Private rental property numbers have grown by 18,610 in the last five years, suggesting a landlord exodus has yet to materialise despite a raft of legislative changes.

Research by property lender Octane Capital reveals that London is leading the charge with a 6.4% increase in stock levels – adding 62,695 more rental homes. In the West Midlands, PRS stock levels have climbed by 4.4%, closely followed by the East Midlands with a 3.9% jump. The South West (3.2%), Wales (2.2%) and East of England (2.1%) have also seen an increase.

But not all regions have benefited from an uplift in rental stock levels, as the North West is currently home to 556,005 PRS households, 34,000 less than five years ago – a drop of -5.8%.

Levelled up?

In the South East, the level of privately rented homes has fallen by -5.2%, meaning there are 36,500 fewer properties. Yorkshire and the Humber has also seen a notable drop of -4.6%, with Scotland (-2.9%) and the North East (-1.6%) also seeing a decline. The total figure in Great Britain now stands at 5.3 million.

Despite the impact on buy-to-let investment of tax relief changes, stamp duty and tenant fees, recent research by Octane Capital found that the total value of the sector has increased by £239bn since 2017, with the nation’s landlords benefitting from a strong level of capital appreciation.

CEO Jonathan Samuels (pictured) says: “Much has been made about the government’s intentions to deter landlords via a string of legislative changes designed to reduce buy-to-let profitability, but as it stands, we’re yet to see any top-line decline in private rental stock levels as a result of these changes.”

He adds: “The private rental market remains vital to so many across Britain and it’s crucial that the government recognises this and does its best to nurture the sector in order to encourage landlords, not deter them.”