PRS landlords should reconsider plans on selling up and give the government an opportunity to encourage and incentivise buy-to-let.

A lettings manager at a regional agency believes it is worth a shot for landlords to see what transpires in the very near future.

He says: “The message for now to landlords across the sector from us is essentially, don’t fret. There are still huge benefits in letting your property and when a change like this occurs, a new normal will be established. The best advice I can give is that now is a good time to communicate with your local managing agent with any queries.”

He says the Bill is still only at its First Reading stage which will be followed up with the Second Reading stage in June when there may be more information and details to be further debated.

He adds: “There is a concern among agents and landlords alike that certain areas of the Bill will result in more landlords leaving the sector due to tighter regulations and more complications on ending an unwelcome tenancy. While I don’t completely agree with the proposals, ultimately the government will need to add some incentives in at some point to keep landlords in the market.

“They do not currently have an alternative solution to social housing and if more landlords leave the sector, it will negatively impact tenants - the opposite of the government’s intentions.”

However he does defend the Bill when stressing that it does include some benefits for landlords and should not be dismissed.

“As long as the strengthening of the Section 8 notice is made relatively straightforward and the court application process is not too legislatively complicated, then landlords should still be able to take comfort if needing to give notice for the more obvious reasons, for example, if they need to sell or move back in.

“The new ombudsman process should make the resolution of disputes easier, plus having a regulating body to listen to arguments on both sides might give the government a better overall view of the sector, resulting in better, more refined and balanced legislation for the sector in the long run.

“Having a ‘Decent Homes Standard’ will help to reward landlords who look after their tenants and provide well-run properties. This should also help to ease the bad ones out of the system.”

“Landlords need to take a long-term view, which includes not only rental which, according to figures from JLL Predict, could see cumulative growth in rental values of 15.9% in five years to 2027, but also increased capital gain over the long term.

“We believe that the government still needs to look at how to incentivise landlords but landlords also need to look at the benefits of remaining in the market.”

He stresses: “Landlords need to take a long-term view, which includes not only rental which, according to figures from JLL Predict, could see cumulative growth in rental values of 15.9 per cent in five years to 2027, but also increased capital gain over the long term.