According to Confused.com, over half of landlords (52.2 per cent) are concerned about the impact the forthcoming Renters Reform Bill will have on the private rented sector.
The comparison site surveyed landlords and found that over 44 per cent would not be willing to let their property to tenants with pets. However, as part of the Renters Reform Bill, landlords will be obliged to consider requests to allow pets in lets and cannot unreasonably refuse.
In addition, 43 per cent of landlords admitted they are not willing to let to people receiving Housing Benefit or Universal Credit and over 15 per cent of landlords wouldn’t consider those with children. This is despite the Renters Reform Bill proposing an end to blanket bans on benefit claimants or families with children.
One in five landlords said they’re not willing to let to non-UK passport holders.
Landlord concerns
As well as being concerned about the forthcoming legislative changes, almost half are also worried about tax changes while 46 per cent had financial concerns about letting property.
Tenant behaviour was also a worry for nearly four in 10 landlords, while 13 per cent were concerned about current market conditions.
Future plans
A significant portion of landlords (47.7 per cent) plan to keep their number of properties the same over the next two years, while one in five have yet to make any plans (19.7 per cent).
A small fraction of landlords (9.6 per cent) plan to sell all properties and leave the sector, while 12.3 per cent intend to cut the number of properties they own.