Fewer landlords feel negative about their buy to let business according to the latest Landbay landlord survey.
The specialist lender’s surveys typically show optimistic results about the sector.
Some 27% of the landlords surveyed this time felt negative about their business, compared to 37% at the end of last year. While 40% of landlords were neutral, only 33% actually felt positive.
That positive one-third highlighted increased or steady demand as the reason for their optimism. The strongest positive sentiment was among those landlords with portfolios over 20 properties.
Of those with between four to 10 properties, more felt negative than positive. But the feelings of landlords with portfolios between eleven and 20 properties were evenly split between negative and positive sentiment.
From the responding HMO landlords, 43% felt positive about their businesses with approaching 30 per cent feeling negative.
Those landlords who felt negative cited uncertainty over a possible Labour win in next week’s election and potential rental reform - the abolition of Section 21 eviction powers was particularly concerning while some were worried about growing anti-landlord sentiment across the board.
Rob Stanton, sales and distribution director at Landbay, says: “Whichever party forms the next government, we hope that they will be committed to supporting the rental sector. Nurturing confidence among landlords is absolutely key to the health and prosperity of the UK housing market, helping to provide much needed accommodation.
“With affordability still a real challenge for residential buyers and demand continuing to outstrip supply, there is an abundance of tenants ready to rent across the country.
“There are many reasons to be optimistic about buy to let. Not only has it survived countless crises and changing governments over the years, it continues to thrive too. As a buy to let lender we are incredibly positive and remain committed to innovating to meet the needs of landlords.”
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I'm not negative but I'm not especially positive either. I find it incredibly frustrating that I can't justify expanding my portfolio. I'm a long term landlord. I house people who can't afford or aren't ready to buy. It's what I have done for over 25 years and it's just baffling that the government has created a situation where it simply doesn't make sense to do more of what I do. People need rental properties, I like providing homes. It should be a straightforward case of mutual benefit, but it isn't. The government has got too greedy and wants more of the pie than I get. How is that right and proper when I'm taking all the risk?
Completely understand your comments Jo.
I had hoped to be able to pass my portfolio onto my children but alas Government policies will make this far more challenging, when in reality it should have been a no brainer for me to be able to expand my portfolio not shrink it.
The buy to let industry has now been divided between mortgaged and non mortgaged private Landlords. The latter are in a far better position. In addition it is far to expensive for me to revert to a Limited Company, hence no incentive to do so.
For that reason I'm negative on the outlook, what is there to be positive on?
I would say there's far too many people in the country. The homes that do exist the parties would prefer to be owner occupied rather than rented. It just looks better for them. They can come down on the side of renters too knowing it won't do any good. But it's appearances that matter.
They don't care about the renters.
So 67% did not feel positive. So much truth in the old saying, there are lies, damned lies and statistics! 😉
Obviously it doesn’t do me any good to say so but it’s even much worse, this is someone with a vested interest talking up his business.
What the hell is a sales and distribution director
😂😂 Labour aren’t in yet 🤔🫣 Do a survey in 6 months time 😱😱
Yes Simon. Labour will just finish off what the Conservatives started
If there’s been a reduction in the negative returns it’s because those landlords most daunted by legislation or financially challenged, have left the market whilst they still can - so that’s them counted out.
There's little to be positive about which ever party wins this election. A large Labour majority will only embolden Generation Rent and other organisations that see the only problem being private landlords. That large faceless corporations could take over doesn't even register on their radar. Time to change direction.
Keir tri lateral commission starmer and rishi wef sunak
What a choice
Surprised klaus didn’t stand for pm
You don't own a dog and then bark yourself
The only positive is that rents have been pushed up by a shortage of supply, and landlords can be more picky about who they rent to. Everything else is negative, interest rates, higher taxation, higher maintenance costs, more difficult to get your property back etc etc. I'd rather have lower costs and be able to set lower rents.
Worried Landlord - I too would be happier with less regulation, vilification etc. This was how it used to be and I would be happy to charge less rent. It is government policy that has pushed rents up.
I have very little borrowing, but I am still feeling very negative about a Labour Government. I feel for the Landlords who are heavily geared. Starmer and the nasty Red head will bankrupt them.
We still have the ability to vet those who we might rent to.
And as soon as I typed that I was filled with a sense of pending doom given the populist irrationality that fuels our soon-to-be socialist government.
The sums just don't produce enough profit to justify any new entrants to the BTL family; whereas £200 profit per month was my lower end target a while ago, I wouldn't thank you for that and the hassle that goes with it now. I'd merely be saving up for the resulting refurb.
Christopher - I do hope that we still can do what you state in your opening line 🤔😱. I am also very nervous of Labour.
Yes, that opening line is more of a prayer!
If Darth Rayner and Matthew Pennycrook get their way, we will probably have to accept tenants approved by the local central committee.
Annoyed - No doubt will be forced to wait months while the lazy public sector 'work from home' and get around to approving the tenants.
Agree with all your comments. My solution is when a property becomes empty I re-furb and sell. One will be going on the market in August.
Annoyed - That is already on the cards from the extreme groups. At these committees they will appoint all the dss (first dibs their phrase) into our portfolios then encourage em to complain about the house. Probably from a list they will supply along with the keys to our properties
What I would like Darth and Pennycrook to explain is who will pay the difference between the rent my professionals pay and what these perpetual scroungers will be paid from the public purse. My cheapest rent is £1075 pcm.
that won't be happening to any of my properties I can assure you of that
How can we feel positive with Labour coming into power?
Keir Starmer has upped his rhetoric against landlords and was at it again last night. During the same debate, he gave an appalling performance, full of dishonesty and ducking questions. This absolute pudding is going to be leading the country. How can anyone have faith in this guy?
Then you have the likes of Angela Rayner and Lisa Nandy. These are very, very mediocre brains at best. It's a shocking state of affairs. Labour are the party of envy, a disaster that push failed policies and are all for the non-achievers in life. Why the hell would I invest in a country that elects such people?
All the talk is of scrapping section 21 with a shockingly bad court system in place. Any government service you try to use, you will know how pathetic the service is. Do we honestly believe this is going to work out well for us? This will just embolden the scumbag losers that love making life hell and we all know that. Thankfully, touch wood, most of my tenants are good and I take care of them, but that could change if this Labour party push me too far.
Then we have the EPC disaster. Unclear laws, idiotic assessors with a low level of knowledge and skills having way too much power. I can see disaster once Labour inevitably start trying to save the planet with this C nonsense. We'll be forced to spend thousands, then they'll shift the goalposts again and insist we put trash new, unproven technologies. We'll always be the guinea pigs for the net zero madness in which the UK can make no difference. You simply cannot educate them on this, they haven't got the brains.
Then we're looking at rent controls/right to buy at a discount and all kinds of potentially communist policies which Labour have flirted with. The worst would be they implement rent controls combined with strict laws which effectively make tenants sitting ones and our properties lose half their value (see history). Then they give a right to buy scheme and we're absolutely screwed. I don't believe that is beyond the realms of possibility.
Finally, the section 24, will never be reversed. I don't care about that as I've cleared most of my loans, but feel it's deeply unfair for most landlords. Scrambling around to put properties in a limited company, getting ripped off by pathetic vultures out there selling snakeoil makes me sick.
Sorry, I would love to be more positive, but Labour are a truly awful political party and always have been. They encourage people to be losers and winners to give up.
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