Iain Duncan Smith Has Spoken Out For Landlords

Iain Duncan Smith Has Spoken Out For Landlords

22:06 PM, 21st June 2017, About 7 years ago 163

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On Sunday 18th June 2017, Iain Duncan Smith was quoted by the Sunday Telegraph as saying ….

“Finally, it is time to look again at the way we treat private landlords who buy houses to rent. George Osborne’s decisions to impose a stamp duty levy on the purchase of homes to rent, to restrict mortgage interest relief to the basic rate of income tax and to tax a landlord’s turnover rather than profits have led to landlords scaling back or even leaving the sector altogether.
They are a significant provider of the additional housing we need. We should be encouraging them with devices such as VAT relief on conversions or even capital allowances, not punishing them. It’s no wonder buy-to-let purchases have fallen dramatically. If the purpose was to stop foreign owners buying up property and leaving it empty

…………………………………………………. We are in danger of throwing the baby out with the bath water.”


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Mike D

10:21 AM, 23rd June 2017, About 7 years ago

Dear Iain

I saw you speak at the recent Olympia show and would like to second your thoughts on standing up to the ludicrous Section 24 finance act, or Tenant tax brought in by George Osbourne with out due care for cause and effect. I would like to thank you for your brave but sensible condemnation of it.
Lord Flight i know has also taken the contrarian view in a much more strategic view of the obvious impacts of such a foolish decision by the government.

I am a landlord and have been now for 16 years after scrimping and saving, investing to slowly build a portfolio of properties, with the first 10 years only making losses. I have done all i can to mitigate costs from all sides on mortgages, agents, insurance, and even doing most of the manual jobs to save money where i can.
Section 24 will now devastate this hard earnt and slowly built pension for a 'government free' secure retirement, with good quality maintained property all with new bathrooms and kitchens these last few years. To move to Tax on Turnover, and break the long term held business like accounting this country is reliable for globally, but will inevitably not only destroy the PRS housing availability as landlords sell properties or put up rents to pay for it, but also create a huge housing problem for local councils as the houses start now to disappear.....with endless costs enforced onto councils with emergency temporary housing accommodation or homelessness.
The other ill conceived onsets which were obviously dismissed where the loss of a conservative voting base as we deserted the hard working entrepreneurial business owners we thought shared the same values. I had communicated with Chris White in Warwick & Leamington continually, but sadly Chris didn't seem to listen and lost his seat accordingly with a massive swing to Labour, yes i didn't vote conservative and won't be again as a business owner and landlord that speaks volumes i think.

I really don't understand these weak attempts to appease the electorate with the on going constant attack on the PRS for voter brownie points, when Government and councils can not even sort out their own housing issues even though Public sector homes are except from all the stringent laws the PRS have to undertake. This is neither strategic or well conceived, but more of a knee jerk to public ill conceived opinion, and the next will be on deposits and Agent fees, which will also force up rents and even great financial risks to the PRS.

In one example today, i have a tenant who hasn't paid rent for 2 months, i have issued Section 8 and 21 for eviction, they will owe £3,000 by the time they leave, IF they leave (Solicitor costs £1,200 and further rent loss and bailiffs for another 2 months, £2,700 So, Total £5,700) The deposit is only £950 and i could end up with further costs if there is damage to the property, which last time cost well over £2,000. So that could be £6,800 or equivalent to nearly 3 years rental profit on the property......now tell me that Section 24 will work? Or what about no / smaller deposits for tenants, or landlords paying tenants agents fees?

My options are simple, i will have to sell some or all of the properties, or / and put up rents to make sure that the properties are financially stable and don't bankrupt me and repossessed. As this tenant leaves on a 'low' rent i have decide to increase the rent on this property by 13.5% to make sure i can cover the pending taxation coming.

I am amazed at the lack of insight from Osbourne on this, as its not like this policy hasn't already been tried and failed in Ireland already, the clear evidence is there and the repercussions......

I am now seeing whole portfolios of properties being sold off at auction and many ex rented empty properties for sale on portals like rightmove, i would there for suggest to the list of financial problems building for the government a contingency budget for councils renting out Premier Inns for a few years to pick up some of the potential backlash as the PRS i believe will loose at leased 25% of the 4.5 million PRS homes or 1 million homes of the sector sold off, especially with the compound effects of PRA Supervisory Statement (SS13/16) mortgages and further tightening of finance on property as a whole coming in in October this year for portfolio landlords. I have been in regular contact with large numbers of landlords through the NLA, and no-one is buying because of the 3% stamp duty and the onset of the Tenant Tax, some are indeed selling too.

I am always happy, as i offered Chris, to sit with you to talk you through the impacts and realities of a day to day PRS landlord.

Kind regards
Mike D

david porter

12:47 PM, 23rd June 2017, About 7 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "NW Landlord" at "22/06/2017 - 09:43":

The convention is to write to your own mp.
He will then forward to IDS and the relevent minister perhaps Mel Stride.
But suggest you cc in IDS you can find his e mail address on his web site. Seems to be a secretary.
I have done this already.

Dr Rosalind Beck

13:00 PM, 23rd June 2017, About 7 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "david porter" at "23/06/2017 - 12:47":

Good point. I always forget this. I am going to re-send mine now to my MP to also forward to IDS.

Mike D

16:01 PM, 23rd June 2017, About 7 years ago

David, i'm not one for convention, more results, and having run my own consultancy business for 10 yrs with many Blue-chip clients, i can tell you convention is a way to loose things and do nothing!!
I have written to 5 MPs so far, My old Tory MP, now Labour (won't be interested in anything we have to say and not in power) 2 for MPs in constituency's where i have properties, IDS as it was in relation to his own speak, and the Housing Minister as i think he should here directly from us...
We really need more Landlords to write, as silence is acceptance and nothing was ever achieved by accepting convention!

david porter

16:06 PM, 23rd June 2017, About 7 years ago

think you will simply allow them to kick the tin can down the road.
Your correspondence will be filed forever.

Jennifer Aniston

16:28 PM, 23rd June 2017, About 7 years ago

Guys, can I ask a practical question?

I've just emailed IDS but didn't have an email address. I got one from his own website and one from the Parliamentary website:

Rhonna Spindley and Olivia Kybett.

Does anyone else have a different email address?

Cheers

Pam

Jennifer Aniston

17:36 PM, 23rd June 2017, About 7 years ago

Just read that w/c 26th June Ian Duncan Smith is going to be hosting the Jeremy Vine Show.

Surely there's an opportunity there?

Property Wannabee

9:58 AM, 24th June 2017, About 7 years ago

I'd rather not have that evil @@@@ on my side.
By your friends shall ye be known.

Dr Rosalind Beck

10:23 AM, 24th June 2017, About 7 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Property Wannabee" at "24/06/2017 - 09:58":

I think a more pertinent phrase is 'beggars can't be choosers.'

philip allen

13:47 PM, 24th June 2017, About 7 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Pamela Potter" at "22/06/2017 - 12:49":

Pamela, just to put the record straight Section 24 was implemented by George Osborne under the David Cameron government, not Theresa May's. We should thank our lucky stars that the terrorist loving hugger was heavily defeated in the GE or we would all be facing the effects of S24 with no hope EVER of repeal AND rent caps which would have totally annihilated the PRS.

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