The English Private Landlord Survey, analysed by Propertymark in January, found 45% of landlords in England own just a single rental property, yet this group is increasingly finding the economics difficult to justify. The pivot towards limited company structures has accelerated, with landlords attracted by the ability to retain rental income within a corporate wrapper. Quinn also reported growing interest in new build, driven by buyers wanting stock that already meets energy performance certificate (EPC) requirements and avoids void periods.
What should brokers be doing now?
For brokers still focused on the mortgage transaction, both professionals warned the job description is quietly widening.
“Brokers do need to inform themselves about the Act and what’s changed for people, because to not know and then be dealing with landlords doesn’t look great,” Browne said. “But in terms of requirements on brokers, nothing’s really changed at the moment.”
That may not hold for long. Browne flagged the incoming PRS landlord database – due to begin rolling out from later this year – as a potential inflection point. Landlords will be required to register before letting a property, and Browne said lenders may eventually use it as a due diligence tool.
“If you’re a lender and you’ve got access to data as part of your underwriting, it would almost be unusual to not have a look at that,” she said. “If your borrower is not represented in a favourable light on the database because they don’t have all the right certificates or whatever it is, as a lender, you may be concerned about that.