A survey from property lettings website ezylet.co.uk has revealed that, on average, landlords are called out to four property maintenance incidents per property, per year. In extreme cases this number can rise to be as high as 20 - meaning landlords must be prepared to devote significant time and effort into managing and maintaining their properties.
The report, 'Challenges for the Great British Landlord' suggests that a typical residential letting property takes up to 72 working hours per year, or 9 full '8 hour' working days of the landlord's time. With the average landlord owning and managing five properties, this means almost a full day is needed to be given over to property management every week of the year. For new investors this can come as a real shock.
Myak Homberger, Marketing Director at ezylet.co.uk explains, "In recent years, buy-to-let property has been seen as a viable and profitable investment, however many landlords are starting to realise that letting property has hidden costs and stresses, not least caused by resolving ongoing maintenance issues. We are more than aware of the problems associated with securing respectful tenants, but it has also become clear from this research that almost a third of landlords struggle to find responsive and reliable contractors to effect repairs when damage is incurred."
The report also cites that as many as 60% of the UK landlords interviewed reported properties had been left in a scruffy condition, requiring maintenance. Much of this damage could have been avoided, but 42% had tenants who failed to report maintenance problems early enough which could have been easily addressed. Typically such incidents lead to a maintenance call out that last between five and ten hours. Sadly 38% of landlords also reported they had had properties 'wrecked' by tenants, often deliberately.
"At ezylet.co.uk, we are working hard to address both these problem areas, first by creating a better relationship between landlord and tenant, and secondly by supplying specialist resources, such as accredited contractors, furnishing suppliers and legal support. This enables landlords to better manage their time and secure profitability from their property investment," concluded Homberger.
