Landlords Spend £12k On Refurbishment
The amount landlords spend on refurbishing a rental home has seen the quality of properties in the private rental sector improving drastically over the last 10 years, one report reveals.
InterBay Commercial found that landlords are spending on average £12,000 with the proportion of properties in England in the PRS considered to be non-decent dropping over the last 10 consecutive years.
According to the Office for National Statistics, the proportion has fallen from 2008's figure of 44% to 24% this year.
That's despite the PRS growing by 45% over the same period, with the addition of 1.5 million properties.
Also, the result of this investment, says the latest English Housing Survey, is that 84% of tenants say they are satisfied with their rental property.
A landlord will spend £12,000 per refurbishment
InterBay Commercial's findings reveal that a landlord will typically spend on average £12,000 per refurbishment, though this will vary depending on the type of refurbishment being carried out.
A heavy refurbishment, for example, which includes extensions and work requiring planning permission, will cost around £40,000 on average, compared to a light refurbishment, such as redecorating or modernising, costing just £7,000.
The firm's head of sales, Darrell Walker, said: "Since the financial crisis, the private rental sector has been a success though it's an easy target for political point scoring.
"The sector caters for a growing proportion of those who choose not to or cannot buy a home and as the sector has grown, it's also become more professional."
He said that the standard of rental accommodation has improved drastically over the last 10 years and refurbishment has been key to this.
He added: "Refurbishment is a win-win for landlords and tenants as landlords improve the rent they receive and tenants enjoy better quality accommodation."
Tenant demand is on the rise
Meanwhile, it has been revealed that demand from tenants for rental properties is on the rise.
According to Paragon, the proportion of landlords who are reporting that demand from renters has risen to 29% in this year’s third quarter.
That's the highest it has been for nearly 12 months and the first consecutive quarterly increase since the end of 2017.
The research also highlights that portfolio landlords are looking to increase their portfolio sizes with the average portfolio containing 13.2 properties that are worth £1.8 million.
