A high percentage of landlords have indicated that they see their properties as their pensions according to BDRC Continental.

Their new research reveals that 61% of landlords plan to live off the rental income, 20% will sell some of the properties in their portfolio, whilst 5% intend to sell all of the properties in their portfolio. Meanwhile 39% say their plans will depend on the state of the property market when they retire.

Mark Long, Director at BDRC Continental, said “Landlords consistently tell us that they see their property portfolio as forming a critical part of their pension provision for the future. On average, landlords intend to remain active in the rental sector for another 15 years or so, and see a combination of capital gains and rental income as underpinning their pension strategy.”

Many private landlords view property to be a safer bet than investments such as pensions. 10% of private landlords used previously invested funds to purchase their property outright with 31% of them stating it was because they believe investing in property will produce a better return on their money. Other reasons include providing an income (19%), acting as a long term investment and off-setting poor pension performance (both at 15%). Whilst 8% said property was an alternative investment. 6% believe property carries less risk than more traditional forms of investment, for example stocks and shares.

Mark Long said: “Despite the challenging economy, the private rental sector remains resilient for most of Britain’s private landlords. In Q3 this year we saw further evidence of that as the number of private landlords with a single property making a loss fell by three quarters from 16% in Q2 this year to 4% in Q3, and although short-term confidence has taken a bit of a seasonal knock, I fully expect optimism to recover as we end 2012 and enter 2013.”

Despite optimism in the private rental sector falling by six points during Q3 2012 when compared with Q2 2012, the fundamental cornerstones of a strong private rental sector remain with tenant demand up 7%, Yields also increasing 0.5% to 6.7% and voids and arrears remaining stable.