BTL Landlords Vital For Local Economies

27th February 2020

A study carried out by Aldermore Bank suggests landlords boost their local economy by £3.61 billion each year. The survey spoke to 1,000 landlords based in the UK, and it highlights the crucial role landlords play in supporting the local community. It is not as if the benefits provided by a landlord stop at letting property, they hire local professionals.

81% of respondents said they employ a local tradesperson to carry out repair or renovation work. Landlords were found to spend an average of £1,443 in the past 12 months on services provided by letting agents, decorators, builders and plumbers.

Many local professionals are hired by landlords

A total of £442m was spent on “handyman” professionals, £396m was spent on plumbers, £375.4m was spent on electricians, £377.3m was spent on builders and £243.2m was spent on cleaners. This is a lot of money being spent on a lot of professionals, generating a lot of money in the local economy.

Damian Thompson is the Group Managing Director of Retail Finance at Aldermore, and he said; “Landlords are an integral part of local communities across the UK, providing investment and fulfilling the demand of the expanding Private Rented Sector. Around every landlord is an ecosystem, in which they pay local tradespeople, like plumbers, builders, decorators, for jobs and those companies in turn train up employees and pay their own local suppliers for services also. The contribution landlords make to local communities extends much wider than merely providing rental accommodation.”

The survey showed 39% of landlords citing trust as the reason they called on a local professional while 26% of landlords said they hired a local professional because they live away from their rental property. 31% of respondents also said supporting the local economy was important to them.

Landlords have long been recognised as supporting a local economy

However, it is not as though this is the first time the importance of landlords to the economy has been highlighted. In March 2019, a study found buy-to-let landlords contribute £16.1 billion to the economy. This is a figure which is double the estimated amount provided by BTL landlords a decade before.

Adrian Moloney is the sales director of OneSavings Bank, the company which undertook the survey, and he said: “The political discourse around the private rented sector has been one-sided to say the least. Overlooked is the significant economic contribution landlords make, supporting thousands of jobs through their spending and housing a large portion of the country’s workforce. Instead, landlords have faced punitive tax and regulatory changes, at a time when running costs are climbing. Policies that increase the cost and complexity of being a landlord don’t benefit tenants; quite the opposite. Property investors will seek to protect their business’s margins, whether cutting their spending on elements like property maintenance and improvement, or raising rents.”

If you are a landlord in Northampton and you are looking for assistance in managing your rental property, please get in touch. We are pleased to say we have assisted many local landlords, and we look forward to helping you.