[Letting Agent Today was ‘off air’ for some of Wednesday and most of Thursday thanks to technical problems – we apologise to readers but we’re delighted to be back in action now…]

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This is supposed to be the season of goodwill and all that, but a sentiment survey conducted amongst landlords by the Monmouthshire Building Society shows a gloomy outlook.

This is what the respondents predict will happen over the next one to three years:

– 72 per cent think landlords’ tax obligations will get worse;

– 71 per cent anticipate that their costs will increase;

– 53 per cent think legislation around tenancy and eviction will get worse for landlords;

– 45 per cent believe the economy will get worse; and

– 71 per cent think demand for rental properties will increase anyway.

But there were some other interesting insights into the current market:

– 30 per cent of landlords are looking to grow their portfolio despite obstacles;

– 20 per cent are considering diversifying their portfolio;

– and holiday lets are becoming increasingly popular with new landlords.

On Brexit, the building society says its landlord survey mirrors wider society in terms of concern over the uncertainty surrounding what happens next. 

“Some 45 per cent of the landlords we surveyed think the UK economy will get weaker in the next one to three years as we deal with political uncertainty and any economic consequences of Brexit, compared to 23 per cent who think it will get stronger” says the society.

And in more detail on a perceived swing towards holiday lets – which have a more benign tax regime at the moment – the society says: “Nearly a quarter of the landlords we surveyed said they were interested in investing in a holiday let property over the next few years. Landlords also highlighted that ‘staycations’ may increase in popularity due to Brexit, so UK holiday lets could be a wise investment.

“Holiday lets certainly seem to be a hot trend in the landlord industry at the moment – demonstrated by the fact that they are particularly popular with newer landlords. 64 per cent of new landlords had a holiday let property in their portfolio, compared to 29 per cent of all landlords surveyed.”