The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) recently commissioned a survey of UK landlords to find out more about landlords, their motivations, and aspirations.
The study of 2,500 UK landlords - which was carried out by the London School of Economics on behalf of the CML – found that:
- around 49% own all their property outright, with no mortgage debt at all;
- 47% of the rented properties in the survey are backed by a buy-to-let (BTL) mortgage;
- 62% own a single rented property, with BTL landlords more likely to have a multi-property portfolio than other landlords.
Why become a landlord?
The main reasons the respondents became a landlord were:
- as part of their pension planning;
- for capital growth and income;
- in preference to other investments;
- to supplement earnings.
Future plans
The survey suggests that more landlords expect to reduce their property portfolios than increase them with:
- 6% of landlords expecting to reduce their portfolios over the next 12 months;
- 14% expecting to do so over the next five years;
- 5% of BTL landlords saying they will divest during the next 12 months;
- 11% of BTL landlords expecting to reduce their portfolios during the next five years.
The reason for reducing a property portfolio was mainly as part of a planned exit.
21% of landlords, however, said any element of tax changes influenced their decision to sell while 36% of BTL landlords said tax featured as an element in their future plans.
