Budget 2015 – Government intend to make it easier to sublet!

Budget 2015 – Government intend to make it easier to sublet!

10:21 AM, 19th March 2015, About 9 years ago 64

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Almost buried on page 51 of the Budget Red Book the Chancellor gives a very brief outline of his intention to prevent the Private Rental Sector from stopping tenants being able to sublet.

This document states:

“Support for the sharing economy 1.193

The government wants to ensure that Britain is the global centre for the sharing economy, enabling individuals and businesses to make the most of their assets, resources, time and skills through a range of online platforms. This Budget therefore announces a comprehensive package of measures that will break down barriers, create opportunities for sharing, and unlock the potential of this dynamic and growing area. Building on the recommendations of the independent review of the sharing economy, the government will:

Make it easier for individuals to sub-let a room through its intention to legislate to prevent the use of clauses in private fixed-term residential tenancy agreements that expressly rule out sub-letting or otherwise sharing space on a short-term basis, and consider extending this prohibition to statutory periodic tenancies.”

Link to the full document

Alan Ward, the RLA chairman said:

“The measures on sub-letting are a nightmare in the making and smack of ‘back of the fag packet’ policy making.

Key questions remained unanswered such as who will be responsible for a property if the tenant sub-letting leaves the house but the tenant they are sub-letting to stays? Similarly, given the Government wants landlords to check the immigration status of their tenants, who would be responsible for checking the status where sub-letting occurs?

Whilst the RLA awaits further detail on this measure, it is difficult to see landlords supporting it.”

budget 2015


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Comments

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

15:49 PM, 19th March 2015, About 9 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Anon " at "19/03/2015 - 15:48":

oooo I like that one! 😀
.

Paul Eastabrook

16:27 PM, 19th March 2015, About 9 years ago

I think paragraphs 2.233 to 2.235 offer a degree of common sense clarification (or attempt at) to the proposals, in terms of tenants being allowed to seek a landlord's PERMISSION to sub-let, and ensuring that landlords always have to CONSIDER tenants’ requests reasonably. It doesn't (yet) seem to suggest that a landlord will be forced to comply with such requests, possibly because of the lack of clarity over private residential landlords’ legal responsibilities when considering requests from tenants to sub-let.

Eileen Grace

16:52 PM, 19th March 2015, About 9 years ago

How are responsible landlords in general expected to cope with overcrowding by subletters and HMO landlords in particular.

Ian Ringrose

17:00 PM, 19th March 2015, About 9 years ago

We should be POSITIVE about this, play our cards right, and then we have another tool for when tenants are finding the rent hard to afford.

There are 101 details that need to be got right in the new law, but positive engagement can lead to details before got right. Landlords just being negative lead to us being ignored.

(Hopefully the new law will also make it clear when tenants cannot take in a lodger, so stop some of the current problems.)

Ian Ringrose

17:46 PM, 19th March 2015, About 9 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "eileen grace" at "19/03/2015 - 16:52":

=> "How are responsible landlords in general expected to cope with overcrowding by subletters and HMO landlords in particular."

Just the same as now with a S21, as the AST is not enforceable in real life!

Craig Davis

17:48 PM, 19th March 2015, About 9 years ago

Just to add my thoughts into the melting pot., This sounds like one of those soundbites politicians use because they believe it panders to public opinion with no actual thought given to the consequences. It would be a minefield to say the least.

As a landlord I feel we are increasingly being used as a football by political bodies when in fact all we are trying to do is provide good quality accomodation to a sector of the public, who whether by choice or circumstance require rented accomodation that the government are unable to fully provide.

Will council tenants also be able to sub-let?
Will sub-lettees be able to sub-sub-let?
Who pays for any damage?
Who vets the sub-lettees for "Rights to work/rent in the UK?

There is a reason for the overtone to the expression "sub" that whichever genius thought up this scam should consider or do the expressions 'sub-prime' and 'sub-standard' not start any alarms ringing?

Is it me or do policy makers not live in the same world as we do?

Craig

Barry Fitzpatrick

17:53 PM, 19th March 2015, About 9 years ago

We should lobby for Tenants who sub-let (and in doing so become a proxy Landlord) should comply with all the rules and regulations that we as Landlords do to protect the rights of their Tenants.

Otherwise it opens the backdoor to rogue Landlords to engage a bogus Tenants who sublets without using DPS, using ASTs, etc. etc.

Rod

17:58 PM, 19th March 2015, About 9 years ago

I'll gladly run the country if the pay's good enough, can't do much worse. Only a matter of time b4 the government jump onto the BTLs to get something out of us. Licensing has already started! I've heard Labour plan to bring in 3 year min' contracts! I've already gone direct to the top and emailed Emma Reynolds. If we all do it, she'll soon get fed up! Next, we'll be forced to take DSS to save councils having to build and maintain housing. Mark my words!

Shakeel Ahmad

19:20 PM, 19th March 2015, About 9 years ago

Another issue if there is claim how would the Landlord establish who is responsible ? i.e the tenant/sub tenant. Most of the sub letters will be friends/family & they will unite against the landlord.

Anon. Chancellor would like to get into "rent to rent" so that his can sell more of " Osborne & little" wall papers.

Which ever political party you vote for the fact is that we have an acute housing shortage & this is pushing the rents whilst the wages remains low & will continue to do so. The government/Councils cannot sustain the amount that they are paying for housing so this is a way out for them at the expense of a private landlord.

Frankly, I would be happy to sell my portfolio. However once I have paid the mortgage, 28% capital gains I will have very little left to support my retirement and not to mention that I will never be able to get another mortgage irrespective of the interest rate that are on offer.

As a result of the above I am being financially/fiscally forced to hoard the properties. The properties should be revalued to establish new base level like we did in 1982 The revaluation at 05/04/2015 & is currently being allowed to non resident owners.

The indexation was a fair system. The argument against it was that we had high inflation at the time. This certainly is the case today as the house price inflation is high in comparison to RPI or which ever measure you wish to use.

Jason McClean - The Home Insurer

19:25 PM, 19th March 2015, About 9 years ago

Hi Shakeel

That is exactly why insurers will not cover sub letting. The landlord has no say over the sub let or any contract with the sub let. Effectively the sub let is responsibility free...

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