A quarter of landlords who evicted tenants over the last 12 months using ‘section 21’, did so because they wanted to get out of renting.

This is the conclusion of possession specialist Landlord Action after surveying 1,500 landlords. It shows that the Government’s proposal to abolish Section 21 evictions is already having an unintended consequences, said the firm.

Other reasons for evictions included rent arrears (31 per cent) and anti-social behaviour (22 per cent). Only 2 per cent of landlords said they evicted tenants so that they could move into the property themselves.

Of those who said they planned to evict their tenant over the next 12 to 18 months, a quarter said they were making the move because of the increasing legislative burden on landlords. Scrapping section 21 was the main reason cited by almost a third.

‘The response to our latest survey paints a very clear picture of the unintended consequences of abolishing Section 21’, said Landlord Action’s Paul Shamplina. ‘More than a quarter of tenants have or will be asked to leave their rental properties not because they have done anything wrong but because landlords fear they will be unable to gain possession of their property easily in the future.

‘Competition for rental properties is already at an all-time high, and we could be heading towards a rental stock crisis. Whilst we don’t know how many of the properties sold will remain in the buy to let sector, it’s clear that tenants will ultimately suffer as the combination of pressures force rents to continue to rise.

‘Landlords need reassurance and clarity on the future of evictions soon if the sector is to avoid a deluge of evictions and homelessness’.

• Demand for rental homes across the UK has reached record levels and almost a quarter of landlords say they plan to sell off homes. Recently published data gathered by research consultancy BVA/BDRC and publicised by the NRLA shows the extent of the supply crisis across England’s various regions.