In the face of the current cost of living crisis, landlords across Britain are struggling to keep up with the rise in property maintenance costs.
Research from property maintenance solution provider, Help me Fix, shows that present maintenance costs (for a single property) constitute over a fifth of the average rental income. This marks a climb of 4.7% since the start of this year.
With an increase in the cost of materials and services contributing to the rise, the current annual cost of maintaining a property now sits at an average of £2,864 across the UK.
This figure, compared to the average UK rent which currently sits at £13,524, means that the cost of maintaining the average rental property now requires a staggering 21.2% of the average landlord’s rental income.
London is home to the highest current annual maintenance cost at £5,379, but it’s the East Midlands where this cost has increased the most since January, climbing by over 6%.
“It’s a necessity that simply cannot be ignored”
Property maintenance expert Ettan Bazil, Founder and CEO of Help Me Fix, shares his concern regarding these rising prices:
“With inflation currently at a forty year high, the cost of maintaining a rental property has climbed by quite some margin since the start of the year alone.”
“For many landlords and professional rental management firms, the escalating cost of materials has long been an issue.”
But following stringent tenant welfare laws highlighted during the pandemic, the living conditions of rental tenants has never been a higher priority.
“The pandemic restrictions imposed during the numerous lockdowns have really shone a light on tenant welfare when it comes to the quality of accommodation,” he said.
“With the likes of the build to rent sector also driving standards upwards in this respect, it’s no longer acceptable to subject a tenant to subpar living conditions.”
So with the rights of the tenant and the forefront of public conversation, and property maintenance now more important than ever, where does this leave landlords in relation to these rising costs?
