A Labour minister has admitted – unusually – that there is a link between supply within the private rental sector and rising rents, comments that the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) has pounced upon.

Emma Reynolds (main image), a Treasury minister, has told parliament that rental prices are “ultimately determined by the total supply of housing, relative to demand” comes hot on the heels of recent government data showing that a third of landlords said they are planning to cut the number of properties they rent out, which is an increased from the 22 per cent who said the same in 2021.

Reynolds went on to say in her answer to a question by Labouir MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy about rising rents, that “affordability of housing has fallen drastically, particularly in major cities, as too few homes have been built”

Zoopla’s recent lettings market snapshot of the UK also shows that, although the market is cooling down, some 12 tenants continue to chase each rental property that comes on to the market.

Ben Beadle, the NRLA’s Chief Executive, has agreed with Reynolds comments but pushed back against her claim that high rents are due only to ‘not enough homes being, built’. Beadle says instead that “there are simply not enough properties to meet demand, and measures proposed by the Government are going to worsen an already dire situation”.

“Changes such as the hike to stamp duty on the purchase of homes to rent that was announced in the Budget will only further dampen supply.

Increased pressures

“Likewise, the lack of preparation for the increased pressures on the courts due to the Renters’ Rights Bill will deter investment in new homes to rent.

“It is also of serious concern that proposals to improve the energy efficiency of private rented housing contain no detail of the financial package needed to support investment in the required works. Without such support, these changes will pile yet more cost pressures onto the sector.

“The Government needs to address the shortage of homes for private rent as the only viable route for improving affordability in the sector. Until it does so, it will be tenants that continue to suffer the consequence of the rental housing supply crisis.”