Landlords left exposed to tenant debt problems, claims deposit firm

Landlords are being left more exposed than ever to accumulating debt in the event of arrears after the average amount significantly jumped to £2,597 in Q4 24 – a dramatic rise of 44% from £1,802 in 12 months.

Deposit alternative supplier Reposit found the average cash deposit is currently £1,228 which is leaving landlords with a potential shortfall of £1,369. 

Although the amount charged in arrears cases has seen a sharp year-on-year rise as well as a quarterly increase of 26%, the overall percentage of tenancies ending with outstanding rent has dropped marginally in line with seasonal expectations. 

Throughout Q4 24, the pressures of high interest rates continued to weigh heavily on landlords’ shoulders with the rate staying at 5% in October and only falling marginally by 0.25% to 4.75% in November. This quarter also coincided with Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Budget on October 30. 

Figures from UK Finance revealed there were 12,610 buy-to-let mortgages in arrears of 2.5% or more of the outstanding balance in the quarter, 3% fewer than in Q3 24.

Read the full article at Landlord Today