Taking the Strain

Taking the Strain: The Private Rented Sector in the Recession is a research document published by Shelter and the Money Advice Trust.

Setting out the impact the recession has had so far on both landlords and tenants, it's readable but depressing. You'll need a small sherry and a warm mince pie before you get to the end of it.

The data used in this piece of research was from a sample of landlords who are all members of the NLA and the report makes the point that as these landlords are members of a trade body and have access to advice from the NLA, they are less likely to be struggling in the recession and their data may not be representative of all landlords. It doesn't say whether the landlords they sampled were PropertyHawk subscribers and readers but there we are.

You may not agree with all of the recommendations but near the beginning of the report there are some interesting and sometimes startling findings in it: the level of repossessions of BTL mortgagees is now at the same level as for homeowners and the rate of tenant rent arrears is highest among landlords who are themselves falling behind with their own financial commitments and struggling to meet their payments.

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