Unsurprisingly an overwhelming 81 per cent of landlords in a survey feel they are badly portrayed by the media

Landlords say they feel demonised and their important role providing housing is not recognised by the mainstream media, who instead portray them as greedy investors raising rents.

When asked if they agreed with the statement that the media portrayal is fair and accurate, one third of landlords strongly disagreed, while almost half disagreed.

One landlord out of the 1,200-plus surveyed, says: “The private rental sector provides much needed homes that are not being built by councils. I am a good landlord but I am fed up with being portrayed as someone who has plenty of money and is profiteering off tenants. What would happen if most landlords sold their properties?”

Another comments: “It would be good if the media was more balanced and also portrayed the issues for landlords with problem tenants.”

The findings form part of Landbay’s latest quarterly survey which questions existing landlords on various topics to determine their attitude and intentions.

Landbay’s Paul Brett says: “There’s no question landlords have needed to be thick-skinned with successive anti-landlord governments and plenty of anti-landlord rhetoric in the national news. 

“It’s unfortunate that bad news leads when there are so many positive examples of good landlords working in partnership with tenants to provide quality housing.

“With such a reliance on rented accommodation as part of the wider housing mix in the UK, we need quality landlords more than ever. We also need new entrants too as demand continues to outstrip supply.

“To make this all happen though, the government must champion those good quality landlords and work with the sector, rather than against it. This will hopefully bring a more balanced approach to the national news agenda and relieve some of the pressure felt by honest and hard working landlords across the country.”