Nearly Half Of Landlords Lowered Rents During Covid
Many landlords have been helping tenants struggling to pay their rent because of the pandemic to keep them housed as long as possible by reducing their rents, according to recent research.
The survey held by a deposit protection service and a specialist buy to let lender has suggested that the majority of landlords want to keep tenancies going if able to do so.
Nearly half of landlords surveyed (43%) said they had agreed to help their tenants by reducing their rents for the time being during the pandemic.
A spokesperson for the deposit protection service, said: “Although the buy-to-let market has remained more buoyant than some predicted, the last year has not been without its challenges for many tenants and landlords.
“The survey suggests a large proportion of landlords have been acting to support their tenants, with a significant proportion saying they had temporarily lowered rents during the pandemic.”
The survey also found that just over a third of landlords (34%) had recently purchased or would be buying additional BTL properties in the next nine months.
Other findings from the research of around 300 landlords indicates that the ‘opportunity to buy at a discount’ was the major incentive for those who acquired new BTL properties. The other major reasons include long-term investment (35%), stamp duty savings (34%) and change of either location (26%) or type of property (23%).
Paul Fryers, managing director of the buy to let lender, said: “Understanding the purchasing motivations behind professional landlords is an essential factor for our clients
“It’s equally important to recognise and appreciate some of the challenges landlords have been facing during the past year and how they will affect their current and future applications.”
The survey also uncovered that 22% of landlords since the pandemic arrived on our shores had refinanced their properties, 7% took a mortgage holiday and 13% had sold a property.
Whereas 51% of landlords who did not buy an additional property over the last year was because of ‘declining rental yields’ and 42% because of their ‘concern about economic stability’.
Fryers continued: “During the pandemic we saw a significant rise in the use of limited companies to buy and manage property portfolios, and it seems a significant proportion of landlords have made the most of the opportunities provided by the buoyant market conditions we have experienced over the past six months.”
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