FAO Shelter – This is not a love note from The Landlord Crusader

FAO Shelter – This is not a love note from The Landlord Crusader

12:17 PM, 11th November 2022, About A year ago 56

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It’s a good job I was sitting down when I read a striking story on Property118 this week because it would normally have knocked me off my feet otherwise.

Was it, I hear you ask, the Government announcing that their Rent Reform white paper is nonsense and will be ditched? Nope. Was it the prospect of Section 21 being retained? Nope.

It was much, much better than that. It was someone from Shelter asking the Government to step in and stop landlords from leaving the private rental sector.

That’s right. Someone from the homeless charity that doesn’t actually house anyone was urging action to stop landlords from leaving the PRS.

I had to read it twice before my brain would believe it.

Fed-up landlords leaving the PRS

This is what the quote in the story about fed-up landlords account for 16% of property sales said:

However, with so many landlords leaving the sector, homeless charity Shelter says the impact will be felt most by those on low incomes.

Ruth Jacob, the charity’s policy expert at the charity, urged the Government to act.

She told the Telegraph: “We’re already seeing a severe shortage of affordable homes to rent for people on the lowest incomes and that’s already leaving more and more people at risk of homelessness.”

There’s nothing on their website about this, though I did see Shelter’s chief executive officer Polly Neate on BBC Breakfast warning that there is an issue of people over the age of 65 not living in council accommodation or owning their own home.

Instead, they stand a good chance ‘at their time of life’ of being made homeless because landlords are leaving the PRS.

Why landlords are leaving

Again, the interviewer didn’t ask the killer question about why landlords are leaving.

Polly did though get to plug that 5% of sales from M&S’s Festive Food on the Move range will help fund Shelter’s hotline.

So, to all you landlord haters and vocal supporters of Shelter, let me spell out for you what is going on.

Shelter (and the likes of Generation Rent) have been working for years to reduce landlord rights to the benefit of tenants.

The vilification has been unbearable – and it is getting worse.

We must be the only group of people you can discriminate against and criticise without any comeback.

Working out whether it’s worth carrying on

This, along with rising interest rates, rising mortgage rates, more legislation and reduced profits (yes, Shelter, we need to make money) means landlords are working out whether it’s worth carrying on.

So, while the Gas Safety checks and improved electrical checks are worthy, things like growing numbers of council licensing schemes are not and they only push up costs. Those costs have to be met by someone.

And not all landlords are evil, exploiting property so poor people pay for landlords to sleep on pillows filled with £50 notes.

If only.

Instead, landlords are deciding in increasing numbers that it is no longer worth the time and hassle of providing homes anymore.

Private landlords keen to offer shelter

Don’t get me wrong, there will always be private landlords keen to offer shelter (see what I did there?) to those who are homeless or in need.

But – and it’s important that you understand this point – section 21 means we can remove tenants who don’t pay rent or make their neighbours’ lives a misery, from our homes – but its proposed abolition (which you support) means we will find it even harder to remove rogue tenants.

For other landlords, the prospect of having to meet an EPC rating of C by 2025 (still not a legal requirement yet) is the final straw for them.

Others just want to get out, so they don’t have to be hounded by the likes of Shelter and Generation Rent.

And when landlords sell, it is usually to a homebuyer and not another landlord, so the property won’t be rented out again.

We understand this.

And now it appears you do too.

Urging the government to stop landlords from selling up

This is a shame because urging the government to stop landlords from selling up is like the boy who cried wolf. You can’t denigrate and undermine landlords for years and then say ‘Whoa! Why are landlords leaving? There won’t be homes to rent. Something must be done…’.

It’s too late. You have made a bed you don’t like and if you think it’s bad now – wait until next year when landlords have to remortgage at monster rates and see how many pack it in then.

And if they don’t leave, I can guarantee a stampede to the door marked exit if Section 21 is abolished.

You have never talked to us. We have always been the bad guys. Most of us want to provide quality homes for tenants that are safe and secure.

I for one am sick of landlords being not only ignored but victimised for offering tenants somewhere to live and being blamed for it.

Selling off council houses and not building new ones is where the issue lies with our current housing catastrophe – and that’s down to EVERY government since Thatcher, NOT landlords.

But then, if we had more social housing, you wouldn’t be needed. And the day you close your doors will be a great day for housing in this country – and a really great day for landlords everywhere.

Until next time,

The Landlord Crusader


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Comments

Gromit

17:01 PM, 11th November 2022, About A year ago

Reply to the comment left by Jonathan Cocks at 11/11/2022 - 14:16
Shelter only ever speak to tenants who call their help line, so these are tenants who are having problems with their rogue Landlord or its a rogue tenant trying to use Shelter to get one over a good Landlord.

Shelter will never hear from the majority of good tenants who gave good Landlords because they have dause to call Shelter, so they never figure in their stats.

Anne Nixon

18:24 PM, 11th November 2022, About A year ago

Reply to the comment left by Bos Tin at 11/11/2022 - 16:29
Why do you say that the system was in the landlord's favour?

Big Blue

18:47 PM, 11th November 2022, About A year ago

Ruth Jacob sounds like a bundle of laughs! Surely she hasn’t spotted that it was a couple of previous policy officers at Shelter, not to mention CEO Campbell Robb, that wrote enthusiastically supporting the govt with Section 24 and their plan to get rid of private landlords?! At the time, all of Shelter, (not to mention current chief Polly Neate) wanted us all gone and strenuously denied taxing landlords was a problem. Even more hilariously, Neate recently claimed that she had ‘no idea about landlord taxation’ - meaning she should probably learn the first thing about it before lobbying govt on making it worse. You really couldn’t make up the level of stupid at Shelter.

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

22:05 PM, 11th November 2022, About A year ago

Quite a few people on Social Media have asked me whether I am “The Landlord Crusader”. For the record, I am not, but I have spoken to him and I am honored that he has chosen Property118 to share his thoughts which accurately summarise the way so many of us here feel.

Deb

23:02 PM, 11th November 2022, About A year ago

Reply to the comment left by Bos Tin at 11/11/2022 - 14:08
Not necessarily. Young people living with their parents are more likely to be able to save the deposit than those renting. When they buy a property, it's very unlikely their parents will rent their room out to a lodger. Therefore, a rental property is lost.

Dave S

23:56 PM, 11th November 2022, About A year ago

Reply to the comment left by Bos Tin at 11/11/2022 - 14:08
Not necessarily, yes some of the properties that Landlords sell off will go to other Landlords but many will go to first time buyers who are still at home with their parents and NOT currently renting , so even if one property goes to one of these people thats one less property on the rental market . The majority of my tenants either can’t or don’t want to buy their own home.

Warren

0:53 AM, 12th November 2022, About A year ago

Agree completely with other here. I only have a couple of properties, both are of very good standard. I haven’t increased the rent for my tenants in over 4 years, though could demand much higher rent according to the going market. Threats of rent freezes, make my blood boil, and make me think I will have to increase rents now while I can. Like others the recent interest hikes mean at least one of my properties will soon mean a monthly loss. My options are put the rent up significantly, sell, or maybe do serviced accommodation instead. I’m a good landlord reluctant to sell, but as other say, the vilification is beyond a joke.

Mick Roberts

10:41 AM, 12th November 2022, About A year ago

Great article

david porter

11:07 AM, 12th November 2022, About A year ago

And so the Government does not want me to rent out properties to tenants?
Well interest rates are going up.
Why borrow from the banks to invest in property at high interest rates? Why not lend to the banks at high interest rates?
So evict tenants at the next renewal date, sell up put the net proceeds in the bank at an interest rate which will give you a greater return on capital than you are currently enjoying on the PRS,
You will miss out on capital appreciation but enjoy a better r.o.i. and be hassle free!
Next step send a postcard to the lady from Shelter and say
“You really effed it up this time”

John McKay

11:56 AM, 12th November 2022, About A year ago

Reply to the comment left by Sam Addison at 11/11/2022 - 14:29
Not for the first time Sam, I recall that Shelter employees went on strike either 2017 or 2018 for the same reason. Hard to believe when the 'charity' pulls in £72m.

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