Henry Pryor dismisses landlord concerns over Section 24 as “complete pants”

Henry Pryor dismisses landlord concerns over Section 24 as “complete pants”

9:34 AM, 5th April 2017, About 7 years ago 16

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Henry Pryor, according to his own website, is the “The BBC’s favourite property expert.” His Bio says “for the past nine years I have worked as a ‘buying agent‘, sourcing homes and other assets for the rich and famous and for the plain hard working.”

However, in a Twitter spat with the RLA, Pryor claimed that their concerns over millions of families facing rent increases over Section 24 mortgage interest relief reductions are scaremongering and “complete pants.”

Pryor was attacking the Axe The Tenant Tax awareness week as complete nonsense and unnecessarily unsettling for a lot of tenants.

His argument is that the Section 24 tax changes are only target at landlords and not tenants and that it will only affect a minority. He says it is disingenuous to say the tax will affect tenants, but quite how you increase the costs for a supplier without expecting an eventual increase in price or decrease in supply for the consumer I am not quite sure. It is economics 101.

However, Pryor as an expert commentator is clearly in touch with the housing crisis and the plight of the average person on the street as he now says “Currently I divide my time between providing market comment and analysis for the media whilst working for some of the nicest private clients looking for new homes.

I am fortunate to live in the country surrounded by great friends who help us produce our own pork and cure our own bacon in a pale imitation of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.”

If you would like to research some real facts on the effects of Section 24 please see below:

Today I launch my comprehensive report on Section 24 of the Finance (No. 2) Act 2015

24/10/2016

Today I launch my comprehensive report: Section 24 of the Finance (No. 2) Act 2015: “the unjust legislation that will make the UK housing crisis much worse.” I would like to thank all of those who have contributed to this report, which I hope will have a significant impact in our campaign to reverse this… Read more


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Comments

Jamie M

10:17 AM, 5th April 2017, About 7 years ago

Prior is part of the problem and has his head right up his arse.

Dr Rosalind Beck

10:33 AM, 5th April 2017, About 7 years ago

It never ceases to amaze me the arrogance of people who don't know what they're talking about. Why do they insist on discussing things they don't understand? What are these man's credentials, other than liking the sound of his own voice?

Are we going to listen to him or will we listen to:

Paul Johnson of the IFS?
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales?
Professor Philip Booth of the Institute of Economic Affairs?
Professor David Miles, ex-member of the MPC?
Dame Kate Barker, ex-member of the MPC?
The Council of Mortgage Lenders?
The Policy Exchange?
Anyone care to add to the list of expert opinion opposed to this?

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

10:41 AM, 5th April 2017, About 7 years ago

I think Henry Pryor has a very big ego to feed and by taking the opposing stance and stirring up trouble we are all feeding that ego to varying degrees.

The man is obviously an attention seeker and doesn't seem to care how he gets that attention.
.

11:48 AM, 5th April 2017, About 7 years ago

I think the correct reaction is to point and laugh at the dimwit.

Puzzler

11:57 AM, 5th April 2017, About 7 years ago

His clients presumably don't have mortgages - I have never heard of him on the BBC

DC

14:29 PM, 5th April 2017, About 7 years ago

I've never heard of him either but there again I'm not in the habit of mixing with people who's great friends have four legs and a curly tail. He's obviously so used to trampling around in it that he talks it too!

All I know is that since November 2015, I've started increasing rents annually across my portfolio whilst tenants are in situ. I don't like doing it this way, but rather than wait for tenants to hand in their notice before I put my rents up towards market value I am now having to look after number one. I was in this for the long term as I needed an income in lieu of continuing with the type of work I was doing due to injury and to supplement my retirement pension. I am now about to sell my third property in 10 months to mitigate Section 24 tax changes.

Mr Pryor, if you are reading this, we don't know who you are but get yourself a real job and try mixing with real people in the real world!

Old Mrs Landlord

16:41 PM, 5th April 2017, About 7 years ago

Mr Pryor appears to be well-respected on HPC forum - 'nuff said!

Big Blue

18:20 PM, 5th April 2017, About 7 years ago

So, let me get this straight. He's a buying agent for rich people, mainly in London. So feathering his own nest whilst inflating housing prices for everyone else, yes?? No wonder the goons on HPC like him!

Mandy Thomson

19:21 PM, 5th April 2017, About 7 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Mark Alexander" at "05/04/2017 - 10:41":

The word "troll" springs to mind... Unless of course we are under estimating him and he is after all a serious journalist/property expert/writer and the following is correct:

(1) Most landlords do not have mortgages
(2) The Residential Landlords Association is an obscure outfit that knows next to nothing about the PRS and landlords and tenants

I'm a member of the RLA but I work for the NLA and while they uphold the rights of landlords, this is NEVER at the expense of tenants, and while the RLA has slightly different policies and does things differently, in their objectives the two organisations are similar if not identical.

Mandy Thomson

19:55 PM, 5th April 2017, About 7 years ago

This is a quote taken from an article Henry Pryor wrote for the Guardian in 2011:

'On the subject of buyers, forget the literally "poor" first-time buyers. Let the government worry about building for them (which they won't). No one wants to lend to them and they struggle to save the £35k deposit out of taxed income now that they have to repay their student loans. People downsizing have cash and they don't need to borrow.'

The full article can be read here.

I believe the article (being published in the Guardian) was meant to be taken in an ironic sense, as anyone who invests in or makes a living from property is somewhat immoral of course (not that any Guardian readers or writers would ever invest in property...).

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