31st
Mar 2022
A company director says that landlords must show compassion when considering increasing rents because of the cost of living predicament.
Stuart Collar-Brown, director of an online auction service, tells landlords they must try to help support tenants to deal with the cost of living calamity, but adds BTL landlords will need government assistance.
Collar-Brown says: “Against this backdrop of interest rate rises and the cost of living crisis squeezing families, landlords can do their bit to support tenants and help ease some of the strain” he says.
“Of course rental rate increases are necessary from time to time. After all, many ‘accidental’ landlords will be in the same situation and find there is now very little profit from their rental properties.
“But any decisions around a rent increase should ideally be made with a degree of compassion for the situation a tenants find themselves in. We saw this level of support during the Covid pandemic where a large majority of landlords made the decision to freeze any rental increase, valuing a tenants loyalty over a 10 per cent price increase.”
He does understand and accept that over the last few years landlords have felt the brunt of escalating costs with the downgrading of tax relief on mortgage interest and the extra stamp duty surcharge.
He says: “Couple this with the same cost of living challenges facing tenants and it’s inevitable that at some point the rent will need to go up. The question is, by how much?”
Collar-Brown calls for the government to start supporting both tenants and landlords to make sure BTL investors do not leave the sector, as it will undoubtedly cause rental increases down to supply and demand factors.
However he concludes: “There is a real opportunity here for landlords to play their part (if they are able) in helping to ease the financial strain that is impacting the lives of so many but they need the support of the government with fast and immediate action. Those that play the long-game and take an approach that appreciates the sensitive situation tenants are in are likely to reap the rewards.”
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