Landlords Hit By A Decline In Tenant Numbers
For the first time in more than 10 years, the total amount of rent being handed to landlords has fallen, a survey reveals.
The findings from real estate firm Hamptons International reveals that fewer people are renting their home so the rent bill fell to £59.1 billion last year, that's rental income drop of £1.9 billion on 2017’s figure.
However, rents rose by an average of 0.4% over the same period and the fall in the number of tenants comes after it was reported that more people are now buying their homes - the first rise in more than a decade.
They are being helped by the loosening of lending conditions and the government's Help to Buy scheme, the English Housing Survey reveals.
The total number of households in England that rent privately has fallen by 3.5% over the year to 4.5 million.
Reduction in the number of buy to let landlords
Hamptons also points out that there's been a reduction in the number of buy to let landlords with 120,000 of them leaving the market in the last three years.
That's when former chancellor George Osborne introduced stamp duty reforms and other issues, including the phasing out of tax relief.
The firm's head of research, Aneisha Beveridge, said: "Landlords have sold lots of properties and there are fewer homes available for rent, but rents have not risen by much.
"Affordability is an issue for tenants and landlords are choosing not to increase rents as much as they might have done."
Of the 11 UK regions monitored for rent, nine saw falls in the total rent bill last year.
Most landlords don't use agents
Meanwhile, a government report has revealed that most landlords in England do not use a letting agent for managing their rental property.
The English Private Landlord Survey covers 2018 and found that 52% of landlords did not use a letting agent for managing or letting their property.
Just 34% say they use an agent for letting, while 9% say they use an agent for management and letting.
The report also highlights that landlords entering the sector more recently are less likely to use an agent than those who have been established for longer; 53% of those who have been a landlord for at least 11 years are using an agent.
The survey also reveals that the average gross rental income for a landlord is £15,000.
When the figures are broken down, 61% have a rental income of £20,000 or less, 26% have an income of between £20,000 and £49,000, while £13,000 have a gross rental income of at least £50,000.
