Here are 9 issues we’ve found many landlords don’t know about – after all, running a buy-to-let can eat up their time and resources, so few of them have the time or energy to keep tabs on the big issues in the market.
Did the extra 3% Stamp Duty didn’t work?
When George Osborne introduced the additional Stamp Duty levy in April 2016 on second homes and investment properties, it was sold to us as a way to make the property market fairer. The opposite has happened – the number of buy to let properties hasn’t dropped off, and instead the Chancellor has pocketed an extra £1 billion from landlords and second homes buyers.
Why drives tenants to default?
The most common reasons why tenants fall into arrears are, in order of occurrence are debts, unemployment, hours of work being cut back, benefits payment problems, illness, unexpected bills, an increase in rent and domestic problems.
Won't most tenants will be ‘generation rent’ forever?
Not if they can help it. 47% of tenants are saving to buy their first home. It’s going to take a while, so why not give them a helping hand by agreeing to let us record they rental payments and help build a better credit score?
Who's renting what these days?
TV sitcoms like Channel 4’s Fresh Meat and This Life and even Big Brother give the impression we’re a nation of house sharers. But back in the real world, data shows only 14.7% of rented homes are mates mucking in. The most common type of rented house hold is the young couple at 34%. So more Just the Two of Us starring Lyndhurst from the 1980s.
Don't most landlords want their tenants to stay put?
There has been a lot of publicity about rogue landlords, and in some area of the UK’s it’s a significant problem. But on average surprisingly few – 13% - of tenants who move do so because they’ve been ejected by their landlord or agent. Nearly two-thirds moved home because they wanted to, while 20% are renting their first home.
Doesn't everyone know about Right to Rent?
It would appear not. A recent survey found that 27% of tenants in England and Wales hadn’t been asked to prove their Right to Rent in the UK with the relevant documentation (usually their passport).
Don't most landlords do it full-time?
Not at all. Three-quarters of landlords in the UK say renting out property is not their main source of income.
Everyone uses a lettings agent, don't they?
You might think so given the ranks of letting agents on most high streets these days. But only a third of properties in the UK are managed entirely by an agent – the remaining two-thirds are either owned by ‘DIY’ landlords or have elements of their management completed by an agent, but not all of it.
Every landlord has to evict a tenant at some point
No landlord or tenant wants to go through the nightmare of an eviction. But despite national figures being at historic highs, evictions remain relatively rare. Approximately 40,000 households are evicted from their rented property every year, but only 15% of all evictions are by private landlords. This means just 6,000 or 0.13% of the UK’s 4.5 million privately rented households face eviction every year.
Remember, CreditLadder can help you improve your credit score.
CreditLadder can improve your credit position by reporting your rent payments. CreditLadder is the first way to improve your credit score and position across all three of the main Credit Reference Agencies in the UK, namely Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Building up a high credit score has a lot of benefits, including helping you access finance at better rates - this can also help save you money. CreditLadder also runs a free mortgage application service in partnership with Tembo which will tell you how much you could borrow.
Remember the content provided in this article is for information purposes only and should not be considered as advice.