‘Lots of us are very anxious’: why Britain’s buy-to-let landlords are selling

UK rent and rate rises plus tougher rules are fuelling a crisis for both tenants and owners

• Massive shock': the tenants facing eviction as landlords hike rent or sell up

Philip Harris, a 42-year-old designer who has properties in south and east London, became a landlord by accident after meeting his now wife. She already had a flat, but rented it out, and the couple bought a property off-plan, when it was still at the design stage. When their children were born, they needed more space and bought a third property, renting out the second one. At the time, they saw their small portfolio as a retirement investment, but now, worried about mounting costs, they want to reduce the risk by selling one of the homes.

It's a picture playing out across the country. Landlords sold 35,000 more properties than they bought across 2022, according to Hamptons analysis of data from Countrywide, as the jump in mortgage costs and tax changes make buy to let an increasingly unappealing proposition.