Many landlords have felt an acute lack of support in the last 18 months and reckon more should be done to give them the same protection as tenants, finds a new survey from Simply Business.
Its new report – The Impact of Covid-19 on UK Landlords – finds that just 7% took advantage of a mortgage payment holiday, many had to dip into their own personal savings to make up for the loss in rental income, while others struggled to deal with difficult tenants. It says 43% feel that landlords should have been compensated by the government for losses in rental income.
It quizzed 560 landlords, over half of whom (51%) have lost money due to Covid-19, most commonly because their tenants couldn’t pay the rent (27%). Another 8% of landlords couldn’t find suitable new tenants during the pandemic, which caused them to lose out on rental income.
Rent reductions
The report reveals how 14% of landlords gave rent reductions and 28% arranged a repayment plan, however 44% say their tenants didn’t stick to the schedule. The insurance provider says more than a third of landlords expect it to take at least 12 months to recoup losses.
Of the landlords who lost income, 47% were down between £2,001 and £10,000, while 14% lost more than £10,000. Despite this, landlords largely remain resilient, according to Simply Business, as 59% still think property is a worthwhile investment, while almost a third are optimistic about their future letting property.
However, CEO Alan Thomas (pictured) says it comes as no surprise that a fifth of landlords are planning to sell property as a direct result of Covid.
“Contributing over £16 billion annually in pre-tax spending, an exodus of smaller landlords from the buy-to-let market could have a devastating impact on the UK economy,” he adds.
Read the report.
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