Something is happening quietly across Hertfordshire that will affect anyone looking for a rental home this year. Landlords are selling up and leaving the private rented sector in growing numbers.

Not because they have made a killing and want out. Not because house prices are irresistible. They are leaving because the system has made being a landlord, particularly one with a difficult tenant, so costly, so slow, and so draining that selling has become the only rational option.

Broxbourne offers a stark example of what is now playing out across the county. But make no mistake. This is not just a Broxbourne story. It is happening in Welwyn Hatfield, East Herts, North Herts, Three Rivers, Hertsmere, Watford, and beyond.

In recent weeks, we have spoken to several Hertfordshire landlords who have sold, or are desperately trying to exit, before new legislation makes it even harder. They asked to remain anonymous, not out of shame, but because many are still entangled in legal processes and fear retaliation.

Their stories share the same grim pattern. Months of unpaid rent, thousands in legal fees, damaged properties, and a system that seems designed to delay rather than resolve.

A Broxbourne landlord told us they fully refurbished their flat before a tenant moved in. Within months, the property was badly damaged. Kitchen units torn apart, holes in walls, ruined carpets.