Some 30% of landlord sales last year went to other landlords, keeping some stock within the private rental sector.
Analysis by Pegasus Insight for its Q4 Landlord Trends series revealed that more than one in four landlords who sold property did so with tenants in place.
Where this occurred, landlords typically sold an average of 1.8 properties with sitting tenants.
Mark Long, founder and director of Pegasus Insight, said: “Landlord sales do not automatically mean a rental property disappears from the sector. In a meaningful minority of cases, the property is simply being transferred from one landlord to another, and sometimes sold with tenants already in place.
“However, the overall direction of travel still points to a shrinking PRS. When a substantial proportion of landlord sales are going to first-time buyers or other owner occupiers, it inevitably reduces the pool of homes available for rent.”
How brokers can shape the future of shared ownership
Sponsored by Halifax Intermediaries
Research by estate agency Savills found that over the past three years, the value of the private rental sector has shrunk by £79bn, the equivalent of 5.1%. It is the only area of the housing market to have lost value since the start of 2022.
