The RICS recent PRS market snapshot unsurprisingly highlights the crisis for renters as housing supply is woefully short of demand.

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The report taken from surveyors’ reactions to the survey with 36 per cent stating an ever rising increase in tenant demand during June, however landlord instructions dropped for a third consecutive month causing a rocketing increase in rents.

There is also input from lettings agents on how they see the PRS rental sector market, with comments included in the ‘snapshot’ which are far from rosy.

Below are a few comments taken from the snapshot:

Bruce Collinson of a Leeds agency, says: “Tenant demand has been very strong for 12 months and if as predicted up to 300,000 private landlords exit the market because of proposed changes to law, with nobody else filling the gap, rents might rise sharply. The proposals on EPCs/Band C will cause chaos.”

Gary Thompson of an agency in the north of England comments: “There is growing demand for residential lettings which appears to result from low paid workers migrating to jobs where there is affordable accommodation; and due to a reduced stock as landlords exit the lettings market for reasons relating to maintenance costs and onerous lettings procedures.”

John Chappell of a surveyor and valuers firm in the East Midlands, says: “Landlord clients now actively re-assessing remaining in the market due to ongoing economic situation and the proposed legislation changes to the private rental sector, which by assuming all landlords are the bad guys, could see a marked decline in private sector rental property availability.”

Richard Franklin of an estate agents in Tenbury Wells, says: “Some landlords thinking over the proposed amendments to the sector - although many have sought to sell taking advantage of market conditions. Increase in bad debts prompting service of Notices to Quit - a pre-cursor to a harsh winter.”

James Farrance of a Maidenhead agency summarises the current predicament by saying : “Rents continue to rise driven by lack of available stock in the PRS. We are now seeing the Butterfly effect of the extra second home stamp duty, Tenant Fees Act, reduced expense allowances and threat of AST changes causing landlords to exit the PRS driving up rental levels at record rates.”

Jeremy Leaf  a high profile agent in London and a former chair of the residential faculty at RICS, says: “Aspiring first-time buyers are increasingly taking refuge in private lettings as the cost of living crisis starts to bite but the continuing shortage of especially one bed flats is adding upward pressure to rents - and there’s little sign of change.”

Similar sentiments are echoed across the UK by most agents as increasing regulations and burdensome taxes inflicted unfairly on landlords who are treated as ‘pariahs’ by the government and the media are fed up to their back teeth and selling up.