The UK government has released data from a survey conducted by HMRC which shows the desperate state of the private rental sector, showing a quarter of landlords are planning to sell off properties over the next 12 months, and confirming most landlords are small scale, amateur, and with meagre earnings.
Completed by polling firm Ipsos on behalf of HMRC, the survey of 1,243 landlords looks at property ownership patterns, including how many they each own, their investment activities, how they manage properties, and their approach to taxation.
Key findings:
- Almost two-thirds of landlords reported they earned less than £20,000 in annual gross rental income from their properties and half earn less than £10,000 profit annually.
- 40% originally purchased the property to live in, or received it through inheritance or as a gift.
- 24% intend to reduce their number of rental properties within the next year, 33% over the next five years.
