A trade body has hit out at government policy following a think tank’s claims that young people are less mobile because of high rents.

Yesterday we reported that the Resolution Foundation claimed Millennials were finding it hard or impossible to move to higher-pay areas because of higher rents.

On top the that the Affordable Housing Commission has claimed greater numbers of households are now being hurt by high rents, too.

Now David Smith, policy director for the Residential Landlords Association, says the blame lies not with the private rental sector but with the government, which is choking off supply of homes to let.

“Instead of attacking the private rented sector we need pro-growth policies that recognise the need for more homes of a good standard and at an affordable rent. Making renting less attractive for landlords will not make a substantial difference to the availability of property. We must focus on building more homes to address this” he says.

The Royal Institution for Chartered Surveyors has warned that average annual rent rises are likely to be around three per cent for the next five years as a result of the demand for rental properties continuing to outstrip supply.

Government statistics show that 10 per cent of private landlords representing 18 per cent of tenancies are already planning to decrease the number of properties they rent out, whilst five per cent of landlords, representing five per cent of tenancies, plan to sell all of their properties. 

Recent stamp duty statistics also point to investment in the sector slowing up.