Tenants Want More Professional Landlords

NEW research from ARLA shows that the UK is still feeling the economic squeeze and desperately trying to avoid any fallout from the ongoing Eurozone financial meltdown, as more and more tenants are struggling to pay their rent.

41.2% members of the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) reported an increase in the number of tenants struggling to meet rental payments to landlords in the last six months, with some attempting to renegotiate the price of the rent with landlords.

ARLA Operations Manager, Ian Potter, said: “With unemployment predicted to rise and average rents also increasing in some parts of the country, it seems more and more tenants are finding it impossible to make ends meet. It is likely that the same is happening for landlords, with mortgage rates rising. At worst, this double whammy may result in landlords defaulting on mortgages and tenants being forced to move out of a property.”

It is vitally important for landlords to carry out thorough research and, where possible, complete thorough tenant referencing checks before getting the tenant to sign a tenancy agreement.

However, landlords need not despair as there are a multitude of products and services offered by specialist landlord service provider Legal 4 Landlords, that can help landlords avoid bad tenants with thorough Tenant Referencing services and even aid with keeping a regular  income regardless of any change in a tenants financial circumstances, with a specialist Rent Guarantee Insurance product.

Further research, by ARLA, has also revealed that on average 10% of new tenants are asking for references and local authority accreditation details from landlords. It appears that tenants are now looking for professional landlords who are interested in taking care of their properties and who pursue personal development to offer better quality services to stay ahead of the pack.