Nearly a quarter – 23% – of landlords report having faced income losses because of Covid, says the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA).
In a survey of over 1,000 landlords conducted by YouGov on behalf of the association, 54% of those who had suffered losses say they had lost up to a fifth of their income and 5% said they had lost more than half of it.
The survey also reveals that 36% of those who lost money plan to exit the market (either totally or partially), which the NRLA describes as, “further exacerbating the supply crisis which many analysts agree is hurting tenants.”
The NRLA has been arguing for some time that the government should help renters in Covid-related arrears.
NRLA chief executive Ben Beadle says: “Today’s figures show the extent to which landlords have been hit by the pandemic as we have been warning over the last two years.
“With confirmation that those most affected are more likely to leave the market, it is vital that the rent debt crisis does not worsen the rental housing supply crisis we now face.
“As a matter of urgency, councils need to make use of the money they now have to help tenants get Covid rent debts cleared. Without this, renters face a bleak future of fewer properties to rent and, ultimately, higher rents.”