Eight out of 10 (79%) landlords use local tradespeople for renovations for their rental properties, spending over £6,000 per landlord on average each year — thus boosting the local economy — revealed the latest Aldermore research.
The most common services landlords look locally for include electricians (52%), plumbers (50%) and handymen (34%) to sort ongoing maintenance issues with their rental properties.
Meanwhile, one in seven (15%) opt to use local interior designers and structural engineers, while a similar amount (14%) use local architects.
According to the survey carried out by Opinium on behalf of the lender, the main reason why landlords use local services is to support the local economy, cited by 37% of respondents.
Other reasons include the trust landlords have in local services (34%) and the belief that local tradespeople provide a deeper insight into the local area and, thus, better advice (32%).
However, 59% of the landlords surveyed are looking to downsize their portfolio — despite 73% of them seeing an increase in tenant demand for property — due to a combination of high interest rates, falling house prices, regulation changes and cost of living pressures.
Moreover, the data revealed that 63% of respondents are finding it harder to be a landlord compared to 12 months ago.
Jon Cooper, head of mortgages at Aldermore, commented: “Amid a backdrop of ongoing market challenges — from high interest rates through to regulation changes — some landlords are considering downsizing their portfolios.
“However, there will be plenty of larger-scale, professional landlords that will instead look to purchase more BTL properties; this should, over time, provide useful ballast to the PRS.
“Landlords remain absolutely vital to addressing the UK’s housing demand — our data shows they’re generous contributors to their local economies as well.
“While they sometimes get a bad press, there are so many good landlords out there making a really positive difference.”
