Recent research undertaken by Paragon Bank has revealed a notable decline in the proportion of landlords who have had tenants in rental arrears, marking the lowest level since the metric was first tracked in 2017. The study, which surveyed over 750 landlords, highlighted that less than one third of landlords (32%) reported having at least one tenant in rental arrears during the previous 12 months. This fall follows a reduction of 34% against the previous quarter, and thus, marks the lowest level of rent arrears in six years, ever since the metric was first tracked in its current format.

Richard Rowntree, managing director for mortgages at Paragon Bank, expressed satisfaction at the news, stating, "It's great to see that the proportion of landlords experiencing tenants who are behind on their rent has fallen to the lowest levels since the metric was first tracked in 2017." However, he also expressed concern regarding the fact that paying rent may still be a considerable challenge for some tenants, given the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.

The research also indicated that the proportion of landlords reporting void periods during the previous three months hit a low during this period, with less than a quarter (24%) of landlords experiencing a vacant rental property in Q4 2022, marking a decline of 4-percentage points since the quarter before. During the same period, a decrease from 82 to 70 days was also seen in the average void duration. Interestingly, the data revealed that landlords managing larger portfolios, those with eleven or more lets, tend to report having properties vacant for shorter periods of 44 days compared to average.

Rowntree added, "It's extremely encouraging to hear that voids reported by landlords are at their lowest level since 2017. This is unsurprising given the demand for privately rented homes, also at record levels. This adds further weight to the argument for investment in affordable housing across all tenures, something that buy-to-let landlords should be recognised for making an essential contribution towards."