Rent arrears to increase for landlords?
December 29th, 2008 by Rachel Newcombe
If you’re a landlord, are you expecting rental arrears in the coming year? According to research released recently by the National Landlords Association (NLA), 71% of landlords are expecting rent arrears to increase in the coming year.
With the current global economic situation and credit crunch, it’s a worrying time for everyone, including landlords. Of those questioned in the survey by the NLA, only one per cent thought that rent arrears would decrease in 2009 and 28% thought there’d be more no major change.
They also found that 67% of landlords have experienced problems with rent arrears in the past and 37% are currently having difficulties with non-payments from tenants. Not receiving rent from tenants can lead to all sorts of problems and it’s no fun trying to evict tenants. The NLA are advising that landlords do all they can to try and regularly receive rent, including keeping regular channels of communication open to try and alleviate any issues.
Don’t forget that if you’re currently trying to rent out a property, it’s important to make informed decisions about the financial worthiness of potential tenants. As much as you may be keen to get the property rented out, don’t skimp on doing credit or tenant reference checks, as these can save you a lot of hassle in the long run.
