Campaigners call for rent controls, open-ended tenancies and ‘fair’ four-month notice periods

An excellent manifesto for the total disintegration of the P.R.S.
What would follow this idiotic manifesto would be hundreds of thousands homeless, skyrocketing rents, destruction of any new investment and students not being able to take up university education.
Perhaps well intended meaning without thought to the unintended consequences.

I agree with some of this.
Rent controls already exist in that if a tenant does not agree with the level of rent, they can apply for a rent tribunal to determine a fair rent. Occasionally, the tribunal may set an even higher rent than the landlord requested. I think further rent controls could be introduced that limit any increase to RPI + 3%. Feeezing rents would mean many landlords would not be able to meet mortgage costs and the properties would be repossessed.
We already have open-ended tenancies. Only a tenant or a court can end the tenancy. Many S21 notices are issued because a tenant has failed to meet the terms of the AST. They are issued when tenants are in arrears with rent or causing a nuisance to neighbours etc. S21 is considered easier than S8. Scrapping S21 will result in more tenants receiving S8 notices. We need a more efficient and less stressful way to evict ‘bad’ tenants with government support for landlords that are let down by the courts process.
In cases of where a ’no fault of the tenant’ eviction, via S8 or S21, is issued, I see nothing wrong with a 4 months notice period (or longer) and for landlords to contribute towards moving costs. Of course, these costs will need to be factored in to the landlord’s business plan.
As we move towards producing more energy from sustainable sources, the urgency for higher EPC ratings diminishes. Landlords cannot be expected to invest huge sums of money in rental properties unless there is a way to recover that investment over time. We don’t have access to £millions in the way that West Yorkshire’s mayor seems to believe.
The only way to fix the crisis is to reduce the size of the population or build sufficient houses to satisfy demand. The latter is not possible unless we close the borders to economic and fake asylum seekers. The problem is that we don’t know who is not a genuine asylum seeker until they have been assessed. This should be done at the first safe country that they reach.

Reply to the comment left by Juan Degales at 09/10/2023 - 09:29
Juan, that is where we are today.

Why don't there people lobby for more houses to be built or less immigration?
This would give the tenants more bargaining power and cheaper prices.

There's no point agreeing with anything these guys say. They are anti landlord and think they are pro tenant.

They fail to realise a tenant is in a partnership with the landlord not just the tenants servant.
Compelling a landlord to do something against their will reduce the benefits of the partnership.

Maybe on 'day one' the tenant can get some advantage from these measures, but they will be worse off over the long term.

The proponents of these proposals fail to understand economics, so their proposals come from a position of ignorance and are divorced from reality.

Sounds as though they are needing to buy their own house andvtake responsibility for themselves..........or will they be wanting to put a cap on house prices?

The last full survey of May 2022 showed 51% of PRS properties were held by landlords with between 1 and 4 properties and an average age of over 60. These are apparently, though not officially confirmed, the main ones selling up. The market is being changed and it is scary. Grade C EPC or better but if you go all electric you may go down to D. Older properties likely to cost £8000 to £12,000 to go to C/B. Maybe the pressure groups should look carefully at their demands, worthy as they are. I do notice they seem very reluctant to become social housing housing associations and put their demands into action. That said if a property is sold after a section 21 or a tenant leaves, the property still exists and may bought, possibly by a you family or a single, so it is not lost from housing stock. It is still lived in.

Already happened in Scootland.
And we have experienced the fastest rate of rent increase in the UK.
The PRS has shrunk as rightly a lot of landlords including myself have sold long term excellent hmo accommodation due to these changes.
I've had over 100 enquiries for a 4 bedroom HMO ,that's 400 students chasing 1 flat ....
396 disappointed young people 😔. struggling to get any accommodation for university term .
These idiots campaigners should be careful what they wish for.

Fabulous provided they've got the funding to support the businesses providing the houses.

These businesses are not charities, they need to pay staff, along with many other operating costs including their business premises costs.

Compliance costs have increased significantly, insurance costs have increased significantly, the cost of finance has increased (doubled or trebled), salaries have increased. Contractors rates have increased!

No profit, no business....no homes available for renters...

me thinks they complain too much

Lol the reform will =
Less Landlords
Massive massive housing shortage
No investment in private properties
Massive state funded housing at more cost to tax payers, a swamp for corruption, theft and sub par state housing run and controlled by all the public funded parasites ie. Shelter, Housing Associations, Charities etc....
and Homelessness
None above is hysteria. It will be enviable. (just look what the commies have achieved in Comiefornia, California, a total and utter collapse in housing.
When will Marxists ever learn! Dark clouds are coming! Batten down the hatches comrade LLs