Landlords expect lettings boom to continue

Research has revealed that landlords are expecting tenant demand to continue to boom this year.

More than half (56%) of the landlords who took part in the lender’s latest quarterly survey said that they expect tenant demand to either grow or boom, compared with 45% who were asked the same question at the end of 2010.

Only 6% of those questioned thought that tenant demand would decline this year.

When asked whether they thought rental income would increase during the next 12 months, 45% of landlords surveyed said it will increase, whereas 53% said that it would remain stable – and only 2% said that it would decrease.

Two-thirds of landlords believe arrears levels will stay stable and 20% expect arrears to rise moderately.

“With the success of 2011 to build on, I believe the private rented sector will continue to perform and provide a valuable tenure choice for even more people in 2012.”