27th
Sep 2023
Virtually two-thirds of landlords – 63 per cent – are considering switching to a lettings agency with 27 per cent already so to avoid having to deal with fraud and scams, according to a comparison website’s survey.
Just under a third of landlords – 32 per cent – switched so they did not have to bother with dealing with repairs as their main reason and 30 per cent contracted agents because of increasing legal requirements and the same percentage did so because they did not want to handle finding new tenants.
It is estimated that on average property upkeep and maintence costs landlords 20 per cent of their income and the research also finds that the major reason why landlords are quitting the sector is decreasing or lack of profits – 35 per cent, A cite third – 32 per cent – cite repairs as becoming the reason they could sell up.
However 29 per cent of landlords thought agents had a better know-how of the intricacies of the sector was 29 per cent, whilst 27 per cent said an agent would reduce the danger of fraud and scams, as 34 per cent of landlords have already rejected tenants attempting to falsify information.
Just 16% of landlords said they would continue to manage the process themselves.
A spokesperson for the website, says: “With both the Renters (Reform) Bill and higher interest rates on mortgages having a huge knock-on effect on the residential property investment market, some landlords may find the coming months more challenging than usual.
“Switching to a letting management company offers some attractive advantages and gives landlords the scope to hold onto their investment.
“Property managers have a strong knowledge of the market’s changing regulations and can also take on much of the responsibility of owning investment property: lettings, repairs, rental disputes and complaints can all be tackled by an agency.
“Many offer increasingly alluring packages for landlords in return for around 10-20% of profits.”
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