'One in 11 landlords could stop using agents to save money'

A survey conducted for MyDeposits suggests some nine per cent of landlords - or one in 11 - is likely to cease using a lettings agent and instead self-manage their properties in a bid to save money.

The survey says that overall some 44 per cent of landlords will make some change to their current circumstances because they are squeezed by rising costs in the shape of additional homes stamp duty surcharge, the phasing out of mortage interest tax relief on buy to lets, and other recently-introduced measures.

Around a quarter of all landlords say they will increase rents, while a further 10 per cent plan to sell up altogether - but, worrying for agents, nine per cent say they will switch from using a managed service through a letting agent to self-managing in order to reduce outgoings. 

While nearly 50 per cent of landlords say they have no intention of leaving the private rented sector, nearly 25 per cent do plan to sell up in the next five years. 

“Landlords should be running their buy-to-let portfolio as a business regardless of tax changes, and those forced out of the market will be the ones who are too highly geared with too little yield” explains Tony Gimple, founding director of the Less Tax for Landlords campaign, which is associated with MyDeposits.

“Many landlords are trying to do everything themselves and often following unreliable or out of context information, whereas once they are professionally educated on what their options are, many choose to remain landlords and go on to prosper” he adds.