74% of landlords believe that if brought into force nationally, Selective Licensing will deter new landlords from entering the buy-to-let market.

Landlords were asked for their views on Selective Licensing and other regulations affecting the landlord and buy-to-let market in the Paragon Mortgages quarterly trends survey.

60% of landlords said they would not invest in buy-to-let property where Selective Licensing was in force. This sentiment was shared almost equally by professional landlords (60%) and private investor landlords (61%). Just 20% believe that Selective Licensing will not impact on their rental business.

Those surveyed were also asked to comment on other regulations impacting the landlord market on what they felt would hit them the hardest. City Wide Licensing and Article 4 for HMOs were top in terms of what landlords thought had the potential to impact their business the most (14%).

John Heron (pictured), Paragon’s director of mortgages, said: “It is often suggested that the buy-to-let market is not regulated enough. In reality the market is heavily regulated and landlords have to comply with more than 100 regulations.

“It is clearly important that landlords who operate in the buy-to-let market are regulated and run responsible businesses. However, what our survey shows is that landlords are becoming increasingly concerned about Selective Licensing and other areas of regulation.

“If Selective Licensing is employed in the appropriate way it will be beneficial in areas that need it, but there is a danger of putting off new landlords – which the market needs in order to grow – if a broad brush approach is taken.”