LANDLORD SURVEY - 800,000 renters in Covid-related arrears!
800,000 renters in Covid-related arrears.
Landlords have apparently warned ministers that they need to get a grip of the ‘crisis’ engulfing the private rented sector.
More than 800,000 private renters in England and Wales have built up rent arrears since lockdown measures began, according to the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA).
A recent survey of tenants by the research consultancy Dynata found that 7 per cent of private renters have built arrears due to the coronavirus pandemic. It says this equates to 840,000 tenants across England and Wales. So is 7% actually that bad? If it impacts you then the answer would be yes of course but 93% of tenants according to this survey are paying rent and this is positive news for the Buy to Let Industry.
Here are some of the stats from the survey:
The average arrears were between £251 and £500 but 18 per cent (more than 150,000) of tenants in arrears have rent debts of more than £1,000.
The survey found that younger people are most likely to have been affected with 14 per cent of renters aged 18 to 24 and 10 per cent of those aged 25 to 34 having built up arrears since March.
Self-employed people who rent were most likely to be in arrears, with 17 per cent saying they had developed rent debts since March.
Regionally, 11 per cent of renters in the West Midlands had built up arrears since March, the largest proportion of any region in England and Wales. This was followed by London where 9 per cent of renters had accrued arrears.
To keep tenants in their homes, the NRLA is renewing its call for a financial package to help struggling renters to pay off arrears built since lockdown measures began. Positive support for tenants by the NRLA who’s suggestions are a mixture of government guaranteed, interest-free, hardship loans and a boost to benefits rather than cutting this support as announced in the Spending Review.
If you are a local Landlord with property in Berkshire, Hampshire or Surrey then please feel free to contact us if you want to have a chat. We are local Landlords ourselves and would love to discuss your future property management plans or any properties to let in 2021.