How Landlords Have Been Impacted By The Events Of The Past Few Years

Events of the past few years have certainly shaped the world drastically. Businesses were impacted by the pandemic. Some of them are still working remotely, whilst others adopted a hybrid style of working. The rising demand for consumer goods and increased demand for gas are also having a domino effect on the country. All of this is evident in the rising cost of living prices. In addition to all of this, the events have had an impact on landlords and their businesses.

If you are curious to know how landlords have been impacted by the events of the past few years, keep reading to find out more.

Decline In The Housing Market

Over recent months, the housing market in the UK has been on the decline. House buyers and sellers are also declining, along with agreed sales. The impact of the decline in the housing market is affecting landlords across the country. Rising mortgage rates have caused landlords to rethink their options to remain afloat with their properties.

There are a few options that they can consider; however, choosing which one to implement is a difficult decision to make.

One option is to raise the rent, something that could force current tenants to move or find it challenging to find anyone new to move in. It is also in my view not acceptable to be raising rents when the cost of living has already increased dramatically.

Alternatively, they could accept a lower profit for their property or a negative cash flow. This is also very challenging given the increase in interest rates which is already forcing professional landlords as well as those with a simple buy to let property out of the market.

Another option, one that many landlords might view as their final choice, is to sell some of their properties.

Landlord decisions: Renting Over Mortgages

As mentioned, the rising mortgage rates have affected landlords and what decisions they make moving forward. However, these rising rates have also impacted whether some choose to buy or rent a property. Many individuals want the independence that living in their own space provides but cannot afford the costs involved with buying a house and mortgage repayments.

Instead, their alternative option could be to find a house to rent. Renting a property over going through the process of buying a house allows them to have the independence of their own space without the hassle of saving for a deposit and taking out a mortgage.

Of course, this is great for landlords as it means they can have tenants occupying their properties. However, the issues mentioned earlier can influence their decision to rent their properties.

Increase In Home Standard

Another cost that landlords have to consider is improving the quality of their properties. Before their properties enter the market, they need to ensure the quality and standard is above par. This helps to ensure that tenants are safe within the property and that their health and safety are not at risk. Any hazards within the property that are the responsibility of the landlord could be costly should an incident occur.

Here's a list of jobs that landlords should take care off before renting out their property:

• Ensuring all lighting and electrical items have been tested and passed their PAC tests are necessary.

• Having the relevant Gas certificate issued.

• Fixing loose handles or filling in any holes in the walls from former tenants are small updates a landlord can make.

• Refreshing the property by having the internal painting freshened up.

• Landlords can also look for local carpenters and joiners, like the ones from MyBuilder, to help them ensure that the property is in the best possible condition for new tenants.

• Deciding whether to rent the property with or without furniture.

Tenancy Agreements And Pets

After searching for new tenants, landlords might have found the ideal candidates to move into their empty property. Before anything is signed, the tenancy agreement needs to be created.

One noticeable change is surrounding allowing pets in a rental property. For many renters, finding a property that allows pets is difficult. Many landlords used to refuse having pets in the property due to the damages they could cause and the cost of deep cleaning once those tenants and their pets moved out.

In recent years, there have been amendments in the regulations where landlords still hold the right to say no to those with pets. However, they have to have a valid reason for this decision. The reason could vary between the landlord and the circumstances.

The former rule allowed landlords to deny tenants who had pets or prevent them from getting a pet whilst living in the property - with the exception of guide or assistance dogs. With more individuals owning pets, partially due to the pandemic, more landlords are beginning to accept tenants with pets unless they have a valid reason.

In Summary

As you can see, landlords have had to adopt new ways of owning or retaining their property. The events of the past few years have certainly played a part in having to make these changes. With each passing week, these events continue to affect landlords, forcing them to find new ways of caring for their properties and ensuring their tenants are safe.

It is impossible to say for certain what the future looks like for landlords. Developments and changes in the economy could lead to a new way of operating, one that could be beneficial for landlords up and down the country.