'Accidental Landlord' Numbers Plummet
The proportion of accidental landlords in the UK has fallen for this first time in five years.
The findings from real estate firm Hamptons International reveals that 7%, or one in 14 properties, that are being put on the rental market this year had been listed for sale over the six months previously.
They say that the slowing sales market has led to some property owners letting their home instead of selling it, which means they become an 'accidental' landlord.
The firm has now calculated that the proportion of homes since 2018 being let by accidental landlords has dropped by 8.6%.
Among the reasons for the fall include regulatory and tax changes which will have seen these landlords facing growing bills.
Largest number of accidental landlords
The largest number of accidental landlords are to be found in London, Hamptons says.
They say that in the capital, 10% of homes that are being listed for rent had been up for sale previously. In 2018, the figure was 12.6%.
Hampton's head of research, Aneisha Beveridge, said: "The proportion of homes that are to let and have been listed previously for sale, has dropped for the first time in five years."
She said that this activity is despite a weaker property sales market, which usually encourages accidental market landlords to let their property.
Law firm warns of Section 21 scrapping delays
Meanwhile, one London legal firm says that landlords should expect repossession delays when Section 21 is scrapped.
The warning comes from Osbornes Law who says that the government's bid for scrapping Section 21, the so-called no-fault evictions route, will put extra strain on a struggling course system.
The government says it wants landlords to have a good reason for eviction but the law firm says this may not improve a tenant's security and it could be unworkable in practice.
The firm's head of property litigation, Shilpa Mathuradas, said: "Landlords will need reassurance that a workable system will be available if the process is abolished.
"This will ensure that where a landlord is rightfully seeking possession, then it's obtained efficiently and quickly without significant cost."
The law firm says that should, for example, a landlord be claiming possession because of rent arrears or another fault of the tenant, then this will not stop because of the abolition of the Section 21 process.
Instead, landlords will use the lengthy and more expensive Section 8 process to pursue a tenant through the courts.
