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Something is happening quietly across Broxbourne and other districts in Hertfordshire that will affect anyone looking for a rental property this year: landlords are selling up and leaving the market in droves.
Not because they've made their money and want out. Not because property prices are irresistible. They're leaving because the system has made being a landlord, particularly one with a difficult tenant, so expensive, so slow, and so emotionally exhausting that selling has become the only rational choice.
In the first weeks of 2026, I've spoken to several landlords who have either sold their rental properties or are desperately trying to exit before new legislation makes it even harder. They asked to remain anonymous, not because they're ashamed, but because some are still navigating legal processes and fear retribution. Their stories share a haunting thread: months of unpaid rent, thousands in legal fees, properties left damaged, and a system that seemed designed to delay rather than resolve.
What landlords are telling us
"I am a landlord who would like to sell this property. Not to re-rent. I am getting older and need to downsize," one Broxbourne property owner tells me, their voice thick with frustration. "I had the property fully renovated before this tenant moved in. The flat has been severely damaged. Several doors of a new kitchen have been dismantled, holes punched in walls, carpets destroyed."
They continue: "The tenant has been notified that I need them to move as I want to sell, and this has been going on for a couple of years. Each time I approach the tenant, I am advised that they are on the high priority list to move with the council. Then out of the blue, the council calls and rather abruptly and rudely advised me that they have told the tenant to remain and do nothing."