The good news for private landlords is that rental arrears are actually falling.
With news that the UK rental market is booming, it’s tempting for many people to want to build a property portfolio and plough their savings into rentals as a good investment. However, Landlords who may not have much experience in the private rented sector could find they leave themselves open to arrears unless they take measures to avoid the problem.
The message came from Richard Lambert, chief executive of the National Landlords’ Association (NLA), who said he has noticed that a lot of new landlords get into difficulties before they even realise there is an issue with the tenants paying their rent.
He labelled these new private landlords as ‘accidental landlords’ – people who join the rental market without experience or knowledge.
“Letting is not a business to wander into if you don’t know what you are doing,” Mr Lambert said, as he made steps to warn new landlords to do their research before committing to renting out property
The good news for private landlords is that rental arrears are actually falling. Tenant finances improved for the first time in three months in August, with 9% of all rent late or unpaid at the end of the month, a decrease from 9.3% in July. In total, late or unpaid rent amounted to £288m, 2.2% less than in the previous month.
