A new report has established that property maintenance tops the list of issues that are keeping residential landlords awake at night.
The report – Buy to Let: The Landlord Experience from The Mortgage Lender – found tenant behaviour, care of the property, taxation and finding tenants also made it into the top 10 worries of property owners.
One in four landlords said they weren’t experiencing any issues that were keeping them awake at night while only one in 50 was concerned about enhanced underwriting for portfolio landlords and one in 20 cited Brexit as a worry.
Three in 10 landlords said property maintenance was their main concern.
The most common issues reported by tenants were ovens, water leaks and boilers and November is the month that experiences the highest number of maintenance issues.
Peter Beaumont, The Mortgage Lender’s chief executive, said: “It’s not surprising landlords are being kept awake at night by maintenance issues. The most common problems can be expensive to fix eating into profit margins that have already been eroded over the last few years by changes to taxation and the fees landlords are able to charge tenants.
“A mid-range combination boiler will cost around £1995 to replace while a basic oven will cost around £340. And problems with the plumbing soon add up with the average call out fee at £70 and cost to fix a dripping tap at £90.
“The new Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018, which came into force on 20 March has further highlighted the need for landlords to maintain their properties. Failure to do so could result in court proceedings where the tenant could be awarded damages if the property does not meet the standards required by the Act.”