The upcoming Renters’ Rights Bill should encourage landlords to sell to one another, or to their tenants, according to tenant campaign group Generation Rent.
The group was responding to Rightmove research, which found that 18% of properties for sale were previously on the rental market.
The concern is this will diminish the stock of rental properties, causing rents to continue rising.
Dan Wilson Craw, deputy chief executive of Generation Rent, said: “The government should encourage sales to the current tenants, which would be a win-win scenario, or to another landlord with the tenant staying put.
“If evictions must go ahead, tenants need more notice and financial support with the costs of moving.”
Wilson Craw claimed that building more homes is the way to keep affordability in check, rather than focusing on the distribution of landlords and owner-occupiers.
He added: “Looking at the bigger picture, homes moving from rental to sale opens doors for renters to become homeowners, which is a stated aim of the government.
“Despite concerns about landlords’ threats to leave the market, this has to happen if the government wants to revive home ownership.
“The answer to affordability in renting is more homes, not more landlords, and providing homes people can afford to live in, in places they want to live, is the way out of this crisis.”
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