Almost one in five buy to let investors commit to sector 'indefinitely'

Almost one in five landlords intend to remain in the buy to let market indefinitely according to a new survey. 

Research for Foundation Home Loans shows that 18 per cent of all landlords said they would expect to remain a landlord indefinitely, and 19 per cent of landlords with four properties or more - known as portfolio landlords - said the same. 

This is broadly the same across the age groups: one in ten landlords aged 18 to 34 intend to remain indefinitely, rising to 17 per cent of those aged 35 to 54 and 20 per cent of those aged 55 and over.

Today’s portfolio landlords expect to stay invested in the market for an average of 15 years, compared to 10 years for non-portfolio landlords. 

Furthermore, one in five portfolio landlords have been a landlord for 16 to 20 years.

“There have been ripples of concern that a mass exodus of landlords is expected, and certainly the changes introduced are a handful to deal with if not addressed in the right way. But this is clearly an exaggerated view of the market” says Jeff Knight, marketing director at Foundation Home Loans. 

“With so much interest in investing in the long-term, it is therefore imperative that newer landlords are sufficiently supported to avoid any knee-jerk exits. This is particularly the case for portfolio landlords as diversification is key to maintaining cashflow.”