Coronavirus outbreak could cost the buy to let sector £14.9bn in three short months

The latest research by Deposit Replacement Scheme, Ome, has found that the impact of the Coronavirus could cost buy to let landlords nearly £14.9bn should tenants be unable to pay rent during the three month support period announced by the government yesterday.

Last night the government announced that they would suspend new evictions and halt new possessions proceedings to the court while the Coronavirus crisis persists. They have also protected landlords as well as tenants with a three-month mortgage payment holiday on buy to let mortgages.

However, if tenants simply can’t pay, this holiday will do little to help landlords who will still have to pay once the three months is up, with or without the rental income from their tenants.

Ome’s research shows that there are 5.2m households currently within the private rental sector alone and without the ability to work and pay their rent, the buy to let sector could see a loss of £4.97bn every month based on the average monthly rent of £955 alone. Over three months this climbs to a huge £14.9bn.

Nationally, this lost income is highest in England with potentially £11.6bn lost in rental income, while London is home to the biggest sum regionally with a potential £4.9bn lost in three months alone.

What does this mean for the average landlord?

There are some 2.6m landlords operating within the UK buy to let sector meaning the average landlord has a portfolio of two rental properties. With an average rent of £955 and a loss of three months’ rental revenue across both properties, they could be facing an individual £5,730 shortfall in rental income.

With a ratio of 2.1 properties per landlord in Scotland, the loss is at its greatest at £6,146 over three months with Northern Ireland also high at £6,083.

Not only does this huge sum have implications on a sector that has already seen its financial return stretched by the government, but it could see tenants out of pocket even further should landlords look to keep their tenancy deposit to account for lost rental income.

Co-founder of Ome, Matthew Hooker, commented: 

“It’s great news that the government are providing some financial respite for the nation’s landlords, however, it’s more of a weekend away than a holiday and once expired, UK landlords are still facing the cost of a buy to let mortgage without the rental income to pay it.

It’s by no means the fault of the tenant if they are unable to pay but there is a very real chance that landlords will turn to the rental deposits at the end of a tenancy in order to recoup this lost rent. While this would be unfair on a tenant who has otherwise kept the property in good order, it may well be the case that landlords are simply left with no choice.

The silver lining at least is that hopefully, not all tenants will be unable to pay their rent and so this sum of lost rental income should reduce, but whichever way you look at it, the UK rental sector is in for a tough few months.”

 

Location
Private renters
Average rent
1 month B2L lost revenue
3 months B2L lost revenue
Number of landlords
Average number of B2L properties
Cost per landlord
England
4,552,000
£852
£3,878,304,000
£11,634,912,000
2,266,770
2.0
£5,753
Wales
176,000
£515
£90,675,200
£272,025,600
104,450
1.7
£4,828
Scotland
340,000
£748
£254,481,840
£763,445,520
158,505
2.1
£6,146
Northern Ireland
138,000
£627
£86,526,000
£259,578,000
64,995
2.1
£6,083
UK
5,206,000
£955
£4,971,730,000
£14,915,190,000
2,594,720
2.0
£5,748
Location
Private renters
Average rent (2019)
1 month B2L lost revenue
3 months B2L lost revenue
London
964,000
£1,697
£1,635,908,000
£4,907,724,000
South East
713,000
£998
£711,574,000
£2,134,722,000
South West
474,000
£816
£386,784,000
£1,160,352,000
East of England
437,000
£869
£379,753,000
£1,139,259,000
North West
571,000
£621
£354,591,000
£1,063,773,000
West Midlands
405,000
£662
£268,110,000
£804,330,000
Yorkshire and the Humber
427,000
£617
£263,459,000
£790,377,000
East Midlands
359,000
£628
£225,452,000
£676,356,000
North East
202,000
£533
£107,666,000
£322,998,000
Sources:
Number of private renters
England
Scotland
Wales
Northern Ireland
Average rent
UK
Individual nations and regions

Properganda PR

National and local media coverage for property businesses. Journo quotes delivered in minutes.

You May Also Enjoy

Rightmove logo
Breaking News

Bibury searches nearly quadruple after global ‘most beautiful village’ title

Searches for homes for sale in Bibury in the Cotswolds surged by 273% last week after it was crowned the ‘most beautiful village in the world’ The average asking price of a home in the GL7 postcode, where Bibury is located, is £510,899, almost £150,000 more than the national average asking price The three most…
Read More
Rightmove logo
Breaking News

Rightmove’s Weekly Mortgage Tracker – 18/09/25

Average rates for 2-year and 5-year fixed-rate mortgages   Term Average rate Weekly change Yearly change 2-year fixed 4.54% +0.02% -0.44% 5-year fixed 4.56% +0.01% -0.05%   Lowest rates for 2-year and 5-year fixed-rate mortgages   Term Lowest rate Weekly change Yearly change 2-year fixed 3.75% +0.00% -0.24% 5-year fixed 3.89% +0.00% +0.12%   Average…
Read More
Planning disputes on new build land
Estate Agent Talk

Slowdown in planning applications and decisions

Property lawyer says “The government have had a year to make improvements to house building and have not made any progress.” Housing Secretary Steve Reed has announced a “building acceleration package” to speed up house building in England after new figures revealed a slowdown in planning applications and decisions. David Smith, property litigation partner at…
Read More
bank of england interest rate
Breaking News

Bank of England’s holds interest rates at 4%

With the Bank of England’s decision to hold interest rates at 4%, here are some thoughts from the Industry.   Matt Smith, Rightmove’s mortgage expert: “A Base Rate hold today had looked fairly nailed on, especially after yesterday’s news that inflation remains stuck at 3.8%. The later-than-usual Budget is very much on the horizon, and…
Read More
Breaking News

Breaking Property News 18/09/25

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.   Exodus of Landlords – means lower supply and increased rents’ MPs have taken the Renters’ Rights Bill a major step closer to Royal Assent, confirming the scrapping of Section 21 “no-fault” evictions and the end of fixed-term tenancies, which will now convert into open-ended…
Read More
Breaking News

Energy Rules Without Power: Tenants and Landlords Both Question EPC Impact

New research from LRG reveals that both landlords and tenants are struggling to engage with the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) system, raising serious questions about whether it can deliver on its intended goals ahead of the government’s 2030 targets. While landlords overwhelmingly support the principle of improving energy efficiency, confidence in the system designed to…
Read More