The abolition of Section 21 evictions poses the greatest challenge in 2024, according to landlords.
Limits to rental price increases and changes to notice periods ranked second, while greater rights for tenants as pet owners placed third.
The research, from Zero Deposit, found that most investors are ambivalent about the year ahead.
Some 21% are optimistic, 24% are pessimistic, while 55% are neutral.
Sam Reynolds, chief executive of Zero Deposit, said: “It’s clear that the Rental Reform Bill and the abolition of Section 21 evictions, in particular, remain a concern for many landlords. It’s seen as fundamental to protecting their property when significant issues arise and with so many factors now working against them, many landlords have reached their tipping point and have exited the market.
“This comes at a time where more stimulus is needed to encourage landlords to invest in the sector, such as a more lenient tax regime. Without this, and in the absence of any meaningful progress in the building of new homes, the supply of rental stock will remain insufficient and rental prices will continue to rise in 2024. More bad news for the nation’s renters.
“Landlords electing to not increase rents, despite a vast number of reasons to do so, speaks to an understanding of their tenant’s financial constraints. In many cases, and in my experience, this underlines the impact of a positive relationship between landlords and tenants with just a small proportion planning to increase rents in the new year.”
The latest version of the Renters’ Reform Bill is 115 pages long, and can be viewed here.
In terms of other challenges facing landlords in the year ahead, they said the biggest will be the cost of maintaining, repairing and running their portfolio, followed by legislative changes.