Britain’s small private landlords, those often renting out one property are struggling as they feel the impact of voids and rent arrears, according to a survey by BDRC Continental’s independent Landlords’ Panel.

The proportion of small landlords making either a small or large loss has doubled from 8% in Q1 2012 to 16% in Q2 2012, says BDRC whilst those with more properties are faring better as 40% of those with 5-10 properties, 69% of those with 11-19 properties and 68% with 20+ units in their portfolios make a profitable full time living from residential lettings.

Mark Long, Director for BDRC Continental, said: “It is a tough time to be a private landlord if you have just one property in your portfolio. Over the last quarter profitability has clearly taken a dive. Regardless of their size, there is no question that the private rental sector relies on private landlords and, whilst a third may aspire to increase their property portfolio, they will only be able to achieve this goal and add to Britain’s privately rented housing stock if they can make a profit from that one property.”

The survey also identified a fall in rental arrears for the first time in a year during Q1 2012 however this trend reversed in Q2 increasing from 45% to 49% with one in ten (9%) of single property landlords experiencing voids lasting just over two months or an average of 69 days in the previous three month period.

A potential concern for landlords is that the data in Q2 suggests a a third consecutive decline in perceived tenant demand with a continued shift from ‘increasing’ demand to ‘no change’.