This weeks blog post feels a little doom and gloom. It is however something which needs to be discussed given the current economic situation.
Across the UK almost 25% of Uk renters work in retail, travel and hospitality. Often these are the younger generation and it is the sector that is struggling the most with many workers either being furloughed or sadly they have already been made redundant.
It has been reported that unemployment rose to 4.8% in Q3, with a large proportion of job losses in leisure, retail and travel. Many of these people will struggle to pay their rent. In most areas in the UK, it will impact 1 in 4 tenants and with Christmas coming up, funds will become tighter, especially for those working in leisure. These people will have a restricted income due to being furloughed and if the pubs are able to re-open, it is likely that they won’t be earning as much in tips as they were once used. It will become harder to pay rent and bills.
At JDG we have been monitoring this situation very closely. Luckily only a handful of tenants have struggled and rent reductions in the form of a holiday (eg it still need to be paid back ) have been needed.
Many of our tenants are linked to the public sector due to the nature of our city. 43.5% of our population works either in the public sector, education and health. Not many cities can boast two universities and a training hospital!
Our advice to any landlords is to be first of all sympathetic to those that genuinely need help. Try and see if a fair payment plan can be arranged.
Our advice for tenants is to try and keep up with your rent payment. Should you need to move in the future it will become more difficult if you have rent arrears.
Our other advice for landlords is that should your property come available for re-let – look at taking out a rent guarantee policy. These may have come slightly more expensive in recent months, however, they are currently still covering Covid. This way you have no worries at all about if you will get your rent!
If you would like to chat about the Lancaster rental market or have any concerns at all, please call us on 01524 843322
Thanks for reading
Josh