Landlords start to crack down on defaulting tenants

Landlord Action, a company specialising in tenant eviction, has reported that the number of instructions it is getting against defaulting tenants is up by 11% compared with a year ago.

The company believes the increase reflects the effects that rising unemployment and the increased cost of living are having on the rental sector.

Last week, LAT reported that receivers-of-rent firm Templeton LPA said that although cases of severe rental arrears are up 13%, the impact of this has yet to filter through to landlords, with buy-to-let mortgage arrears cases falling by 12% in the last year.

But Paul Shamplina, founder of Landlord Action, refutes this.

He said landlords are in fact feeling the increasing pressure on their finances as a result of defaulting tenants, but are simply less tolerant than they might previously have been. 

Shamplina said: “Tenants are stuck in a catch 22 situation. 

“Lending criteria requiring large deposits has locked many out of making a purchase, and yet high demand and low supply of rental properties is pushing rents to record highs. As a result 8,700 more tenants compared to this time last year are over two months in arrears, according to Templeton, and this figure is rapidly climbing.

“Unfortunately, where landlords may have once been more lenient, they can no longer afford to be, especially with the knowledge that they could readily rent to someone else who can afford the payments.”

According to Landlord Action, this rise has also been contributed to by amateur landlords who would rather rush the process in order to avoid void periods in their rental income.

Shamplina said: “Time and time again we reiterate the importance of thorough referencing procedures, but far too many landlords would still rather evict a bad tenant than pay and wait for the correct due diligence.”