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Over three-quarters of landlords have no plans to expand this year
Original Author: Rosalind Renshaw
Over three-quarters of landlords have no intention of expanding their property portfolios within the next year, with 10.5% saying they will be selling off properties amid concerns over impending tax changes.
Over half (54%) say they plan to raise rents within the next six to 12 months, and almost 40% own their properties outright, with no mortgage.
These are just some of the findings from the new HomeLet landlord survey for 2017.
It was undertaken in January and received 3,762 responses.
Of that number, nearly eight in ten (79.2%) used a letting agent, with most (60.7%) opting for a fully managed service.
The type of landlord most likely to use a fully managed service were those with just over one property; the least likely were those with four or more properties.
Of those landlords who chose a fully managed service, 42% said the agent’s expertise was the main reason.
Of those landlords who did not use a fully managed service, 39% said it was too costly.
Worryingly, over half of landlords (51.7%) said they have had to deal with a problem tenant. The most common problems were late or non-payment of rent, followed by cleaning problems and damage.
Almost six in ten landlords (57.4%) said they would never consider a tenant with pets.
The survey has also revealed landlords’ reliance on agents to do their Right to Rent checks, with 72% saying that the checks were carried out by agents.
Asked about their concerns, landlords expressed worries over further legislation and the phasing out of their ability to offset finance costs against tax, which starts next month.
