Almost a third of landlords who took part in a UK survey have had to take some form of rent reduction because of Covid.

753 landlords took part in a survey held by a UK wide online lettings agent said that they had agreed to reductions in rent or payment ‘holidays’ because of the pandemic’s impact on redundancies, fears over job security and furlough as well as its imminent demise.

The survey also found that 16.2 per cent of respondents have endured rental arrears because of the pandemic with an average debt of £2,523.

However it is not all doom and gloom as the PRS UK market is remarkedly buoyant, as the lettings agent has seen a surge of new tenants as lockdown restrictions have been removed and the economy is starting to improve.

The results of the poll shows that the outlook is very positive with virtually a quarter (23.4%) of surveyed landlords are actively looking into increasing their portfolio by investing in one or more properties.

Aaron Short of the lettings agency, said: “We are always listening to our landlords and tenants to understand the current needs of the market and this is why the National Landlord Index is so important.

“Clearly, the pandemic has had an adverse effect for so many, and it is so encouraging to see landlords reacting when required with some form of rent reduction.

“We have certainly seen the market recovering quickly and the outlook is very optimistic with many property investors aiming to expand their portfolios.”

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