Most landlords are resilient and will withstand the hard times.
A survey of members of the Residential Landlords Association (RLA) has found that nearly half plan to take advantage of falling house prices by adding to their portfolios. The online survey found that 40% first became landlords between 1999 and 2004, although 26% have been renting out property since before 1996.
Almost half (47%) began buying and renting residential property in order to create an alternative pension, but for 27% it is a main income, with 45% regarding it as a business.
The biggest property earners are family houses such as this five bedroom family home in Bath Road, Chiswick, W4, available to rent through Chiswick estate agent Oliver Finn. Such properties bring in 36% of rental income nationwide – followed by flats and apartments (26%), shared worker tenancies (11%), social security tenants (10%) and shared student houses (8%).
The research found that 89% are planning to hang on to their residential portfolio, with only 10% anticipating having to sell any of them, and 44% planning to buy more rental properties over the next three years.
Alan Ward, director: “It paints a fairly optimistic picture, but, for most self-employed people, there is often little choice faced with long-term investment and the credit crunch.
Main source of income for many
“For nearly half our members, owning and renting property is a business, and to more than a quarter it’s a main source of income. That means we have to take the body blows, like everyone else, and hope things improve.”
The majority (68%) own up to ten properties, 13% have between 11 and 20, 11% rent out 21-50, and 5% operate portfolios of more than 50. Nearly half (48%) have fewer than 10 tenants but 9% have more than 50.
Just over half of all portfolios (51%) are worth between £500,000 and £2m and 34% are worth less than £500,000. But 8% are worth £2-5m, 3% from £5-10m and 2% are worth more than £10m.
