Propertymark has blamed a drop in the number of sales instructions received by member agents on the rise in mortgage rates sparked by former Chancellor Kwasi Karteng’s disastrous mini budget.

The comments follow last night’s pessimistic take on the UK property market by the BBC’s Panorama team called ‘Cost of Living: Can’t Afford My Home’.

The programme blended the impact of interest rates on home owners, rising rents and the poor quality of some homes, including interviews with two agents including HOP Property in Leeds.

Its reporter Richard Bilton talked to a home owners looking to sell up after her mortgage payments rocketed, but also three tenants experiencing various issues including one facing eviction after her landlord sought to repossess it via a Section 21 notice.

Nathan Emerson (pictured) says that up to 20% of fixed mortgage deals are due to end over the next 12 months, and that rising mortgage rates have coincided with a fall in the number of new sales instructions our member agents are receiving.

“Our recent poll of letting agents revealed higher borrowing costs is now the main reason why landlords are selling their rental properties. On top of a decade of additional tax and regulatory burden, and the proposed tenant-centred reform of the sector, any returns on their investments are being wiped out,” he says.

Propertymark also says that property maintenance and repairs should be dealt with promptly and that good agents have ‘clear policies and procedures’ to ensure tenants can expect high standards when renting a property.

Timothy Douglas, Head of Policy and Campaigns for Propertymark, says: “Propertymark agrees with the principle of a Decent Homes Standard for privately rented homes in England and are fully supportive of efforts by the Secretary of State to ensure local authorities are working to raise standards by taking appropriate enforcement action to remove poor quality housing from the sector.”

Watch the programme in full.