0:01 AM, 6th December 2024, About 2 weeks ago 7
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A survey of England’s private landlords has unveiled a complex landscape marked by increasing costs and shifting landlord strategies.
The English Private Landlord Survey found that nearly half of all landlords owned a single rental property, accounting for 21% of tenancies.
However, a significant portion of the market was dominated by larger landlords, with 17% owning five or more properties, representing 49% of all tenancies.
Financial pressures were evident, with around three-fifths of landlords carrying some form of borrowing on their properties.
Fixed-rate interest BTL mortgages were the most common type, preferred by 69% of landlords.
One issue is the ageing landlord population and the survey highlights that the typical landlord is 59 years old and 64% were aged 55 or older, a figure consistent with the 2021 survey.
Landlords with larger portfolios were more likely to be older, with more than three-quarters of those owning five or more properties aged 55 or older, compared to 57% of single-property landlords.
The landlord survey has been published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government which says that the PRS ‘is characterised by diversity and looks very different now than it did in decades past’.
It goes on: “The number of households in the sector rose by 52% between 2008-09 and 2023-24, from 3.1 million to 4.7 million households.
“The private rented sector is now the second largest tenure in England and is home to 19% of all households.”
The report states that landlords have been affected by various policy changes since 2010, including tax.
Other issues include changes to the Stamp Duty Land Tax, the lending criteria on BTL mortgages tightening and the growing role of the Build to Rent sector.
Landlords reported a median gross income – excluding rent – of £25,000 over the past year, up from £20,000 in 2018 and similar to £24,000 in 2021.
While 41% of landlords earned less than £20,000 from non-rental sources, 26% earned £50,000 or more.
The median gross rental income for landlords was £19,200, a significant increase from £15,000 in 2018 and £17,520 in 2021.
Half of landlords earned less than £20,000 in rental income, while 17% earned £50,000 or more.
As expected, larger portfolio landlords and those operating as companies earned more in rent compared to smaller landlords or individuals.
Regional disparities were evident, with London landlords reporting the highest median rental income of £24,500 and North East landlords the lowest at £12,000.
The government survey goes on to highlight that property maintenance is emerging as a significant concern, with a quarter of landlords reporting damp or mould issues.
Also, 18% of landlords say they faced tenant complaints related to these issues.
To mitigate financial risks with a new tenant, landlords are increasingly relying on measures like guarantors and upfront rent payments.
A notable 58% of landlords have increased rents for new tenants, with a median increase of 11%.
However, 35% of landlords put rents up for new tenants by at least 15%.
Tenant turnover was also a key theme with the survey revealing that tenants were more likely to initiate the end of a tenancy – 44% gave notice.
A quarter of landlords said their tenant decided not to renew when the AST ended, and 13% reported that the tenant left before the agreement’s end date.
The survey highlights that 8% of landlords asked the tenant to leave, while 6% had to evict the tenant – and 4% of landlords opted not to renew the tenancy.
Landlords generally reported compliance with legal and safety obligations, including providing Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) and conducting Right to Rent checks.
However, a significant number of landlords (47%) owned properties with an EPC rating of D or below.
Looking ahead, the survey indicated a shift in landlord strategies with a growing number of landlords planning to reduce their portfolios.
Apparently, 31% of landlords are intending to reduce the size of their holdings.
This trend was particularly pronounced among larger landlords.
The survey also reveals that there are around 1.3 million tenancy deposits registered directly by landlords.
Ryan Stevens
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Sign Up10:58 AM, 6th December 2024, About A week ago
"The survey highlights that 8% of landlords asked the tenant to leave, while 6% had to evict the tenant – and 4% of landlords opted not to renew the tenancy."
That's a very inconvenient fact for the logic behind abolishing s21. Mind you, it just confirms what most of us knew already.
JB
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Sign Up11:17 AM, 6th December 2024, About A week ago
Mould is becoming the bain of my life. Tenants seem to accept no responsibility that it's them who are causing it
Badger
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Sign Up12:16 PM, 8th December 2024, About A week ago
Reply to the comment left by JB at 06/12/2024 - 11:17
Yep, same here.
The level of ignorance amongst the tenant population about the causes of mould is beyond absolutely staggering.
JB
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Sign Up13:56 PM, 8th December 2024, About A week ago
Reply to the comment left by Badger at 08/12/2024 - 12:16
And I've had Shelter's (who shelters no one) website quoted at me, that its the landlords fault - not theirs
PH
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Sign Up13:59 PM, 8th December 2024, About A week ago
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/700143
Keep it rolling.
Badger
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Sign Up19:42 PM, 8th December 2024, About A week ago
Reply to the comment left by JB at 08/12/2024 - 13:56
Backed up in black and white by the government as well, so even more difficult to refute as nonsense.
I was literally left open-mouthed when Gove announced this.
I cannot begin to understand ignorance as profound as that.
Sarash Bhatoolaul
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Sign Up11:08 AM, 12th December 2024, About 4 days ago
Reply to the comment left by JB at 06/12/2024 - 11:17
I wholly agree with you. It seems government policies are encouraging tenants to become more assertive, vindictive and confrontational with landlords. The local councils also assist to fuel the tension and the adversary between the conflicting parties by being prejudiced for most of the time against the landlords. They're never neutral nor have an objective mind. They secretly collude with tenants and "build a case" against the landlord.as one of the residents who is not even in the contract put it to me very recently. Another resident on a different property who was subletting without my knowledge had the cheek to complain to the Newham Council's Tenant Liaison Officer and even applied to The First Tier Tribunal to bring the house rent down. As she couldn't submit a written contract ( there was no oral contract between us ), her application was rejected and the case was closed.
Government officers work on the assumption that tenants are faultless and any growth of mould, dampness and condensation fall flatly on the responsibility of the property owner. Some tenants do not sufficiently heat their homes for several reasons ( like saving on energy usage or leaving their rooms unoccupied ), leave their windows and doors shut for most of the time, keep the house untidy, dry their laundry on the radiators or cook with open lids with windows closed, etc. There's a limit how much a landlord can do to prevent the formation and growth of mould in a private property.