Nearly half of landlords ‘reduced or paused rental payments in 2020’

Nearly half (46%) of private landlords say they reduced or paused their tenants’ monthly rent payments last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Some 28% of landlords surveyed for Shawbrook Bank said they gave their tenants a payment holiday – a period when they did not have to pay rent.

A further 18% offered a rent reduction for a certain period.

On average, rental payment holidays lasted for three months, compared to rent reductions which lasted four months, according to the research from among 1,000 landlords.

Landlords who gave their tenants a payment holiday estimate they lost £7,500 on average, while those who offered rent reductions estimate this cost them £6,500 typically.

More than a third of landlords who gave a form of rent reduction said that they proactively offered it to their tenant. Concerns around furlough, job security and redundancy were all common reasons why a rent reduction or payment holiday was suggested.

Landlords with a portfolio of properties were more likely to have agreed a rent reduction than those with a single property to let. They were also more likely to say they had missed out on some income.

John Eastgate, managing director of property finance at Shawbrook Bank, said: “This period has clearly underlined the critically important role that the private rental sector is playing, and will continue to play, in the UK housing market.”