New legislation being introduced by the government is “counter-productive” and will deter potential landlords from entering the buy-to-let sector.

That was the message from a group of letting agents at a conference held at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium in Islington, London, on Thursday, hosted by the Guild of Letting and Management.

A raft of legislation is to be introduced by the government, including changes to the criteria enabling agents and landlords to issue Section 21 eviction notices, new laws on smoke alarms and, most controversially perhaps, laws which require agents and landlords to evict illegal immigrants.

Speaking to EYE at the conference, Andrew Tustin, a lettings manager at Beaumont Lettings in Lewisham, south London, said: “Introducing all this new legislation runs counter to the government’s idea of increasing supply. If they put more regulations in place, less investors will come into the sector. It seems contrary. I cannot understand it.”

Mark Beaumont, owner of the company, said: “What it reminds me of is Home Information Packs which were rushed through by Yvette Cooper, and then lots of people invested their life savings to be home inspectors and then they got scrapped.

“We went through two years of finding out how it would affect our business, a year implementing it and then it got scrapped again.”

Of all the legislation being introduced, the most concerning to agents appears to be that under Right to Rent, which requires an agent or landlord to evict tenants who are illegal immigrants.

Antony Karageorghis, managing director of Ariston Property Group, which handles sales and lettings in north London, said: “The most worrying thing is the legislation on illegal immigrants. I find that still very much untested in London and it is giving us lots of problems.”

Tustin said Government policy was simply being passed down to agents, while Beaumont added: “Earlier on today a biometric immigration document was mentioned, but I don’t know if a biometric immigration document is a legitimate one or a bad one. It could be bona fide or it may not be. I am not qualified in that field so I have no idea.

“Central Government is offloading on to agents work that should be done by the UK Border Agency.

“I think (the Government) should check the people coming into the country themselves. I can see what they are looking for, they are looking for the example where they go into one property and find 23 tenants, but I have not heard of any cases like that.

“I cannot see that we would be able to prevent things like that happening because I am not aware of that happening anyway. That sort of behaviour is more likely with private landlords – we never see it.”

The agents agreed that all reputable agents and landlords would already ensure that working smoke alarms were fitted and saw less of a problem with this legislation.