Flawed government policy fails tenants and landlords?

Flawed government policy fails tenants and landlords?

0:02 AM, 3rd March 2025, About 2 months ago 4

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The current government is pushing ahead with policy that results in added complexity unfairness and higher costs for tenants, those it purports to champion.

I will give three examples driving costs for tenants and reducing rental housing stock.

1. Having different rules around tax for company or personal ownership of property creates an unlevel playing field. Some (the losers) with higher costs put up their rents. Because there is already a shortage of property other landlords follow suit. The divergent policy increases costs for tenants. This would be easily solved by having the same policy for all types of rental ownership?

2. Demanding rental properties reach a grade ‘C’ EPC will result in millions of homes that can currently be rented, being illegal to rent from 2028. Some landlords who find themselves on the wrong side of the law will sell, removing homes from the rental market while others spending thousands to save as little as £20 a year for the tenants. This will put additional pressure on the rental market. Again higher prices will likely result across the board?

Current energy assessments are a sham as the EPC grade awarded is largely a lottery dependent on the assessor. Incorrect assumptions are routinely made, putting good properties on the wrong side of the law. In addition the scoring is itself wrong, for example water heated instantaneously is give a poor rating while holding it in a tank and losing energy to the surroundings is seen as better.

Smart technologies that save energy, for example heating triggered by motion detectors is ignored while this saves energy by heating where it is needed. In addition, the real world heat loss is not even accurately assessed, estimates are made. Many will know South facing houses may require no or less heating.

3. Financing and regulation is also a shambles. In 2022, the Bank of England increased interest rates above its own mortgage affordability rules and then scrapped the rules knowing some landlords would be stretched. Banks then charged mortgage borrowers more while rewarding savers. How was this a good policy? Stretched landlords had to raise tenant costs to survive? In a market of insufficient property all landlords would follow suit? The evidence is indicated by rental increases since the bank policy.

More unnecessary financial chaos is caused when a borrower comes out of a mortgage deal. At that point the banks are allowed to raise rates above regulatory affordability criteria? How is this even legal? I have seen a mortgage rise by 5.5% with TMW to 8.5%. Yes, laws are required but not the ones they are implementing.

It isn’t difficult to think of and implement good policy it just has to be fair, but the government appears unable to grasp the concept and bui on inequality?

Compare this to Thatcher’s policy which created new rental products that people took to because they made sense. History shows the tenant and landlord market grew because of sensible policy. Currently the opposite is true the rental market is contracting under divisive unfair and flawed rules when more political awareness is desperately needed?

What does the Property118 community think?

Thanks,

Paul


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Mick Roberts

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12:42 PM, 3rd March 2025, About 2 months ago

Add these too.

A background to why you tenants are paying extortionate rents and can't get anywhere unless you earning a cracking wage-Blame the Govt and Councils you vote for because you like it when they give more regs & rules to the Landlord-Guess who pays for this? You do.

I'm the biggest private provider to Benefit tenants in Nottingham over 27 years and not once has the Govt and Council come to ask me What they can do for me, so I and my colleagues will take the people we used to take. I will add to this list as I remember more.

They wanted Pet deposits banned.
Cause we'd want £100 more in case dog did damage.
End of tenancy, dog did no damage, tenant got all deposit back.
2019 you banned higher pet deposits cause some tenants didn't like it when dog did damage & didn't get their deposit back.
We stopped taking pets.
2024 MP stood up in Parliament and called for Pet deposits to be reinstated cause tenants with pets couldn't get accommodation.
You couldn't make this up.
Description here https://docs.google.com/document/d/1u54ouYTdNr7WaCPYW18Q_tZdlJr8-VwSUJpE0IcPf5k/edit?usp=drivesdk

They don't want Landlords helping tenants with Benefits and they bought in Universal Credit which has zero communication with Landlord- We now don't take Benefit tenants.

They bought in Selective Licensing on good Landlords with good houses. We put the rents up to cover it and now don't take risky tenants.

Landlord can get fined £30,000 if tenant takes battery out smoke alarm and Landlord CAN'T prove that tenant did it.

Landlord can get fined £30,000 if renting 1 bed flat to single person and he/she moves his/her partner in unbeknown to the Landlord if the Selective License only has license for one occupier.

They started fining Landlords £5000 if they didn't check tenants passport properly on Right to Rent checks-Landlords stopped taking anyone that had the slightest chance of being illegal immigrant. Innocent UK citizens suffered.

2015, they bought in that if Landlord CANNOT PROVE he/she has gave tenant boiler certificate, you can never get your property back. Even if had a new boiler 5 years later, Judge says Not bothered, u not having your house back. This helped the current bad tenant, hurts the next 100,000 tenants waiting for a home. A purely Anti Landlord measure to stop Landlord getting rid bad tenant or having his house back.

Oct 2024 Unison now wants a rent freeze. Ooh are we a charity are we? What other individual who sells or provides something is told YOU CANNOT charge a price u wish?

Oct 2024 the Renter Rights Bill is going to make it law, u can't do rent increase unless use Section 13. Now for years, I've agreed informally with tenant 'Ok £25 a month, u still £200pm now below anyone else.' Job done.
Now, I'm totally full up with paperwork and rules and regs. I have no more time. Section 13 some more say only a few mins. It's still 30 mins by time printed, filled in, signed, scanned, sent. Each one when u have lots of houses on top of Selective Licensing INSISTING we inspect each house every 4 months (two weeks solid just on inspections every months) is taking me over the edge. My existing tenants are going to have to go with Letting Agent who charge £50 for a Section 13. That's £4pm extra on the rent. Along with the extra £80pm Letting Agent fee which gets rid of cheap rent was charity.

Sep 2024 Ed Miliband MP wants all houses to EPC C which will cost Landlords £5000 and increase tenants cheap rents. As soon he announced this, he made more tenants homeless. Few words on that here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eI7z29SNRCDLLwX6_0QQChrwTxZ4jGZw4UNybVYfD1s/edit?usp=drivesdk

Section 24 Tax bought in by George Osborne of the Tories who said it will only affect 1 in 5 Landlords-That's over 2 million tenants put at risk of homeless. Landlords with tenants of 25 years are now being made homeless on this one action alone.

Oct 2024 I've heard there's a part of the RRB that says we must give tenants our home address on paperwork.
Details of that here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1v7aETrvz0j6CdS7LZwYukthZAbhNxLWRKR8qShi6Gok/edit?usp=drivesdk

Every anti Landlord measure they bring in to they think will help the tenant has hurt the tenants massively.

Every time the MP's talk an anti landlord measure, they've made more homeless and increased rents.

There is loads more

Stella

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13:30 PM, 3rd March 2025, About 2 months ago

Spot on Mick but they want us out and they do not mind how much they hurt tenants in the process.
They have done a good PR job in convincing Jo public that all tenants are saints and Landlords are all rogues.

Northernpleb

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18:21 PM, 3rd March 2025, About 2 months ago

Spot on both Paul and Mick ,
Nobody asked my Tenants if they want all this nonsense. When I tell them them I have to put your rent up because 40% of your rent goes in tax, and I have to pay for everything else out of what`s left . That`s why your rent is going up.
Oh and by the way I will not be able to rent it to you in three years. Even if I dig the floor up and put a bit of insulation down.

My best guess is that three years after they bring this nonsense in there will be 30 % fewer houses to rent.

Reluctant Landlord

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7:55 AM, 4th March 2025, About 2 months ago

I have issued rent increases with full explanation and reason, including what the government is proposing and the implications going forward.

Letter ended with all the contact details of their local MP and a request if they wish their voice to be heard then I am sure their representative would be glad to hear from them - especially as the same person voted in favour of the RRB on their behalf.

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