64% of landlords reported they had received no financial assistance during the Covid pandemic, while 20% of landlords received a bounce-back loan
A new survey has revealed that the majority of landlords feel that the government has abandoned them during the pandemic, with 64% saying they haven’t received any financial support and 52% believing they should receive future financial support.
The panel of landlords, surveyed by OnePoll for The Mortgage Lender, favour the reintroduction of tax relief on mortgage interest payments for a limited period (63%) and automatic deferral of tax bills for 12 months (52%) as a way to support the sector as it recovers from the financial hit of COVID-19.
Overall 64% of landlords reported they had received no financial assistance during the pandemic, 20% of landlords had received a bounce-back loan, 24% had taken a payment deferral as a precaution and 11% had taken a payment deferral out of necessity.
Of the landlords who had received financial assistance 44 per cent reported that it had already impacted on their ability to obtain further mortgage funding while 31% expected it to impact them negatively in the future. Only 8% of investors felt the assistance they had received would have no impact on their future plans.
Steve Griffiths, TML sales director, said: When the Government was putting together its package of financial assistance for homeowners and tenants, BTL landlords weren’t a consideration.
Some have benefitted from a bounce-back loan and some have taken advantage of payment deferral on their mortgages but the additional tenant protection included in the Coronavirus Act 2020 has led to landlords feeling that they have been overlooked, he said.
Griffiths said, the Government was also unequivocal that payment deferrals wouldn’t impact on an individuals’ credit file, however, a large number of those BTL landlords who have received financial support in the form of a payment deferral are reporting that it is already impacting their ability to obtain mortgage funding.
