Why EPC costs and not the Renters’ Rights Bill could collapse the private rented sector
12 months ago | 6 comments
Labour doesn’t like landlords but really needs us for growing numbers of asylum seekers
6:25 AM, 2nd May 2025, 11 months ago
42
It’s bizarre, isn’t it? Landlords, already battered by a barrage of legislative changes and economic pressures, are now being asked by the Labour government to offer their properties to asylum seekers.
The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) has voiced strong opposition, saying the government needs to support us if they want more homes to become available.
For landlords, the Home Office request feels like a bitter irony – a government that has systematically squeezed the PRS now seeks its help to address a problem of its own making.
Britain’s housing crisis is no secret. With rents rocketing and house prices soaring to over eight times the average salary, young and working-age Britons are struggling to afford homes.
Housing for asylum seekers
The tax burden, the highest since World War II, weighs heavily on these same citizens, who see their contributions funnelled into government-supported housing for asylum seekers.
Around 99% of migrants arriving via small boats claim asylum, gaining access to accommodation, healthcare, education and a weekly allowance of around £50.
While this might be less contentious if housing were abundant, the reality is different: every property allocated to an asylum seeker is one less for a British family priced out of the market.
For landlords, the government’s appeal to house asylum seekers – facilitated through contractors like Serco – comes against a backdrop of relentless policy changes.
The loss of Section 24 means landlords can no longer fully deduct interest on buy to let (BTL) mortgages, slashing profitability.
The abolition of Section 21 will make evictions a costly, drawn-out process, leaving landlords vulnerable to months of lost rent.
The end of Assured Shorthold Tenancies, with their six-month minimum, allows tenants to leave early, further destabilising income streams.
Costly EPC C upgrades
Add to this the Renters’ Rights Bill (RRB) and the looming EPC C standard, which applies only to the PRS and not to social or council housing. These measures feel like targeted attacks, designed to force landlords to sell up.
Why, then, would landlords volunteer to house asylum seekers?
Many of us feel betrayed, having worked hard to build property portfolios only to face what could be seen as punitive legislation.
The NRLA’s frustration echoes a broader sentiment: the government cannot expect cooperation from a sector it has consistently undermined and belittled us (even when they say ‘not all landlords’ are bad…).
The housing of asylum seekers also raises questions about fairness.
Right to Rent checks, a legal obligation for PRS landlords in England, obviously won’t need to be applied when government contractors are involved.
I imagine that some of the new rules under RRB won’t be enforced either.
This double standard will fuel resentment, as most landlords face strict compliance burdens while others will appear to be exempt.
Government needs PRS landlords
Meanwhile, the government’s reliance on private rentals to house asylum seekers – often at a cost of £145 per night for hotel accommodations when properties aren’t available – highlights its failure to address the root causes of migration and housing shortages.
Tenants, too, are caught in the crossfire. The government’s push to regulate the PRS, cheered on by groups like Shelter and Acorn, has led to an exodus of landlords.
As properties are sold, rental stock dwindles, leaving tenants scrambling for homes.
The irony is that the very policies meant to protect renters may be pricing them out of the market or, worse, making them homeless.
When tenants finally realise that government actions have reduced their housing options, the relentless narrative blaming ‘greedy landlords’ may lose its shine.
The social contract – where citizens contribute through taxes in exchange for support, especially in later life – is slowly fraying.
Paying to be outbid
Landlords, like other taxpayers, see their tax contributions being used to outbid them in their own market, as the government secures private rentals for asylum seekers.
This will breed resentment, not just among landlords but among young Britons who feel their sacrifices are unrewarded. I’m already seeing this on my social media feeds.
The migration debate, already heated, is ignited further by the optics of newcomers receiving homes while locals languish on waiting lists.
For landlords, the decision to house asylum seekers is understandably fraught.
On the one hand, guaranteed rental income from (lucrative) government contracts could be appealing.
On the other, the risks – potential property damage, bureaucratic hurdles and a public backlash – loom large. Just read the experiences of other landlords.
Many landlords I know are simply unwilling to engage with a government they feel has declared war on their livelihoods.
The solution lies not in cajoling landlords but in addressing the housing crisis and migration policy holistically – and honestly.
Building more homes, streamlining asylum processes and restoring fairness in the PRS would do more to ease tensions than appeals to a beleaguered sector.
Until then, landlords will remain sceptical, and the divide between government and the PRS will only widen. This will not, I predict, end well.
Until next time,
The Landlord Crusader
Tags:
asylum seeker housing, EPC standards, Housing crisis UK, landlord legislation, Landlords, Private Rental Sector, Property Investment UK, PRS, Renters Reform Bill, Serco housing, Tenant rights, The Landlord Crusader
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Member Since June 2013 - Comments: 3237 - Articles: 81
9:52 AM, 3rd May 2025, About 11 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Monty Bodkin at 03/05/2025 – 08:04
Ha ha brilliant Monty, let’s hope someone pulls this up.
Member Since August 2023 - Comments: 15
10:20 AM, 3rd May 2025, About 11 months ago
This is whole thing is going to be a disaster especially wherever it occurs in any sort of concentration; and it is happening. It will unbalance established communities, exclude genuine UK residents and workers trying to survive, live and work in an area they know and be close to work, friends and family. Once this becomes common knowledge there will be civil unrest and anarchy, I am convinced.
I have a small portfolio including a block of 4 apartments in a North West town centre which, to be fair to previous Council teams, have worked hard to improve and that encouraged me to invest a significant amount in this development. Last year a new developer moved into the town centre and bought a dilapidated building which he converted to a mixed use with about 20 flats above. Everyone thought this was great and gave hope that the town centre could be revitalised. That project is very nearly completed and that same developer has now bought another town centre building which has had previous approval for residential conversion and a plot of land to develop for 30+ 1 bed flats! This began to be worrying and after a few discrete enquiries found that the intention was to use the Serco contract!
So in a very short space of time there will be a high concentration of this type of accommodation immediately surrounding my high quality and well managed apartments. My good tenants will leave when this happens or when they find out about it and my PRS rents will fall. What do you think I should do? I can sell now, which I am actively looking at, or join the party I suppose, something I am fervently opposed to on the grounds that it is completely immoral.
This is a virtually risk free, hands off cash cow for big investors and I am sure that there is already huge amounts of cash flooding into this sector, but you can bet that when it all turns sour, it will no doubt be turned against the greedy landlords without mention of why this has happened! This will be much worse than student lettings but I bet there will not be any article 4 directions coming soon!
The root of the UK problem is without doubt the governments pathetically weak border controls and disincentives to come here in the first place. There is no reason why asylum seekers should be here, If they are genuinely seeking an escape from persecution, virtually every country they pass through to get to UK can provide that, but of course they don’t claim asylum in any of these countries, because a succession of weak and pathetic governments and nanny state do gooders, provide everything that these people want at the expense of ordinary UK folk. Who can blame them for this, in the same situation we all would I think.
I could spend a lot of time ranting about this, but what is the point! There will be an awakening, soon!, with the normal folks of this country and then all hell will break loose!
Member Since December 2015 - Comments: 292
10:29 AM, 3rd May 2025, About 11 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Disillusioned landlord at 03/05/2025 – 10:20
As said on here before and by several landlords- read the small print. All the glitters is not gold. Beware of councils bearing gifts!
The morality of it is your own conscience.
The backlash is something you have to consider.
Ask yourself why the offer sounds so good!
Member Since October 2013 - Comments: 1630 - Articles: 3
11:07 AM, 3rd May 2025, About 11 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Gromit at 03/05/2025 – 08:21
Don’t let them think they’ve been clever. Landlords have choice, and many are choosing to sell and invest elsewhere.
Member Since August 2023 - Comments: 15
11:09 AM, 3rd May 2025, About 11 months ago
Reply to the comment left by dismayed landlord at 03/05/2025 – 10:29
The very last thing I want to do is to fall for this fools gold, however, in a couple of years time, no decent private tenant will want to live here, rents and prices will collapse and there goes my retirement pot.
If I sell now whilst rents are still good, I might get back my investment, however it is likely that an incoming landlord or investor may take this path.
I feel that there is nothing I can do to prevent this happening and I doubt the Council will step in to control it either. Catch 22!
What would you do if there seems to be no escape or protection from this onslaught?
Member Since December 2015 - Comments: 292
12:44 PM, 3rd May 2025, About 11 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Disillusioned landlord at 03/05/2025 – 11:09
Not knowing all the facts but your clearly in the areas that will benefit from this scheme I get your predicament.
I have sold up – almost- getting out with some really good sales returns.
I will not return.
In my view this can only get worse.
Think of the scandal regarding PPE suppliers in the pandemic. Government support when the the government needed them and then as the profiteers reaped the rewards the media and public demonised them.
It’s no different to 30 years ago when the BTL was lifting off. Now the media and shelter etc want us gone. This scheme will end the same.
But it’s your call.
Member Since August 2023 - Comments: 15
9:03 PM, 3rd May 2025, About 11 months ago
Reply to the comment left by dismayed landlord at 03/05/2025 – 12:44
This is not a benefit its a disaster! I have great long term decent tenants who love the apartments, the location and amenities, but that will not keep them here, nor me. I have no appetite for this bulls**t I predict there will be riots once this is fully exposed and the implications understood. Sad, very sad 🙁
Member Since August 2022 - Comments: 10
11:10 PM, 3rd May 2025, About 11 months ago
I would hope that not a single landlord would volunteer to be a party to illegal immigration and its consequences.
We all know and see clearly what is happening to young girls in this country. (unless you are one of the few who still believe the BBC).
How would you feel if after giving your rentals to serco for immigrants having robbed Brits/veterans etc of the chance of a home. A tenant in your rental commits such an atrocity as we see all too often in the news..
I’d think it would be fair to say you were complicit.
Member Since October 2024 - Comments: 188
11:13 PM, 4th May 2025, About 11 months ago
Reply to the comment left by John Parkinson at 02/05/2025 – 09:32
If you trust Serco in the first place.
Member Since May 2018 - Comments: 1999
12:05 PM, 6th May 2025, About 11 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Mark Butler at 03/05/2025 – 23:10
I think that this is a debate about people claiming to be asylum seekers (who may turn out to be economic migrants) rather than one about illegal migration.
It is true that some immigrants will not know how to behave here in order to fit in. But the person I housed years ago at a time when as a landlord I wasn’t required to check right of residency and who I suspect was an illegal immigrant was one of my two best ever tenants. She was a single mum who I doubt had ever physically attacked anybody, although she did appear to have a lot of creditors when she left. My other ‘best ever tenant’ was also a single mum on benefits. In her case she was a ‘home grown’ single mum and she was also moonlighting.
I wouldn’t house either tenant anymore if they came to me now simply because they were benefits tenants and if it turns out that benefits tenants aren’t entitled to the benefits then the council can just come and get the money back off me even though I don’t have the powers to check entitlement as a landlord.
I have an open mind about people from elsewhere. They aren’t all drug-dealers, people-traffickers and sex pests. Some of them may be educated, have useful skills, perhaps already speak two or three languages. A few will have access to cash.
But I do think that if the government pays for ‘asylum seekers’ to be housed by Serco, unless the same deal is offered by the government via Serco to the ‘home-grown homeless’ then the government is discriminating against people here and that will lead to tension as Serco competes for the available housing. But that’s not the fault of landlords.
Landlord’s powers are very limited indeed, they have become much more limited over the last 20 years, and the Renters Reform Bill in its proposed form would limit them even further. I suspect that there may be issues with the Serco contract but IF Serco take the responsibility of checking whether tenants are eligible to be here and pay the landlord the rent regardless, then for some landlords it will be their best option.
Bad government policy isn’t the fault of landlords: It’s not as though government hasn’t been told that its policies stink and why they stink. It’s not as though government hasn’t been told that its Renters Reform Bill will harm tenants (because it will).
Those landlords that need to do so can accept the Serco contract with a clear conscience.