Landlords are feeling “abandoned” by the government during the coronavirus pandemic, a study from The Mortgage Lender (TML) has revealed.

TML’s findings showed that 64% of landlords haven’t received any financial support while 52% believe they should receive future financial support.

The research, conducted among a panel of 100 landlords by OnePoll, indicated that they would favour the reintroduction of tax relief on mortgage interest payments for a limited period (63%), as well as automatic deferral of tax bills for 12 months (52%) as a way to support the sector’s recovery from the financial hit of COVID-19.

In terms of the support received, 20% of landlords said they had received a bounce back loan, 24% had taken a payment deferral as a precaution and 11% had taken a payment deferral out of necessity.

Of the landlords who had received financial assistance, 44% reported that it had already impacted on their ability to obtain further mortgage funding, while 31% expected it to impact them negatively in the future. Just 8% of investors felt the assistance they had received would have no impact on their future plans.

“When the government was putting together its package of financial assistance for homeowners and tenants, buy-to-let (BTL) landlords weren’t a consideration,” said TML sales director Steve Griffiths.

“Some have benefitted from a bounce back loan and some have taken advantage of payment deferral on their mortgages but the additional tenant protection included in the Coronavirus Act 2020 has led to landlords feeling that they have been overlooked.

“The government was also unequivocal that payment deferrals wouldn’t impact on an individuals’ credit file, however a large number of those BTL landlords who have received financial support in the form of a payment deferral are reporting that it is already impacting their ability to obtain mortgage funding.”

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