LANDLORDS & TENANTS SURVEY
2013
LANDLORD SURVEY RESULTS 3,428 Participants
How long have you been a landlord?
1 year
21%
2 years
13%
3-5 years
23%
5-10 years
21%
10-15 years
11%
15+ years
11%
0
7.5
15
22.5
30
The Property Academy Landlord Survey 2013 • www.propertyacademy.co.uk
How many properties do you have in your portfolio?
1
63%
2
16%
3-5
14%
6-10
5%
10-15
2%
16+
1%
0
17.5
35
52.5
70
The Property Academy Landlord Survey 2013 • www.propertyacademy.co.uk
How likely are you to add to your portfolio in the next 12 months?
Highly likely
9%
Possibly
19%
Unlikely
39%
Definitely not
30%
My portfolio will reduce
2%
0
10
20
30
40
The Property Academy Landlord Survey 2013 • www.propertyacademy.co.uk
Which area of the UK is your portfolio primarily located in?
East Midlands
3%
East of England
6%
London
12%
North East
4%
North West
13%
South East
33%
South West
10%
West Midlands
4%
Yorkshire and the Humber
7%
Wales
6%
Scotland
3%
0
10
20
30
40
The Property Academy Landlord Survey 2013 • www.propertyacademy.co.uk
What type of landlord would you describe yourself as?
I run my portfolio as my primary business
6%
I have an investment portfolio/ property, but it is not my primary income source
46%
I didn’t buy my property with the intention of being a landlord
48%
0
12.5
25
37.5
50
The Property Academy Landlord Survey 2013 • www.propertyacademy.co.uk
Do you use letting agencies to find tenants?
Always
77%
Mostly
16%
Sometimes
6%
Never
1%
0
20
40
60
80
The Property Academy Landlord Survey 2013 • www.propertyacademy.co.uk
Did you purchase your property with a view to renting it out?
55%
45%
Yes No The Property Academy Landlord Survey 2013 • www.propertyacademy.co.uk
How near is this property to your main place of residence?
Within 15 miles
50%
15-40 miles
12%
40+ miles
38%
0
12.5
25
37.5
50
The Property Academy Landlord Survey 2013 • www.propertyacademy.co.uk
How many agents did you ask to give you a rent appraisal?
1
36%
2
35%
3
24%
4
4%
5+
1%
0
10
20
30
40
The Property Academy Landlord Survey 2013 • www.propertyacademy.co.uk
What were the main influencers when choosing which lettings agencies you would invite to provide a rental valuation?
1
Agent office location
2
Letting similar properties
3
Strong brand awareness
4=
Previous customer
4=
Recommended by a friend
6
Membership of professional body
7
Agent sold the property to me
8
Responded to agent marketing
9
Online recommendations and reviews
10
Social media presence
The Property Academy Landlord Survey 2013 • www.propertyacademy.co.uk
Did you read the literature provided by the agents you invited to value your rental property?
13%
87% Yes No The Property Academy Landlord Survey 2013 • www.propertyacademy.co.uk
Did you research the agents before inviting them to provide a rental valuation?
Yes, I visited their website
51%
Yes, I visited property portal websites
16%
Yes, I visited their office
51%
No
16%
0
15
30
45
60
The Property Academy Landlord Survey 2013 • www.propertyacademy.co.uk
During the rental appraisal what influenced you most about the agents you chose?
The valuation and reasoning/justification
9%
Their listening and understanding of your needs
18%
Their fee
12%
Their service offering
22%
Their knowledge of the local area and market
39%
0
10
20
30
40
The Property Academy Landlord Survey 2013 • www.propertyacademy.co.uk
If you use your letting agent for TENANT FIND ONLY, what rate of commission did you agree?
30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0%
1%
2%
3%
4%
5%
6%
7%
8%
9%
10% 11% 12% 13% 14% 15%
Tenant Find The Property Academy Landlord Survey 2013 • www.propertyacademy.co.uk
If you use your letting agent for TENANT FIND AND RENT COLLECTION, what rate of commission did you agree?
35% 29% 23% 18% 12% 6% 0%
1%
2%
3%
Tenant Find & Rent Collection
4%
5%
6%
7%
8%
9%
10% 11% 12% 13% 14% 15%
The Property Academy Landlord Survey 2013 • www.propertyacademy.co.uk
If you use your letting agent for TENANT FIND AND FULL MANAGEMENT, what rate of commission did you agree?
40% 33% 27% 20% 13% 7% 0%
1%
2%
3%
4%
Tenant Find & Full Management
5%
6%
7%
8%
9%
10% 11% 12% 13% 14% 15%
The Property Academy Landlord Survey 2013 • www.propertyacademy.co.uk
Did you incur an additional administration/set up fee?
Yes, less than £99
15%
Yes, between £100 and £199
30%
Yes, between £200 and £299
14%
Yes, £300+
11%
No
30%
0
7.5
15
22.5
30
The Property Academy Landlord Survey 2013 • www.propertyacademy.co.uk
Did you negotiate with the agent on their commission rate?
53%
47%
Yes No The Property Academy Landlord Survey 2013 • www.propertyacademy.co.uk
Did you choose the agent that gave you the highest rental valuation?
15%
85% Yes No The Property Academy Landlord Survey 2013 • www.propertyacademy.co.uk
Did you choose the agent who offered the cheapest fee?
19%
81% Yes No The Property Academy Landlord Survey 2013 • www.propertyacademy.co.uk
Which of these best describes your financial decision to appoint your letting agent?
I wanted the fee to be as cheap as possible but this was not the main reason I selected my agent
42%
Fees weren’t the issue in my choice of agent
34%
Even though my agent was more expensive than others, I selected them for other reasons
21%
I chose the agent with the cheapest fee
4%
0
12.5
25
37.5
50
The Property Academy Landlord Survey 2013 • www.propertyacademy.co.uk
Which websites do yo expect your property/portfolio to be advertised on?
Rightmove
88%
Zoopla
41%
Rentright
5%
Lettingsearch
13%
Find A Property
44%
Primelocation
32%
Fish4homes
12%
Gumtree
7%
Property Live
4%
Globrix
4%
0
22.5
45
67.5
90
The Property Academy Landlord Survey 2013 • www.propertyacademy.co.uk
Did your letting agent offer and are you using any of the following additional services?
Agreed to use
Offered but not using
Didn’t offer
Arranged myself
Rent guarantee
38%
28%
29%
5%
Insurance
19%
30%
19%
33%
EPC
44%
16%
18%
22%
Professional photography
57%
8%
32%
3%
Floor plans
44%
8%
45%
4%
Video marketing/audio tour
8%
10%
81%
1%
Inventories
74%
11%
5%
9%
Furnishing (hire)
1%
7%
82%
10%
Furnishing (purchase)
4%
6%
74%
16%
Financial services
5%
21%
60%
15%
Renovation/maintenance
35%
17%
32%
17%
The Property Academy Landlord Survey 2013 • www.propertyacademy.co.uk
What is your current primary concern as a landlord?
Rent arrears
19%
Property damage
31%
Void periods
39%
Other
11%
0
10
20
30
40
The Property Academy Landlord Survey 2013 • www.propertyacademy.co.uk
Are you aware of your agent being a member of any of the following professional bodies?
Association of Residential Lettings Agents (ARLA)
32%
Safe Agent Fully Endorsed (SAFE)
3%
The Property Ombudsman (TPO)
8%
National Approved Lettings Scheme (NALS)
8%
Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
10%
I don’t know
59%
0
15
30
45
60
The Property Academy Landlord Survey 2013 • www.propertyacademy.co.uk
Which of these best describes your preference for the tenant referencing process?
To be carried out by the letting agent in house
45%
To be carried out by a third party referencing company
20%
I do not have a preference
36%
0
12.5
25
37.5
50
The Property Academy Landlord Survey 2013 • www.propertyacademy.co.uk
If your existing tenant has paid on time, looked after the property and now wished to renew for another 12 months at the same rent but no more, and your agent had a new tenant who would pay more, would you take the new tenant if they were offering a...
5% increase in rent
3%
10% increase in rent
11%
15% increase in rent
6%
20% increase in rent
11%
No, I would stick with the existing tenant
69%
0
17.5
35
52.5
70
The Property Academy Landlord Survey 2013 • www.propertyacademy.co.uk
How would you rate the letting service you receive from your agent?
Excellent
Good
Satisfactory
Not Great
Poor
Speed & Efficiency
33%
39%
18%
5%
4%
Helpfulness
37%
37%
17%
6%
4%
Availability
34%
41%
18%
4%
3%
Personal Service
36%
35%
19%
6%
5%
Knowledge
35%
39%
19%
4%
2%
Communication
31%
35%
20%
7%
7%
Problem Solving
28%
35%
22%
9%
7%
Politeness & Manners
46%
37%
13%
2%
2%
The Property Academy Landlord Survey 2013 • www.propertyacademy.co.uk
Would you prefer your agent to contact and keep you informed by;
Phone
25%
72%
Post
3%
Text
1%
0
20
40
60
80
The Property Academy Landlord Survey 2013 • www.propertyacademy.co.uk
How would you rate the service received from the Property Management department?
Excellent
Good
Satisfactory
Not Great
Poor
Speed & Efficiency
32%
37%
19%
7%
5%
Helpfulness
34%
37%
18%
7%
5%
Availability
33%
38%
20%
6%
4%
Personal Service
33%
34%
20%
8%
5%
Knowledge
33%
37%
21%
5%
4%
Communication
31%
33%
19%
8%
9%
Problem Solving
28%
34%
20%
9%
8%
Politeness & Manners
42%
38%
16%
2%
3%
The Property Academy Landlord Survey 2013 • www.propertyacademy.co.uk
How often do you expect inspections to be carried out at your rental property? (by yourself or property manager)
Quarterly
55%
Half yearly
33%
Annually
12%
0
15
30
45
60
The Property Academy Landlord Survey 2013 • www.propertyacademy.co.uk
Does your letting agent keep you informed with market news and relevant industry updates once a tenant has moved in?
40% 60%
Yes No The Property Academy Landlord Survey 2013 • www.propertyacademy.co.uk
Would you like to receive market news and industry updates from your agent even when your property is not on the market?
41% 59%
Yes No The Property Academy Landlord Survey 2013 • www.propertyacademy.co.uk
Based on your experience to date, would you recommend your letting agent?
16%
84% Yes No The Property Academy Landlord Survey 2013 • www.propertyacademy.co.uk
LANDLORDS & TENANTS SURVEY
2013