Rental Arrears Decline

By:
Madalena Penny

Landlords acting faster when dealing with defaulting tenants have contributed to the improvement in tenant arrears, according to LSL Property Services.

As the largest lettings agent network in the UK, LSL’s research showed that 84% landlords reported that tenant arrears had remained stable or declined in the past 12 months, despite the economic pressure of the recession.

Industry spokesman, Steven Moss of  legal network, ‘Legal 4 Landlords’, added,

“As a company, we have proven to landlords that acting fast when dealing with tenant arrears and none-payment of rent is crucial.  Our aim is to provide relevant solutions to landlords who are faced with tenant problems.  The current research produced by LSL is a significant pointer as to the change in landlord response when dealing with rent arrears.  As our own data indicates a stark increase in tenant reference requests, we feel that the noted decline in tenant arrears can also be attributed to rent-savvy landlords who are employing thorough tenant reference checks.”

David Brown, commercial director of LSL Property Services said,

“The hike in tenant arrears hasn’t materialised in the last 12 months as many feared.  With the labour market remaining relatively strong, most tenant finances have been in better shape than expected – keeping the overall arrears across the UK down.”

Yesterday, the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee announced that interest rates were to remain unchanged for another month.  As many landlords, struggling with BTL repayments and defaulting tenants, will no doubt be relieved by the news after fears that it was rumoured to rise.