More than a third of private landlords are planning to cut the number of homes they rent out or exit the market altogether according to a new survey of over 2,000 landlords.

Almost 34 per cent of landlords have indicated they intend to reduce their investment in the market – a 30 per cent increase over the previous twelve months, according to the research conducted by the Residential Landlords Association.

Just 12 per cent of landlords are looking to expand the number of homes they rent out down from 14 per cent a year ago.

A forecast fall in supply could happen despite the Royal Institution for Chartered Surveyors warning that the demand for private rented homes is outstripping supply and remains strong.

45 per cent of landlords told the RLA that the Stamp Duty Levy on additional properties had been a deterrent to further investment in property. Professor David Miles, a former member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, has also warned: “aspiring first-time buyers are hardly helped by squeezing the supply of rental property and driving rents up.”

The RLA is now calling on the Government to scrap the Stamp Duty Levy (where landlords provide homes adding to the net supply of housing) in the forthcoming March budget.

“This should include developing new build properties, bringing empty homes back into use and converting larger properties into smaller, more affordable units of accommodation.

David Smith, RLA policy director, said: “This is yet more, clear evidence of the sell-off of private rented housing largely due to the Government’s extra tax on new rental homes. It is ridiculous that when the country needs all the extra housing it can get, it penalises good landlords who invest in new homes.

“With a new government and a budget due, we need a shift in policy to one that supports investment because otherwise there will be a growing supply crisis in the private rented sector as demand continues to rise.”

By Patrick Mooney, Editor