The majority of landlords intend to introduce more stringent tenant selection processes ahead of the Renters Rights Act, according to research from Paragon Bank.
With the Act coming into effect from May, Paragon polled 500 landlords to find out how they plan to counter the tougher eviction processes this will introduce.
Paragon found that 69% of landlords will introduce more in-depth checks for prospective landlords, with 70% planning to be more selective about where they advertise properties.
Though three quarters of landlords feel prepared for the Act, 42% admitted the end of Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions will have the greatest impact on their business.
The prospect of problematic tenants is a concern for 43% of landlords.
In the past, over half of landlords (51%) said they had experienced at least one incident or rent arrears or late rental payment.
Additionally, 27% had dealt with anti-social behaviour from tenants.
“Given the pressures expected on the courts through the change to the eviction process, landlords are understandably planning to make more expansive checks on prospective tenants as they don’t want the cost and time involved in a lengthy eviction process,” said Lisa Steele, mortgage lending director at Paragon Bank (pictured above).
“This creates challenges for those new to the rental market who have not yet built-up a tenant reference history, as well as those with infrequent income schedules.
“This was always the challenge for the RRA; while it brings in extra protections, it could exclude some of those tenants at the periphery of the market.”
