ARLA agents slam Labour rent plans

Seven in 10 (70%) said landlords would respond by pulling out of the market and decreasing the available supply, while a similar proportion (69%) simply added that the proposal would not be beneficial to tenants.

Just over a third (37%) said the Conservatives’ pledge to build 200,000 new starter homes would be the best policy, while just one in 10 (11%) think Labour’s promise to boost house building rates to 200,000 a year by 2020 would be more beneficial.

David Cox, managing director of ARLA, said: “It will be interesting to see what happens in terms of the election – the property industry needs more homes, that is clear for whichever party comes into power.

“We are growing as a society, and our needs for housing have developed from what they may have been previously.

“We are concerned that government policy on housing, as it currently stands, cannot deliver on what is required to help the industry.”