Thousands of landlords are ditching letting agents to go it alone in finding tenants and managing their properties, as the Government’s reduction in mortgage interest tax relief and stricter mortgage lending criteria are making buy-to-let investment more expensive.
Thousands of Landlords Ditching Letting Agents to go it Alone
A new survey of 2,000 landlords by LetBritain found that 64% of landlords – or around 600,000 nationwide – would consider using private websites to find tenants in order to avoid paying costly letting agent fees.
Some 37% of landlords questioned said that they do not feel that the UK rental market is fit for purpose, with this proportion rising to 50% in London. This is unsurprising, given that almost a quarter – 23% – of respondents claim to have lost hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds through void periods, because instructed letting agents had failed to secure them new tenants.
The Founder and CEO of LetBritain, Fareed Nabir, says: “Today’s research presents a number of concerning insights into the difficulties faced by the Britain’s vital landlord community. It is obvious that landlords up and down the country feel let down by the current property letting system.”
Previously, LetBritain research found that two fifths (40%) of UK tenants – 7.21m people – find the marketplace to be “ruthless and unethical”, with letting agents allowing gazumping and non-existent “phantom properties” to become too commonplace in the sector.
“Clearly, a faster, more affordable and transparent system is required to support the market of 2017 for both landlords and tenants,” adds Nabir.
Landlords must be aware that using a letting agent may become more expensive when the Government’s planned lettings fee ban for tenants is introduced.
If you do decide to ditch your letting agent and go it alone, we urge all landlords to follow this guide to personal safety: https://www.justlandlords.co.uk/news/landlords-guide-personal-safety/