Insider Media Limited

The ‘reluctant landlord phenomenon’ is set to return to the region. That’s according to Lincoln-based residential lettings agent Hodgson Elkington, which said that property owners could be forced to let a premises rather than sell it due to the sluggishness of the market.

Hodgson Elkington said that during the recession, property owners struggled to make a sale on any premises.

Jill Elkington, East Midlands spokeswoman for the Association of Residential Lettings Agents (ARLA) and residential letting manager at Hodgson Elkington, said: “We and other members of the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) in our region have seen an increase in the number of rental properties coming onto market because they can’t be sold.”

The number of so-called ‘reluctant landlords’ peaked at the beginning of 2009, when 94 per cent of agents surveyed reported an increase of property coming onto the rental market because it could not be sold.

Elkington said: “The rise of the reluctant landlord seems to reflect wider market uncertainty and instability. There is a dearth in available property either to rent or buy, yet people are holding back from selling, perhaps strategically, to secure the best price; or more likely because they simply can’t find a suitable buyer.

“While we welcome new landlords to the market, this trend is not without risks. Letting a property can be full of potential hazards, especially for inexperienced landlords – from material issues, such as a tenant mistreating a property, to financial problems, such as landlord inability to meet mortgage payments. A qualified, licensed agent can help guide both landlord and tenant through the process, to ensure neither party is left out of pocket.”