Fewer landlords are feeling negative about the prospects of their BTL investments, due to the steady demand for rental properties, revealed the latest Landbay study.
Overall, 27% of landlords surveyed by the lender expressed negativity about their business, compared to 37% at the end of last year.
Meanwhile, 40% of landlords felt neutral about the prospects of their BTL business, and just under 33% were positive.
The strongest positive sentiment was among portfolio landlords with over 20 properties, while smaller portfolio landlords with four to 10 properties felt more negative.
Those with medium to large portfolios (between 11 and 20 BTL dwellings) were evenly split between feeling negative and positive.
Among HMO landlords, just over 43% felt positive about their businesses, with just under 30% feeling negative.
The surveyed landlords who have expressed negativity cited the political uncertainty surrounding the new government and the potential rental reform as the main reasons for their unfavourable view.
Some were particularly worried about the proposed abolition of ‘no fault’ evictions, which both Conservatives and Labour have committed.
Rob Stanton, sales and distribution director at Landbay (pictured above), said: “Whichever party forms the next government, we hope that they will be committed to supporting the rental sector.
“Nurturing confidence among landlords is absolutely key to the health and prosperity of the UK housing market, helping to provide much needed accommodation.
“With affordability still a real challenge for residential buyers and demand continuing to outstrip supply, there is an abundance of tenants ready to rent across the country.
“There are many reasons to be optimistic about BTL — not only has it survived countless crises and changing governments over the years, it continues to thrive too.
“As a BTL lender we are incredibly positive and remain committed to innovating to meet the needs of landlords.”
