More landlords are now using agents

According to recent figures in a report published on the National Landlords Association website last week, the number of landlords using a letting agent to manage their properties has increased since Q4 of 2016*. 

6 out of 10 landlords now use letting agencies to let and manage their properties, an impressive increase of 7 per cent since the end of last year. A whopping 79% of landlords in Scotland use an agent and Landlords in the North East are most likely to use an agent compared to any other region in England.

Richard Lambert, CEO at the (NLA), National Landlords Association, said that “as landlords plan ahead to compensate for the tax changes over the next few years we would expect to see the number who use an agent to slowly fall away, and for more to start considering whether they are able to manage their properties themselves.”

“However, this sudden spike, which is completely out of step with recent trends, completely turns this theory on its head. The big question is whether or not it’s a blip or if it will continue to rise”.

The proportion of landlords who use an agent has remained relatively consistent over the last few years, with a very slight increase of just 1 percent (from 53 per cent to 54 per cent) between 2014 and 2016. These recent figures show that the number of landlords who manage the properties themselves has also decreased by almost 10 percent over the past 12 months.

With recent tax changes, bans on fees announced and continual revising of legislation it may be that landlords would rather put responsibility in the hands of an agent than risk putting a foot wrong.

Richard Price, Executive Director at UKALA, said “There have been some regional fluctuations, but overall these findings show that an increasing proportion of landlords rely on agents at present, which is testament to the professional work undertaken by the vast majority of agents in the sector.

“It’s an uncertain time for anyone who owns a buy-to-let property, so the steady hand of a reputable agent is exactly what many landlords are looking for right now”.

Should you require advice or would like more information on the current rental market, feel free to call a member of our sales and lettings team on 01273 645797.

*NLA Quarterly Landlord Panel Q1 2017 (754 respondents)