Critic says tenants paying off a landlord’s mortgage ‘can’t be right’

Critic says tenants paying off a landlord’s mortgage ‘can’t be right’

0:01 AM, 5th February 2025, About 4 days ago 85

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John Bird, the founder and editor-in-chief of the Big Issue, has criticised tenant-landlord dynamics and highlights the urgent need for more public housing.

In an article for the magazine, he writes: “All I know is that we have to end the vulnerability of tenants who are caught in a trap that only enriches the landlord at their expense.

“Tenants in most agreements have only one role, and that is to pay off the landlord’s mortgage.

“That can’t be right in this day and age.”

He adds: “There must be a cleverer way to end this tyranny of housing over getting on with your life.”

Only benefit the landlord

Mr Bird argues that private rentals only benefit the landlord or the tenant depending on the prevailing legislation.

He notes that the new Renters’ Rights Bill could mark the beginning of a tenant-favouring period.

He goes on: “The vulnerability of the tenant, with such things as section 21 ‘no fault evictions,’ undermines the security of the tenant.”

Mr Bird points out that even the threat of eviction can cause stress for tenants, particularly those raising families or living alone.

He is advocating for a ‘vigorous public housing corporation’ which serves the community, including the homeless, trainee doctors, police officers, disabled individuals and students.

A well-thought-out public housing programme, he claims, could alleviate the century-old housing crisis and address the socio-economic disparities that have plagued the UK.

Shift the balance in favour of tenants

Mr Bird says: “Public house building for the public should include mixed usage, incorporating different demographics in need of housing.”

The Renters’ Rights Bill, he believes, could shift the balance in favour of tenants once again, much like Harold Wilson’s Rent Act of 1965.

He adds: “Ending section 21 has become a priority for those of us who do not want to see insecurity legalised.”

Mr Bird proposes borrowing land for temporary housing and utilising brownfield sites for new homes.

He also points to post-World War II prefabricated homes and says we need modern equivalents to deliver temporary relief while permanent solutions are developed.


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Christopher Fielder

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0:56 AM, 5th February 2025, About 4 days ago

Boring, clueless (Yawns)...

No fault evictions = not declared reason, likely contract breach.
'Temporary relief' = permanent housing that can't be mortgaged. I don't see many first time cash buyers.
Shift the balance to renters = make it unprofitable for landlords, yet insufficient council properties to mitigate the loss of landlords leading to homelessness (obviously the fault of selfish landlords wanting make money elsewhere.

Answer (as always) = supply and demand. There are neither enough houses being built or pressure to let or sell empty homes (open source research suggests this is a big factor). Ultimately, landlords have little ability to influence the market other than withdrawel from it creating greater homelessness.

Paul Essex

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8:34 AM, 5th February 2025, About 4 days ago

Please note that you are paying the mortgages of everyone you buy goods or services from.

DPT

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9:14 AM, 5th February 2025, About 4 days ago

I wonder if he says the same thing to Avis when he rents a car or to the deck chair provider on the beach. Anyone who has ever rented anything; from a TV set to a 4 bedroom house, is paying a rent which should cover all the owners costs, including any borrowing to buy the asset in the first place. Its in the nature of renting stuff.

Stella

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9:21 AM, 5th February 2025, About 4 days ago

How's about tenants taking on the risk and getting their own mortgage then they could pay for their own repairs and maintenance and mould.
They would not even have to worry about extras like compliance paying for licenses, health and safety, Council inspections, fines, section 24, endless red tape and a plethora of other obligations.

NewYorkie

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10:10 AM, 5th February 2025, About 4 days ago

Reply to the comment left by Christopher Fielder at 05/02/2025 - 00:56
In response to the constant regulation, taxation and vilification, the only option open to landlords is to 'withdraw their labour' as unions do. The difference is, once a landlord stops letting, it won't come back as soon as they get an Inflation-busting payrise.

Dylan Morris

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10:18 AM, 5th February 2025, About 4 days ago

No mention of stopping mass immigration then……..obviously. And where does he think all this money is going to come from ? Plenty of sources like stop sending £3 billion a year for a proxy war with Russia, £18 billion on foreign aid, £100 billion on HS2, £11 billion on overseas net zero. Where these a few options Mr Bird. You haven’t even mention one. Without the homeless selling his magazine his little money making scheme would collapse.

Jo Westlake

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10:21 AM, 5th February 2025, About 4 days ago

Most BTL mortgages are interest only, so in reality no one is actually paying off the mortgage.

It's simply a case of someone with a chunk of money, a suitable income and a decent credit rating has chosen to buy a house that someone else who doesn't have all of the above (yet) can live in until they have the ability or desire to buy their own house.

Keith Wellburn

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10:34 AM, 5th February 2025, About 4 days ago

Nothing wrong with Mr Bird holding the view that more social housing is needed.
Pointless and silly to focus on landlord mortgages. And of course landlords are primarily in it for themselves - I certainly am just as I was when I was a shopkeeper - it is not mutually exclusive to providing a a useful service. Does this clown call out a NHS employee paying off a car loan on a Mercedes as some sort of moral degenerate living in luxury off sickness and suffering? Actually, most likely yes for all the value his comment has.

Godfrey Jones

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10:49 AM, 5th February 2025, About 4 days ago

It should be like it was 20 years ago: I have a house I own and if you want to rent it these are my terms. If you don't like them then you are free to jog on and look elsewhere. I will provide a standard Tenancy Agreement drawn up fairly by a professional laying out what I will do and what you will do. If you don't stick to the Agreement then you may be asked to leave.
Then whatever I do with the rental income is completely MY BUSINESS and nothing to do with anyone else.

Peter Merrick

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10:55 AM, 5th February 2025, About 4 days ago

It's astonishing how the country runs on complete ignorance and misdirection. No wonder we are all screwed!
A person who thinks that charging the tenant a small sum for what is effectively a huge loan/hire that covers the running costs (including interest) and gives a modest return on capital deployed is living in a world of entitlement.
Even worse, my sister has just agreed to let my late mother's bungalow for a return of about 4.8%, which is approximately the going rate for what it is. This is actually LESS than the cost of just the mortgage that he would have to pay for the same amount of money, if you could even get a 100% loan on a property.
The only money to be made is the capital growth, which will probably also be modest as house prices are getting to the limit of affordability, and that will be taxed at punitive rates after taking account of inflation.
The main benefits will be the fact that the tenant is reliable and someone she knows personally, and in the distant future she may need to move out of her first floor flat and into the bungalow.

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