This is according to a survey by buy-to-let lender Landbay, which found a combination of rising interest rates and mortgage costs along with tax burdens were nudging one in three landlords to sell up.
But, whilst 34% were considering reducing their portfolio of properties, there remained 66% who did not intend to sell any of their homes in the next 12 months.
What’s more, of those who were thinking of selling, 90% said they only wanted to release some of their properties whilst 15% were intending to buy because they were restructuring their portfolios.
Rob Stanton, business development director at Landbay, said: “Our survey found that one in three landlords are thinking of selling some of their property but not all of it.
“They intend to stay in the market but are trimming their portfolios and some are reorganising as they both buy and sell property.
“Higher costs are typically why landlords want to sell, not just interest rates but taxation is also an issue for some.
“On the positive side, two thirds of landlords have no intention of selling and 36% of those are looking to buy property. The market is changing and landlords who see opportunities are taking them while others are rethinking their strategy.”
When focusing in on the regions, there was a mixed picture. Half of landlords in London said they wanted to sell some property. In the South of England, 29% of landlords intended to sell, in the North it was 25% and in the Midlands 22%.
The main reason for selling, cited by 65% of landlords, was rising interest rates, up from 45% a year ago.
Meanwhile, 30% said the rent was not covering their mortgage costs compared to 22% in October 2022. The rise in these percentages was not surprising given that Bank of England base rate was 2.25% a year ago and is now 5.25%.
Landlord taxation was also given as a reason to dispose of property by 40% of respondents and 25% pointed to the lowering of Capital Gains Tax.
