Landlords feel unfairly penalised – but tenants want more regulation

Landlords feel unfairly penalised – but tenants want more regulation

0:01 AM, 22nd December 2022, About A year ago 19

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A survey has revealed the gap in how landlords and tenants see the private rented sector – with most landlords saying they feel unfairly penalised, but tenants want more regulation.

The findings from Market Financial Solutions (MFS) found that 63% of landlords feel that the Government has introduced too much regulation.

However, 73% of tenants say they need better protection and want tighter regulation.

The survey of 2,000 adults also found that 65% of landlords feel not just being penalised but targeted by the Government.

Improve the standard of rental properties

The specialist lender’s survey also shows that 74% of tenants want more to be done to improve the standard of rental properties – and 78% say they should claim rent back if they live in poor quality accommodation.

Unsurprisingly, in the face of a cost-of-living crisis, 77% also want rent price controls and there is strong support for multi-year, long-term lets with 69% of tenants saying they should be more of these tenancies.

And plans by the government to abolish section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions – as revealed in the Queen’s Speech this year – has strong support from tenants with 62% saying the government is right to ban them.

‘There is some discord between landlords and tenants’

Paresh Raja, the CEO of MFS, said: “Clearly, there is some discord between landlords and tenants on the topic of further regulation in the private rental sector.

“With rents rising, tenants obviously feel that not enough is being done to protect renters, with many showing clear support for rent controls and tenants being able to claim money back if their accommodation is not of a high enough standard.

“That said, the influx of regulations in the past decade has left a majority of landlords feeling unfairly targeted.”

‘We need a buoyant rental market’

He added: “We must work to strike a careful balance – we need a buoyant rental market, so squeezing landlords too tightly might result in a greater number of poor quality or empty rental properties.

“In a market that’s already grappling with an undersupply of properties and an ever-growing demand, this could have detrimental ramifications for rental prices in the future.

“As such, the Government must tread a fine line between protecting renters and disincentivising landlords.”


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Comments

Reluctant Landlord

9:36 AM, 22nd December 2022, About A year ago

“As such, the Government must tread a fine line between protecting renters and disincentivising landlords.”

The government actually needs to STEP out of getting 'involved'. Is their meddling in the free market PRS that is causing the issue in the first place.

The government just needs to stick to building more social housing. As more is built, the PRS will level out in terms of rents etc. Bad LL's with terrible properties will be boycotted by tenants who can choose to go elsewhere. The market will find its own level and the rogue LL's will either have to improve to be able to rent out their property, or will sell up if they don't want to run things properly. This will only serve to ensure better standards in rental accommodation by default.

Bad tenants wont even bother to enter the PRS if there is social rent available - obviously cheaper

The only problem is by doing this the government then openly admits its own failings to provide properties - so its easier to turn the tables and put the blame onto others - greedy landlords, blah, blah, blah.

Sam Smith

9:38 AM, 22nd December 2022, About A year ago

What do tenants want? Gold plated kitchens?

Monty Bodkin

9:45 AM, 22nd December 2022, About A year ago

Were they also asked;

"Do you want even more legislation if it means landlords leave the sector and there are no properties available to rent?"

Because that is already the state of the rental market right now.

Seething Landlord

10:42 AM, 22nd December 2022, About A year ago

Tenants need to realise that in this life you get what you pay for, or in the case of benefit claimants, what somebody else pays for.

Hardworking Landlord

13:30 PM, 22nd December 2022, About A year ago

Perhaps if current legislation was enforced, there would be no need for more…

Freda Blogs

13:42 PM, 22nd December 2022, About A year ago

“With rents rising, tenants obviously feel that not enough is being done to protect renters, with many showing clear support for rent controls and tenants being able to claim money back if their accommodation is not of a high enough standard."
Really? if the accommodation is not of high enough standard, don't take a tenancy of it. Tenants have a choice what accommodation they live in and the rent they pay - although that may be tempered by availability and affordability, but that is not a Landlord’s fault.
As it is, LLs have increasingly less choice or control over their very expensive assets and many a LL’s pension plans are being wrecked. How many tenants would allow that situation in reverse? Enabling a stranger to have such control over their investments and potentially damaging their future financial well-being? How many tenants would happily give a refund for a service or accommodation that has been provided in accordance with agreed contract terms (that seemingly only LLs are required to adhere to)?

Levelling up? What a joke!

Rod

16:21 PM, 22nd December 2022, About A year ago

Hardworking Landlord identifies one of the main issues here:

Unscrupulous landlords are only able to operate due to standards not being enforced. This is down to local authorities failing to enforce standards (even when they have introduced additional and selective licencing). It is also down to tenants failure to report issues (often due to poor knowledge or concern of retaliatory eviction).

Good landlords should be able to meet the majority of compliance requirements without too much effort. The difficulty comes where local authorities add additional requirements and when government set expectations without publishing the actual requirements (EPCs/MEES).

Obviously, a lack of supply reduces the scope for tenants to push back on some properties. The government has hinted that they will make some funding available in the Spring Statement.

The main cause of landlords dissatisfaction is that the rise in compliance requirements has been accompanied by higher levels of taxation, rather than financial support.

The PM boasted this week that measures to limit energy prices had held inflation down by over 2%. If the government could resist the urge to drive property prices up by their SDLT tinkering and homebuyer support (help to buy), the market would correct to a more sustainable level.

Jeff Simms

16:29 PM, 22nd December 2022, About A year ago

Reply to the comment left by Freda Blogs at 22/12/2022 - 13:42
Well said

Chris @ Possession Friend

17:07 PM, 22nd December 2022, About A year ago

Only 63 % of Landlords think this ! - are the other 37% asleep !!!

Such is the apathy that proactive representation, if we had any, faces.

Seething Landlord

20:42 PM, 22nd December 2022, About A year ago

Reply to the comment left by Chris @ Possession Friend at 22/12/2022 - 17:07From the report:
"In early November 2022, MFS commissioned an independent and nationally
representative survey of 2,000 UK adults, of which 702 were tenants and 211 were
landlords (own one or more buy-to-let properties)."
I know little about the theory behind surveys but 211 out of 2.5 million seems too small a sample from which to draw any conclusions.

https://www.mfsuk.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/mfs-report-exploring-the-landlord-tenant-relationship.pdf

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