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The rental market is stretched to breaking point, with a lack of stock, tax hikes and increased competition for places.

Government figures show that 25% of households renting privately are in receipt of housing benefits, which reduces supply for private renters who are struggling to save and pay rent.

Landlords are also leaving the market with the number selling up rising by nearly 13% in four months, Sky News has learned.

Sean Gillespie, a landlord in Hull, shares his views on the current crisis.

I have been a full-time landlord since 2007. Myself and my partner self-manage a portfolio of around 50 properties which is very demanding, and at the same time very rewarding. We are fortunate to have good, loyal, long term tenants and we try to go the extra mile for people.

But recently things have become more and more difficult for my business and we are now considering selling our portfolio. I am just one of many landlords who have either left the business or is considering doing so, with government legislation, particularly something called Section 24, being the main driver to landlords exiting the market.

Section 24 is a tax which was introduced by then-chancellor George Osborne in 2015. It means that landlords are no longer allowed to offset any of their financial costs against tax. So instead of being taxed on our profits, we're now taxed on our turnover. So we are actually taxed on money that we don't have.

For example, if we received £600 a month in rent and paid a mortgage and additional costs of £600 a month, you still need to pay tax of, on average, 40% on the full £600. Despite the fact that you receive no income. We are now being taxed on the money we give the bank!

Section 24 is also known as the "tenant tax" because what it is actually doing is contributing to many landlords deciding to sell up, leading to a shortage of rental properties - and an inevitable increase in rental costs. Hence the "tenant tax" moniker.

I recently advertised a three-bed terraced house at £625pcm and had 80 applications in three days. It's madness! Almost all of the applicants said the reason they were moving was because their landlord was selling up.

What other business can you not offset your costs? And being a landlord is a business - a business where we provide homes to people. So if the business is no longer viable people will stop doing it. Which is why landlords are leaving the market and why there are now less homes available for people to rent. We are seeing a real crisis in the private rental sector both for landlords and tenants.

'Misconceptions about landlords'

There's a misconception about the business of being a landlord - that we have our pillows stuffed with dollars. That is not the reality. The majority of us, run our businesses ethically and we keep rents low. We look after our tenants and make sure repairs are done on time.

There are a lot of good landlords and lots of very bad ones too. That is the same with tenants.

Most of us care about the people we rent our houses to. We don't want to put their rents up and we don't want to sell their homes either, but we are being forced to. We have mortgages to pay.

The costs of running my own portfolio have tripled since January. In some cases, our costs to rent out a property are more than we're receiving in rent. If landlords don't make any money, then they can't run a business, can't provide housing and, can't repair houses.

We have been demonised particularly by pressure groups like Shelter and Generation Rent who have successfully lobbied the government. But they have made things worse and have indirectly shot renters in the foot.

Read more:
Nearly one million private renters in England under threat of eviction, new research finds
Why is the UK's rental market in chaos?

We are completely sick of landlord bashing.

We are providing homes for people. I don't see any of these pressure groups providing homes.

I agree that when somebody can live in a house for 10-15 years and pay their rent and keep the house nice and then suddenly they can lose their home, it is an issue.

But landlords also need the ability to evict people that are not paying or people that are antisocial. I guess like everything, if it's misused or if it's abused, it's a bad thing.

The government has a housing crisis on their hands. It is only getting worse. It will likely turn into a homelessness crisis. And it is their own doing.

Section 24 and other policies designed to help tenants have caused the dry-up in supply and rocketed rental prices, making it harder for tenants to rent.

There needs to be a repeal of Section 24, a serious plan to build more social housing, an increase in Local Housing Allowance which is now well below the market rent.

A market that is too unpredictable and volatile for landlords and rents that are too expensive for most renters is a perfect storm, and an unsustainable one.

In response to Mr Gillespie and other landlords who claim they feel demonised by homeless charities who lobby the government for changes they say have a negative impact on their business, Polly Neate, the chief executive of Shelter, told Sky News: "Our client is the people at the sharp end of private renting, people who are being evicted, people who are facing homelessness.

"Landlords are able to advocate on behalf of themselves, but our job is to advocate on behalf of people who are at risk of homelessness."

Alicia Kennedy, director of Generation Rent, said: "Landlords who want to provide a home and do the right thing by their tenants should welcome the proposed reforms.

"All the reforms require is that landlords prove they have a legitimate reason for evicting their tenants and be registered so councils can ensure that the tenant's home is safe to live in."