Why Private Landlords Let Out Properties & Keep Their Jobs

A whopping 53% of UK landlords only own one property, meaning very few make enough money to use property letting as their sole income source. In fact, two-thirds of respondents work everyday jobs and only rent out properties as an additional revenue stream.

In this blog, we’re exploring why so many people fall into landlord positions and their most common day jobs to show you what’s possible in the world of property letting.

Yes, private landlords have day jobs too!

Contrary to popular belief, not all private UK landlords are wealthy, retired politicians with colossal property portfolios. Over half of them still have to work their day jobs while managing a property or two on the side.

The top 4 careers of the 1,000 landlords surveyed are administrators, IT specialists, teachers, and accountants, while other career choices cited were in the construction, retail, health, beauty, and transportation industries.

So if you’re considering becoming a landlord but want to keep your full-time job, know that it’s certainly possible.

Top 5 reasons why people become private landlords

So, why exactly do everyday workers become landlords? While everyone’s personal circumstances can lead to very different reasons for letting out a property, we’ve compiled some of the top-cited reasons why people become landlords below:

Inheriting a property from a relative who has passed away is one of the most common reasons everyday workers become landlords in the UK or the reason for 16% of UK landlords, if you ask Makeurmove. Though selling the property may seem like the easier route, many landlords enjoy more profit from long-term rental agreements.

Only 18% of the landlords in Makeurmove’s survey said they got into buy-to-let property investment to create a property business. Most landlords are in it for the attractive supplemental income they can earn to help them afford a comfortable lifestyle, luxurious holidays and big purchases, or send their children to University.

Unfortunately, some people may find themselves renting out their own property or perhaps one room in their property while they still live there due to a divorce or separation. No longer able to afford the mortgage repayments after a spouse or partner moves out, many people turn to downsizing or acquiring a tenant to keep up with their bills.

22% of landlords in the Makeurmove survey said they became landlords because of unforeseen circumstances, one of which is not being able to sell their property. If someone wants to move elsewhere but can’t sell their house without making a loss (or because nobody is interested), they may elect to rent it out while enjoying a new life elsewhere.

According to another survey of 8,000 UK landlords by the English government, a massive 46% of respondents said they became a landlord to earn funds for their pension. With many jobs not offering pension benefits to their workers, this can become a more desirable, long-term investment to fund their future.

Are you thinking of becoming a landlord in the UK?

Considering most UK landlords don’t choose this career path and use property letting to supplement their full-time salaries, and 40% have been a landlord for three years or less, many lack the knowledge of compliance laws to fulfil their landlord duties.

Symple makes it easy to become a UK landlord, keep the day job, and stay compliant. Our user-friendly platform makes it as simple as clicking a button to source reliable engineers from your local area for gas, energy performance, or electrical safety certificates.

No more calls back and forth to arrange appointments, forgetting to renew your certificates, losing track of receipts, or facing fines – Symple takes care of the entire process for you. Simply add your property information and the date of the last gas, energy performance, or electrical safety certificate, hit renew, and we’ll do the rest – it’s symple!

Learn more about how Symple works and order your certificates online today.