The sums don't add up for landlords!

A buy-to-let mortgage crisis looms if tenants can't pay

Arrears and repossessions were a huge problem in the midst of the credit crunch, particularly in the buy-to-let sector where arrears peaked at over 3% of all mortgages in the early part of 2009.

Many landlords were struggling to meet their monthly mortgage commitments last year and a large number are still finding it hard to balance the books.

It’s not high mortgage payments that are causing the problem. Landlords have benefitted from record low interest rates in the same way as residential borrowers (though some are stuck on high fixed rates or relatively high SVRS).

No, the biggest problem facing beleaguered landlords is the fact that their tenants have money worries, and if they can’t pay, it inevitably affects the landlord's ability to meet their own mortgage.

You might be able to meet your buy-to-let commitments for a few months, but ultimately your tenant’s rental arrears could quickly turn into your mortgage arrears.

But just how big is this problem for landlords?

Can’t pay, won’t pay

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The National Landlords Association (NLA) said last week that more than one in five landlords has suffered tenant arrears in the last three months.

This has dropped from one in four landlords at the beginning of the year (and one in three in 2009), so the picture is clearly improving. But it is nevertheless worrying to see over 21% of landlords still experiencing rental arrears.

The average amount of outstanding arrears has also dropped, but it still amounts to £799 left owing to landlords. It’s a serious problem for buy-to-let mortgage borrowers throughout the UK according to the NLA, which reckons landlords need to communicate better with tenants to tackle financial problems before they result in a loss of rent.

Risk of rate rises

The current low interest rate environment is helping many landlords cover their mortgage commitments despite these rental arrears, but many are just scraping by. And there’s a massive looming risk that a large number will be unable to meet their monthly repayments when interest rates inevitably rise.

Website spareroom.co.uk says that one in four landlords have admitted that rents from tenants are barely covering their mortgage repayments, meaning a hike in interest rates could spell disaster.

A whopping 43% said that rental income would no longer cover their mortgage if rates were to rise by 2%, while 22% said just a 1% increase in mortgage rates would tip them over the edge.

The most worrying is the 10% of landlords who reckon that interest rates would only need to inch up by 0.5% for their rental income to no longer cover their mortgage repayments, sending them into mortgage arrears.

One answer is to increase rents but with tenant arrears clearly still a problem many landlords will be unable to increase their income in that way.

Another option is to decrease your mortgage payments by moving to a better deal, something that has been extremely difficult in the last two years with lenders’ criteria extremely tight. But it is possible if you have 20% equity in your property, as the tables below show.

Plus, it’s not all doom and gloom in the buy-to-let sector with demand from tenants stronger than ever.

Blue skies ahead?

Indeed, nearly three times as many landlords reported that tenant demand was rising rather than falling during the second quarter of this year, according to Paragon Mortgages. In fact demand has been rising consistently for the last two years.

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At the same time there is a massive dearth in available rental properties, according to the Association of Residential Lettings Agents (ARLA), meaning demand is significantly outstripping supply.

Almost three quarters (70%) of ARLA members say that there are more tenants than available properties -- a massive increase from just 24% in September 2009.

This is good news for landlords who may be able to command higher rents, assuming their tenants can afford to pay them. But it’s bad news for tenants who will find it more and more difficult to find affordable rental accommodation. In fact ARLA reckons that a severe rental housing shortage is more likely than ever.

One of the reasons for this shortage is the lack of available mortgage finance preventing many landlords from expanding their portfolios. But there are some competitive buy-to-let deals available if you meet the tight lending criteria, and below are some of the best:

12 terrific trackers

18 amazing fixed rates

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