The cost of renting a home in the private sector is at an all-time high
in many areas of the UK. This is clearly good news if you are a landlord
with a large portfolio of properties, but what happens if you only have
one or two properties and your tenants can’t afford to pay the rent
because they have just lost their job?
Rising Rents
Times are tough at the moment and even though the economy is beginning to
show signs of recovery, the cost of living is showing no signs of going
down. It has never been so expensive to rent a home in the UK. But to
make matters worse, the cost of everything else is just as high.
According to a leading debt charity, many tenants are finding it
increasingly difficult to scrape together enough cash to pay the rent at
the end of the month. The Money Charity has revealed that the number of
landlords seeing possession orders from the courts has risen in recent
months and they say that the high cost of renting in the private sector
is in part responsible.
What can Landlords Do?
Communication is vital so always make a point of building a good
relationship with your tenants. Hopefully, this will encourage them to
let you know if they are experiencing cash flow problems so you can be
proactive before the debt escalates. Ignoring the problem won’t make it
go away. Talk to them and find out what the problem is. Try and be
helpful and supportive. Landlords who are sympathetic are more likely to
get paid if funds are limited. However, you still need to make it clear
that they will be evicted if they don’t pay up soon.
