Landlords keep the faith

Landlords continue to have confidence in the buy-to-let (BTL) market despite ongoing issues surrounding legislation and benefit payments, according to online letting agent Upad.co.uk.

Upad.co.uk's Rental Confidence Index showed that 61% of the 133 landlords surveyed felt more confident about the BTL sector for April than they did in March; the fifth consecutive month they have expressed renewed confidence in the market.

The majority of respondents' comments portrayed a positive outlook, with reports that rents were beginning to rise again as the supply of new rental properties will stay low until lenders begin lending again.

Another comment suggested that renters are prepared to pay more than the advertised rent in order to secure the property. However, 39% of landlords said they felt less confident in the market and highlighted problems with legislative changes.

One comment said: "Landlords have no rights. Changes to housing benefit payments have meant tenants are not forwarding the payments to the landlord."

James Davis, founder and chief executive of Upad, said: "We had expected a shaky month, due to the implementation of regulatory changes, the Budget and uncertainties over the general election, but these results show that for landlords who are prepared to treat buy-to-let professionally as a business, the market remains buoyant."