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Half of landlords use property as pension

Nearly half of all landlords in the UK’s buy-to-let sector are aged 45 plusand view their property portfolio as a long-term retirement investment, according to a poll.

The survey, conducted by estate agency network Your Move among 1,071 buy-to-let landlords, found these so called ‘Pension Pot’ landlords were more likely to live closer to their rental properties than ‘accidental’ or professional landlords.

Four out of 10 (41 per cent) of those in surveyed in the pension pot category were living within five miles of their rental properties.

Just under three in 10 of those in this category saw their properties as a business, with 53 per cent investing in more than one property.

Martyn Alderton, national lettings director at Your Move, said the research suggested the private rental sector is still appealing to many landlords as a source of income and funding into retirement.

He said: “It is also clear that ‘Pension Pot’ landlords are keen to build a personal rapport with tenants who will look after their investment.

“As an industry, it is increasingly important that we continue to support these ties, providing long-term benefits to tenants looking for a property to call their home and also for landlords looking for ways to fund their retirement.”

David Hollingworth, associate director of communications of mortgage broker London & Country, said the results of the survey showed landlords in the ‘Pension Pot’ category clearly perceive that investment as an important channel within their retirement portfolios.

He said: ‘People are investing over the long-term and it is, therefore, not surprising that they see property investment as part of their pension pot.

‘In the past, there has been concern that landlords would be dumping stock at the first sign of a downturn, but, in the Financial Crisis, that didn’t transpire and people stuck with it – People were instead looking at the income they could generate from rental income.”

Source: FT Adviser