A new survey has revealed that just 11% of people think Michael Gove, who was announced as the new Housing Secretary last week, will be a landlord-friendly minister.

The survey from LettingaProperty.com has revealed landlords’ top concerns over Gove’s appointment, following his succeeding of Robert Jenrick in the role of Housing Secretary. A few days later the government announced a renaming of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

And the research shows that the property industry is still considering how warmly to receive the new postholder, who takes on the role of Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

Its study has revealed precisely what those in the property sector think of the new appointment, along with their top concerns.

Calls for landlords to be treated fairly topped the list of priorities, followed by a desire to see Gove deal with rogue landlords. Elsewhere, bringing back mortgage interest relief and avoiding too much legislation were also uppermost in many landlords’ minds.

Faith in Gove – a former Education, Justice and Environment Secretary, as well as a key but divisive name in the EU referendum given his role in Vote Leave – is very low among landlords, with just 10% of landlords agreeing with the appointment, compared to 23% who disagreed with it and 67% who were ambivalent.

Confidence in him may be low given the clashes he has previously had with the sectors he’s been in charge of and the fact that the levelling up brief seems to be taking greater precedence than housing.

“Clearly, the new Housing Secretary has some way to go to convince landlords that he is the right person for the job. There’s an opportunity here to tackle rogue landlords head on and support the private rented sector to flourish through the fair and appropriate treatment of both landlords and tenants. Landlords will be watching and waiting to see how well Michael Gove rises to the challenge,” Jonathan Daines, founder and chief executive office or LettingaProperty.com, said.

There’s certainly a degree of scepticism over whether Gove will prove to be a landlord-friendly Housing Secretary. Of those surveyed, only 11% felt that he would, while 36% felt that he would not. The remaining 52% were unsure.

The LettingaProperty.com survey highlights the scale of Gove’s challenge in winning over hearts and minds when it comes to establishing himself in the housing sector.

“Many of those providing much-needed rental homes seem to be reserving their judgement, creating both an opportunity and a challenge for Michael Gove,” Daines added.

“The UK continues to be desperately short of homes, while landlords have been on a tumultuous ride in terms of government-induced financial changes over the past few years. Given the impact of those changes, it is perhaps unsurprising that so many landlords are on the fence about whether Gove will be prepared to fight their corner.”