The cost of living crisis is set to hit the PRS with tenants unable to afford the rent, many letting agents say.

Four out of five agents are worried about the effects the looming recession will have on the rental sector, according to a major new survey.

More than a third believe that rising costs will make it far more difficult for tenants to keep up with rental payments.

Agents across the UK are also concerned about a lack of available stock, the Goodlord and Vouch State of the Lettings Industry report reveals.

Nearly two-thirds of agents struggled with a lack of stock in the past year, the study, made up of interviews with 2,600 agents, landlords and tenants, reports.

Letting problems

Perhaps more worryingly, the results show that 28% of all agents surveyed have seen more than 10% of their landlords leave the sector in the past year.

The majority – 67% – said they expect more of their landlords to go in the coming year.

However, despite these concerns being likely to dent industry optimism going forward, currently only a quarter of agents (26%) say they are pessimistic about the future of the lettings industry, while 43% are still feeling either “very optimistic” or “somewhat optimistic” about its future.

Goodlord’s Tom Mundy says: “As the initial findings show, there are a range of things causing serious concern across the sector.

“We hope that the full report released on the 13th will provide a range of useful insights to the market at a time of increasing uncertainty for all stakeholders.”

The full results from the lettings survey are due to be released next week.