Mr Murphy comments: "Tenants who have found themselves vulnerable can easily request payment holidays, with no repercussions for future payments."
While current measures to protect tenants from eviction are welcome, what happens in the future when the financial support schemes stop and tenants are still unable to meet their monthly outgoings?
Also, as Mr Murphy says: "The tenancy deposit protection schemes provide excellent support for renters through challenging times, but this can negatively impact the landlord’s financial situation if rent payments are not made and deposits sit in limbo for months without a decision."
So, there are many factors to consider.
Everyone at risk
Martin Stewart, founder of London Money, agrees anyone and everyone can be at risk, whether they are a buy-to-let landlord with a few properties, a mortgage borrower or a renter.
He explains: "There are vulnerabilities in each sector. Landlords will be pincered between falling rents and increased taxation coupled with tenants being unable to pay, while the courts make it difficult to remove them from the property.
"Main residential owners may well be sitting on a ticking time-bomb, whereby they funded a lifestyle based purely on 2019's income and an expectation of that being the same or more in the years ahead.
"Clearly, past performance really is no help when it comes to global pandemics."
Simoney Kyriakou is senior editor of FTAdviser
