Landlords struggle to pay mortgages

Landlords are buying more properties than they are selling for the first time in two years, research into the buy-to-let sector by the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA). The quarterly survey found, however, that one in five ARLA members is struggling to meet mortgage repayments, and more than one in five reported at least one property on their books being repossessed on a weekly basis. Rental returns have remained largely consistent with returns on flats unchanged at 4.9 per cent, while houses are down slightly from 4.9 to 4.8 per cent.