Renters will be competing for fewer homes and paying increasingly higher prices thanks to Labor’s attack on landlords, according to a closely watched survey of property experts.

The latest survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors found the number of rental properties available to rent was falling while tenant demand increased.

One said rents “need to rise” due to the stamp duty increase for landlords announced in the October budget, while another said “the cult of buy to let is dead.”

Some of the officers surveyed gave their views ahead of the October 30 budget, meaning the numbers could get even bleaker in the future.

In the Budget, landlords saw other unwanted changes, including an increase in stamp duty on rental properties and second homes.

These buyers were already facing a surcharge of 3 per cent above what those who buy a property to live in currently pay.

However, from October 30 this figure increased to 5 per cent, adding thousands of pounds to the cost of rental and secondary home purchases.

Gap: Gap between supply of properties available to rent and growing public demand from tenants continues to widen, say Rics members

Rachel Reeves says this will free up some 130,000 homes as more homes will now be purchased by owner-occupiers rather than landlords.

However, while this may be good news for future homeowners, it also means fewer homes in the private rental sector.

Many Rics members have criticized the Labor budget because it makes the situation worse for renters, rather than better.

Andrew Oulsnam, of Oulsnam letting agents in Birmingham, said: “Problems in the rental market remain, with too many tenants looking for not enough properties.

“The budget is going to make the situation worse, so rents have to go up.”

Neil Foster of Hadrian Property Partners in Hexham added: “Rental stock continues to decline, putting further upward pressure on rent levels.

“Where residents of the Ivory Tower in Westminster expect most private renters to live is a mystery.”

Daniel Wiltshire, actuary and independent financial adviser at Wiltshire Wealth, says a number of his rental clients have now decided property investing is no longer for them.

“The cult of buy-to-let is dead,” Wiltshire said. “I have had several meetings with potential real estate investors who have decided to step aside and look at stocks and shares instead.

“The national psyche is programmed to invest money in bricks and mortar, but the recent increase in stamp duty, along with other additional tax increases over the past 10 years, has brought even the most ardent real estate enthusiasts to question the wisdom of this policy.

Rents expected to rise: chart shows how Rics members’ forecasts have changed

Fewer homeowners purchasing new properties

Renters’ woes persist as rental properties continue to disappear from the market while many potential investors are no longer interested in purchasing new ones.

Across the UK, Rics members reported fewer landlords looking for new properties, but in the North West and Midlands this was particularly prevalent.

Will Ravenhill, of Readings Property Group in Leicester, added: “Many landlords are looking to sell because they are fed up with successive governments’ attacks on the private rental sector.

The Labor government is introducing a tenants’ rights bill to end “no-fault” Section 21 evictions, which is expected to become law by summer 2025.

John Chappell, a Rics member based in Skegness in Lincolnshire, said: “The market is still very volatile due to growing concerns about the extension of tenants’ rights.

“Increased costs and administration will result in fewer rented homes being available.”

Fewer landlords entering the market: The charts show a negative net balance, meaning more Rics members are seeing fewer new landlord instructions in their local areas.

What will happen to rents?

More Rics members, including letting agents and surveyors, said they saw tenant demand increase between August and October than those who said demand had fallen.

During the same period, they also said the number of new rental homes coming onto the market has declined.

The majority of agents and surveyors expect rental prices to rise in the coming months and years, due to this mismatch between supply and demand.

In every region of the UK, more Rics members said rents would rise over the next three months than those who said rents would fall. This has been most massive in Wales, the Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber.

Colin Townsend of John Goodwin letting agents in Malvern, Worcestershire, said: “Rents continue to rise. This trend is expected to continue as the budget has done little to encourage owners to invest in the rental market.

Daryl Woodward of Peninsula Estates in Wirral near Liverpool said there were “fewer instructions, as landlords leave the market, rents and tenant demand rise, with fewer properties available to rent”.

Over the past four years, the average rent for a property in the UK has increased by 34 percent, according to Zoopla. Some cities have seen larger rent increases of more than 40 percent.

Over the next five years, Rics members expect rents to increase by around 5 percent per year on average.