TML: 21% of landlords predict tenants will move to the country

More than one in five landlords (21%) are predicting that their tenants will move to the country, according to research conducted by OnePoll on behalf of The Mortgage Lender (TML.

This is thought to be a result of the complications caused by coronavirus, and the increased number of individuals working from home.

The research also showed that 35% of landlords had changed their view on the type of tenants they would find attractive in the future because of the pandemic.

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TML believe this shift has already been evidenced in Zoopla’s latest Rental Market Report, which identified that a two-speed rental market is emerging between London and the rest of the country with a supply/demand imbalance supporting positive rental growth across all regions and major cities outside London.

Zoopla predicted that rental inflation outside London will finish the year 1% up on last year, while in London rents are expected to fall by 5%.

Steve Griffiths, sales director at The Mortgage Lender, said: “No-one really knows what the long-term impact of COVID-19 will be on where people choose to live in the future, but we do know that a lot of larger employers with flagship offices in London have already taken the decision their workforce will remain working from home for the rest of this year.

“Despite the uncertainty we do know that we are not building nearly enough new homes in the UK to meet demand and that good quality rental properties will continue to be desirable.”