Two thirds of landlords play 'active role' in property management

A high proportion of landlords play an active role in the management and maintenance of their rental property, a new study has revealed.

Some 65% of 409 landlords polled by Simple Landlords said they play an active role in dealing with problems that arise during a tenancy. 

Of those surveyed, 35% said they use a letting agent to manage all aspects of their let, 24% said they use agents for tenant-finding and manage the property themselves and 41% said they manage everything themselves.

Simple Landlords found that almost half (45%) of the landlords it spoke to owned a single rental property, with a further 40% owning between two and four.

The remainder, 15%, said they have a property portfolio of more than five homes.

The majority of landlords (65%) said they invested in buy-to-let deliberately, while 17% identify themselves as accidental landlords and 9% said they bought property specifically for a family member to live in. 

Just this week, the National Landlords Association published research suggesting that a fifth of 800 property investors it surveyed were 'too embarrassed' to admit what they do. 

Simple Landlords also analysed over 10,000 rental properties and found that 46% of landlords live between one and ten miles of their rental property. 

A fifth live less than a mile away from their rental property and 15% live more than 50 miles away.

“While it can be easy to bash landlords as faceless investors, these results show they are more likely to be part of the community they invest in and take a personal interest in making sure their property is well maintained and tenancies are long-term," comments Alex Huntley, a spokesperson for Simple Landlords Insurance.