The Renters’ Rights Act is “not a victory for tenants but economic vandalism that will hurt the very people it’s trying to protect,” according to a leading think-tank.

The warning comes from Reem Ibrahim of the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE), who argues in a new article that the legislation will “wreak havoc on the already fundamentally broken rental market” and drive landlords out of the sector.

The Act, which gained Royal Assent last month, will now become law — although the government has yet to confirm when it will come into force.

“If you rent out your property, you might never get it back”

Ms Ibrahim says the ban on Section 21 will make it harder for landlords to reclaim their properties, describing this as a fundamental erosion of property rights. “Until 2017, the term ‘no-fault evictions’ had simply been used to distinguish between a Section 8 notice — when a tenant breaches their agreement — and a Section 21 notice, when the tenancy has expired.

“What this new law does is ban landlords from reclaiming their property after a lease ends (unless they are selling, moving in themselves, or a tribunal gives permission).

“In other words: if you rent out your property, you might never get it back.”

She also warns that rent tribunals will effectively introduce rent controls, allowing tenants to challenge agreed rents immediately after moving in.

Landlords will become more selective

Ms Ibrahim predicts that many landlords will sell up or tighten their tenant criteria, further shrinking supply. “Because it will be extremely difficult to evict tenants, landlords will be much more selective about who they allow to rent their property.

“This incentivises discrimination against those regarded as riskier tenants — younger people, the self-employed, and those with less financial security.”

She argues that rather than regulating rents, the key to affordability lies in building more homes: “If we want more affordable homes, we need more supply. More building, more housing, more choice for tenants and more opportunity for investors.”