Ms Margaret McCormick:

It is a private rental sector. Investors move into the sector to invest. We have so much legislation around it and rent pressure zones. We have a 2% cap on changes, while trades have gone up by 30% and general inflation is running at around 10%. We are restricting one set of people for the benefit of another. That set of people is in a situation where their investment does not stack up in terms of continuing to stay in the market.

There is a massive value to landlords being in the market. Private rental landlords give accommodation all over the country, every type of accommodation from houses to rural property. If we continually lambast and continually change it so they cannot manage their properties, they will leave the sector. I need landlords in the sector. We need landlords in the sector, but 14% of landlords would not recommend being a landlord to a friend, while 79% of tenants said their renting experience is positive. There is a big disconnect about the whole situation.