Landlord Confidence In The Uk Hits New Low
The confidence of landlords in the UK has reached a new low with just 29% saying their business expectations are 'good' or 'very good'.
The findings from the National Landlords' Association (NLA) are at the lowest level recorded by the regular survey since the end of 2006.
The NLA says that in the second half of 2015, landlord confidence dropped significantly after the then Chancellor George Osborne brought in changes to landlord taxation levels but confidence still remained above 35%.
That is until the latest survey which shows there's been a big shift in landlords' confidence for the next three months since the Government's proposal to abolish Section 21 'no fault' evictions.
Landlord confidence is highest in Yorkshire
The survey found that landlord confidence is highest in Yorkshire and the Humber, as well as the East Midlands, with both on 34%, and is lowest for landlords in the North East, with 18%. In central London, the figure is 19%.
The NLA's chief executive, Richard Lambert, said: "The proposal to abolish no fault evictions with no certainty of how courts will cope means it's no wonder landlords are pessimistic.
"A landlord needs confidence in their business and it's vital that confidence is restored."
He added that the private letting sector needs confidence to help house a large part of the population.
Designated landlord bank accounts being closed
Meanwhile, letting agents are being warned that one bank has moved to close several undesignated landlord accounts.
The warning from PayProp came after letting agents were contacted by Lloyds Bank telling them to separate client accounts for each individual landlord.
Now, PayProp says agents should have a back-up plan should their bank make this request.
The firm believes this could be the bank's response to anti-money laundering legislation to close all undesignated client accounts.
Undesignated client accounts ‘to be closed’
Apparently, Lloyds contacted the agents to give them 60 days' notice that their undesignated client accounts were to be closed.
They offered two options for agents to either replace them with designated client accounts or to close the account.
They also advised that the agent could make 'alternative banking arrangements'.
The firm's chief executive, Neil Cobbold, said: "It appears to be an isolated incident with Lloyds contacting several agents. All letting agents should now think about how they handle client payments and they must also have a professional recordkeeping approach and a clear audit trail."
