16% landlords drop 2 months' rent, 44% didn't raise it in pandemic: Survey

A survey has showed that around 16 per cent landlords waived rent for up to two months, while another 41 per cent gave tenants extension on rental payments in view of a financial crunch during the coronavirus lockdown.

The survey, conducted by property classified 99acres.com which is owned by Info Edge India Ltd, polled 49,600 house owners and brokers who have listed properties for rent or sale. The survey's motive was to assess the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the property market.
 

"Most of the landlords are extending a helping hand to the tenants - 44 per cent have not increased the rent, 41 per cent are giving more time to their tenants to pay and 16 per cent have waived the rent for up to two months," the portal, which has over 10 lakh residential and commercial properties listed by owners and brokers, said in a statement.

Despite the sluggish market, 76 per cent owners are still looking for renting out their property, whereas 24 per cent have postponed the search for tenants.

Majority of the owners (54 per cent), who want to rent out their property, expect the rental prices to go down, while only 11 per cent are anticipating a rise, the survey said.

Around 80 per cent owners, who want to sell their properties, will continue to look for prospective buyers, while 20 per cent have postponed their selling plans. As much as 45 per cent owners expect the prices to fall, while only 10 per cent are anticipating a rise.

Regarding COVID-19's impact on property brokers, the survey found out that 57 per cent brokers expect demand to go down post coronavirus, while 29 per cent are uncertain about future changes.

According to the survey, there will be increased use of digital tools by developers and brokers to market their products.