The number of rental properties owned by accidental landlords — those who rent out property because they cannot sell it — has grown by more than 230,000, while the number owned by buy-to-let landlords has dropped by 88,000 in the two years since the government increased stamp duty on the purchase of second homes.
Exclusive figures collated for The Times by Hamptons International estate agents show that accidental landlords are plugging the gap as buy-to-let investors leave the market and the build to rent sector (homes specifically built for rental) has yet to produce the number of rental properties needed to satisfy growing demand — only about 21,000 so far, with about 35,000 more expected to be completed this year.
