation within the property sector Jon Cooke has stepped down from his role as Non-Executive Director at GPEA, the business that owned Fine & Country and The Guild…
Read More →
Breaking News

UK Finance Buy-to-Let Mortgage Market Update

UK Finance today releases its buy-to-let (BTL) mortgage market update for Q3 2025, looking at trends in lending to borrowers accessing the market. In Q3 2025 there were 59,467 new buy-to-let loans advanced in the UK, worth £10.9 billion. This was up quite significantly compared with the same quarter in the previous year, 22.7 per…
Read More →
Breaking News

ONS Private Rent and House Prices Index

Average UK monthly private rents increased by 4.0%, to £1,368, in the 12 months to December 2025 (provisional estimate); this annual growth rate is down from 4.4% in the 12 months to November 2025. Average rents increased to £1,424 (3.9%) in England, £822 (5.7%) in Wales, and £1,018 (2.8%) in Scotland, in the 12 months…
Read More →
Breaking News

UK House Price Index November 2025

The latest index shows that: The average monthly rate of house price growth in November was +0.3%. Average UK house price annual inflation was 2.5% in the 12 months to November 2025, up from the revised estimate of 1.9% in the 12 months to October 2025. As a result, the average UK house price currently…
Read More →
Breaking News

Industry Comment on UK inflation rising to 3.4%

UK inflation rises for the first time in 5 months. Industry reactions on UK inflation rising to 3.4% Nathan Emerson, CEO of Propertymark: “To witness inflation creep back upwards again will no doubt be disappointing for many consumers who will have been hoping to see a drop as we move further into the first quarter…
Read More →