Landlords 'should form relationships' with their tenants

Posted: 26 Jul 2010 11:04:00 GMT

The number of landlords experiencing rental arrears is "horrendous", one expert has suggested.

>Chairman of the Residential Landlords Association Alan Ward urged proprietors to form relationships with their occupants, as that way any problems can then be dealt with straight away.

"If people have been good tenants over a long time then you can work with them sometimes and, if not, they have to face the predicament that they have put themselves in," he added.

Mr Ward noted housing allowance is causing problems for landlords, arguing the government should let residents choose if they want the cash paid directly to the owner, because some cannot handle money effectively.

The specialist's comments follows figures from the National Landlords Association, which revealed a fifth of private residential property owners have had lodgers in arrears over the last three months.

According to Spareroom.co.uk, 41 per cent of landlords stated payments from their leaseholders barely cover their mortgage repayments.


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