Three-quarters of buy-to-let landlords (76%) increased rent during the past 12 months, most of whom blamed higher mortgage costs following successive Bank of England (pictured) base rate rises.

More than half of landlords (51%) cited mortgage payments, according to the latest Landbay survey, with another 20% reporting that their letting agent had advised them to raise the rent. Property maintenance, repairs and work to improve an EPC rating were the reason given by 8% of landlords.

In future, if their mortgage rate rises when re-mortgaging, 71% of landlords would have to increase the rent although 21% were unsure. Only 8% said they would not do so simply because of higher costs.

Increase rent

On a regional basis, 89% of landlords in the South - excluding London - would increase rent compared with 62% in the North. In the Midlands, 78% of landlords say they would have to increase rent, along with 65% in London.

If rent increases are on the cards, 65% would raise monthly payments by up to 10%. Breaking this down, 38% of landlords would raise rents by 6-10% while 27% would choose to cap the limit at 5% and 10% planned to increase rent by more than 10%.

Rob Stanton (pictured), sales and distribution director at Landbay, says higher mortgage rates when re-mortgaging is obviously a contributory factor to rent rises and is understandable as landlords need to cover their costs. He adds: “For those landlords who haven’t or don’t intend to raise rent, it is generally because their mortgage costs are low, or they have long-standing and/or good tenants they want to keep.”