79% of Landlords only able to cover their mortgage interest

New research from the NLA shows 79% of landlords are only servicing the interest on their mortgages, not paying down their loans, as they contend with rising costs.

This statistic has prompted the NLA to examine the narrative that tenants are just paying off their landlord’s mortgage. In a discussion paper launched in London last night, the NLA and PricedOut, the campaign for affordable housing, looked at both sides of the argument.

The NLA holds that there are many costs to running a successful lettings business that tenants are either unaware of or don’t consider in this debate.

Richard Lambert, CEO of the NLA, says:

“There are myriad costs to running a letting business, including maintenance, repairs and upgrades, licensing, and insurance. Rents have to cover all these costs, as well as the interest on a mortgage, where there is one.

“Housing is expensive for everyone at present. The Government needs to encourage the supply of housing in all tenures, including the private rented sector.”

The NLA, in the discussion paper, recommends the Government:

1. Allow more time for existing policies to bed in (five years), and evaluate their effectiveness, before new policies and regulations are made.
2. Encourage building more housing of all tenures by simplifying planning and borrowing rules.
3. Stop taxing professional landlords out of the market. The loss of good landlords will not make renting more affordable; it will simply drive up the cost for those who want to access decent rented homes.

For more information or to view the discussion paper, go to landlords.org.uk/therentingbusiness

*NLA Landlord Panel Survey Q3 2018 (690 respondents)

Note the above is note a huge sample in percentage term of the number of landlords