While 56.6 per cent of them did buy their first rental property specifically for that purpose, 42.6 per cent came into the residential letting market almost by chance.
For 21.3 per cent of those surveyed, their first residential letting was a property that they already owned but decided to let out rather than sell.
Some 9.1 per cent of respondents inherited their first rental property and decided to let it out rather than sell. A further 9.4 per cent gave a variety of reasons as to how they almost ‘stumbled’ into being a landlord, including:
• A property bought for themselves but with part of it let to tenants;
• A property originally bought for themselves, but they changed their mind and chose to let it out;
• A property inherited with sitting tenants;
• Inheritance of a property investment company;
• Letting a home above commercial premises or a shop.
David Salusbury, chairman of the National Landlords Association, commented: “Our research shows that for a significant minority of people who let out properties, they didn’t set out to be landlords. In my experience, they often don’t see themselves as landlords. Perhaps they own a property that they like and then go to live or work abroad, or perhaps they have got married or moved in with their partner. They may decide to keep their home as an investment and let it out – ‘the path of lease resistance’, one might say.
“But even if they have just one rental property, they must remember that in the eyes of the law they are subject to the same laws and regulations as the portfolio landlord who may own fifty or a hundred properties.
“With around fifty Acts of Parliament and seventy separate sets of regulation, there is certainly plenty for the small scale landlord to get his or her head around. These cover a wide variety of different issues, such as gas and electrical regulations, the safety of furniture and furnishings, the provisions of the various Landlord and Tenant Acts, and licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation – to name but a few.
“The good news is that the novice landlord can get a considerable amount of help and support from a landlord association such as the NLA. Members can obtain a wealth of information both from the NLA website, including answers to many frequently answered questions, fact sheets on key topics and the NLA Code of Practice. Our Helpline is available free of charge to all members, and is manned by experienced staff who can provide advice on a wide variety of topics affecting landlords.
“Letting out a property for the first time is not a daunting experience, but it does need to be approached in the right way to ensure that the tenancy is successful and that the landlord keeps within the law. We provide some tips below.”
