According to analysis from House Buyer Bureau, around 20% of properties for sale with tenants residing are in the North West.

This is followed by the South East with 17% and Yorkshire and the Humber accounts for 13%.

The East of England makes up 12%, followed by the East Midlands and West Midlands at 11% respectively.

Tenants ‘being sold as part of the house’

House Buyer Bureau’s managing director of Chris Hodgkinson said: “Landlords often get a lot of stick. Tenants see the price of rent going up and often assume it’s the result of landlord greed, but this simply isn’t the case. Certainly not anymore.

“Landlords – especially those who own just one or two properties – are facing mortgage cost increases that they simply cannot keep up with. And while some are trying to combat this by passing the cost onto their tenants, others are simply selling-up and getting out of the game. That’s how bad it’s become.”

He continued that thousands were not waiting until their existing tenants came to the end of their agreement, and while tenants were legally entitled to stay put until the end their tenancy agreement they were “effectively being sold as part of the house and their mid-long-term fate is to be decided by whosoever buys the property.”

Hodgkinson added: “This could mean that an eviction is on the horizon to make way for the new owner-occupier. It could mean that higher rent will be demanded. Whatever the outcome, it’s causing unsustainable levels of stress and concern for renters at a time where stress and concern are already at a high.

“With the current economic picture remaining uncertain at best, there’s a high chance that more buy-to-let properties will be up for sale, resulting in even less opportunities for tenants.”