Buy to let landlords play an important role in local economies, contributing £3.6bn through services such as letting agents, plumbers, builders and other tradesmen, according to a new study.
A survey of 1,000 UK-based landlords revealed that 81% used a local service provider for work or renovation of their property, spending £1,443 on average in the last 12 months.
Nearly a third (31%) of the landlords surveyed by Aldermore Bank, used a letting agent in the past year, paying £1,135 on average.
Of the total amount spent on local tradespeople, the biggest expenditure incurred by landlords in the past 12 months was on letting agents – £879m, followed by £442m on general handy-workers and £396m on plumbers. Landlords also spent £375.4m on electricians, £377.3m on builders and £243.2m on cleaners.
Peace of mind for landlords
When asked about the main reasons behind hiring a local service provider, 39% of landlords cited trust and 26% on the fact that they don’t live close to their rental property, so having a local tradesperson carry out maintenance provided them peace of mind.
For 31% of respondents it was also important to support local economy in this way and 24% stressed that local tradesmen tend to be cheaper, helping to keep landlord’s costs down.
Two thirds (65%) declared that they would continue using local tradespeople, with a further quarter (25%) intending to use their services even more in the future.
Of those who haven’t used local service providers (7%), the majority were able to service their property themselves or had a family member to do it.
Two-way street
Commenting on the findings, Damian Thompson, Group Managing Director of Retail Finance at Aldermore said: “Landlords are an integral part of local communities across the UK, providing investment and fulfilling the demand of the expanding Private Rented Sector.
“Around every landlord is an ecosystem, in which they pay local tradespeople, like plumbers, builders, decorators, for jobs and those companies in turn train up employees and pay their own local suppliers for services also. The contribution landlords make to local communities extends much wider than merely providing rental accommodation.”
He added: “Our findings show supporting local economies also brings benefits to landlords own businesses. Local workers bring a lot of value to landlords with respondents to our survey citing, in particular, the quality work, cost-effectiveness and the understanding of local areas as key benefits.”
