Figures released by the NRLA (National Residential Landlords Association) revealed that more than 800,000 renters in England and Wales have built rent arrears since lockdown measures started in March 2020.
There are a number of reasons why tenants stop paying the rent. Job losses, addictions, a change in family circumstances – even an act of protest – but while many landlords are sympathetic, most will have a buy-to-let mortgage to repay, as well as associated running costs.
Temporary relief: mortgage payment holidays
Some landlords have been compassionate on the matter of rent arrears by asking their own mortgage lender for a repayment holiday. With lockdown lifting, however, this facility is being withdrawn by many banks at the end of March 2021 and in any case, a mortgage holiday is not always the sensible solution. The grace period simply defers the payment - the landlord ends up with a longer mortgage term and the same amount of money to repay.
Eviction & rent arrears
Rent arrears of at least six months is one of the reasons a landlord can serve an eviction notice during the temporary ban but many landlords can’t afford to wait for arrears to build up that long before taking action. With finances so precarious for many – especially with changes to tax and the loss of mortgage tax relief - landlords are suffering, even when tenants fall just a month or two behind with the rent. In addition, an eviction can be an expensive exercise for landlords as well as being stressful, and there is no guarantee that all of the missed rental payments will be recovered.
Sell up: the easy escape route
Did you know you can sell a rental property, even if your tenants are in rent arrears? LandlordBuyer is a specialist in purchasing buy-to-let property for cash - and that includes rentals with problem tenants in problem properties! Selling to us is the ideal exit strategy for landlords who are hurting financially due to rent arrears, or who want to leave the sector as they can see trouble brewing.
How we stopped the downward spiral for one landlord
One of our relieved clients came to LandlordBuyer because their tenants had stopped paying the rent and they’d started to vandalise the property. They needed a super-quick resolution, so we bought the property from them for cash, and took the tenants, the rent arrears and all the associated issues on too. Our client was given the option to complete the sale as quickly as 7 days, with cash in the bank to either re-invest in another buy-to-let, to save or even to splurge. LandlordBuyer will purchase any buy-to-let property, no matter how big the rent arrears have got.
Sell property fast & for cash
Our property buying service is simple. We are professional landlords ourselves – with our own property management department – and we have the cash reserves to quickly grow our portfolio. You can start your sale to us by requesting a cash offer. There are no estate agency, EPC or legal fees to pay when we buy your property – we’ll take care of those aspects so you can concentrate on moving forwards. Let’s get started today.