London renting: Landlords selling up 'could agitate markets'

Paul Bradley is a landlord with a single rental property in north London

London's housing market is enduring a tough time due to extortionate rent increases and some mortgage rates spiralling to new heights. The situation has led to some landlords leaving the market - a move that could further exacerbate the capital's rental crisis, say property commentators.

When the Bank of England raised the base rate in June, landlord Paul Bradley saw the cost of his interest-only variable tracker mortgage go up by £46.

Mr Bradley's mortgage has tripled in the past three years - from £304 to £932 a month.

The 74-year-old has been renting his flat in Enfield, north London, to a tenant for just over £1,000 a month.

Mr Bradley says that this, coupled with other costs including tax, mean he is "well out of pocket" and is in effect subsidising the tenant to live in the property.

"I'm losing about £250 at the moment so it's going to be £300 a month," he says.

Mr Bradley wants to sell the flat but says the tenant has refused to leave so he has to go to court to get the property back.

• 'We've got £1,750 and can't find anywhere to rent'

• 'I can't rent anywhere affordable as a single mum'

Mr Bradley lives in the Midlands with his family but said he kept the Enfield flat as a "nest egg".

However he is now in arrears and says "it's tough" to manage.

He says he knows of other landlords with mortgages that are also selling up.

According to data from Zoopla, about 4,000 landlord homes have been listed for sale every month in London so far this year.

Londoners are already facing high prices, bidding wars for homes and are being asked for months of rent up front because there are more tenants looking than there are homes available in the capital.

In response to the Bank of England raising its benchmark interest rate from 4.5% to 5%, the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) warned hundreds of thousands of rental properties could be lost not just in London but across the UK.

The NRLA worries it could exacerbate the ongoing supply and demand crisis across the private rental sector.

It follows comments earlier this year from the boss of London's biggest estate agent Foxtons who warned the lack of rental options in the capital is so "dramatic" people will need to move further out.

Guy Gittins told the BBC the main issue in London was a mismatch between supply and demand.

Nevertheless, despite rents in the capital already being at record highs, property commentator Marta de Sousa admits landlords with mortgages will have no other option but to to raise rents.

"Renters will be struggling," she says. "They won't be able to buy because they can't afford those high mortgages."

In April, rent in London was 13.5% higher than a year ago, according to Zoopla's figures.

Marta adds: "They'll be stuck in the rental market - a market where landlords are upping prices."

Follow BBC London on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail].