Landlords Alliance Election Manifesto

Landlords Alliance Election Manifesto

16:00 PM, 5th November 2019, About 4 years ago 25

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Recent years have seen a sustained attack on private landlords by the Government and other groups. The relationship between landlords and tenants has also been painted as adversarial by organisations which purport to represent tenants, but who in fact work against their interests.

This must be seen in the context of the huge success of the private rented sector (PRS). Indeed, the Government’s own English Housing Survey found that 84% of private tenants are happy with their homes, compared to 80% of social tenants. In addition, rents have remained stable for many years, broadly tracking inflation.

This success has been predicated on individuals being willing to use their own money to purchase and renovate properties and then take the inherent risk of renting them out. Without this enterprise there would be a much bigger housing shortage in this country than there already is; there would also be many more empty and derelict buildings, causing a blot on the landscape.

Conclusive proof that the sector is working extremely well has been ignored and instead, private landlords have been denigrated and the PRS has been misrepresented as ‘broken.’ The policies which then follow from this are leading to many landlords now exiting the sector, at a time when more housing is desperately needed. The situation is crazy.

That is why we at the Landlords Alliance propose an alternative, positive agenda; one which works for tenants and landlords.

We therefore call upon the next Government to:

1. Scrap Section 24, which is a tax on turnover and will only drive rents up and landlords out of the market. This outrageous piece of legislation is contrary to all rules of natural justice and because it can lead to some landlords paying a tax rate of more than 100% is bound to cause rents to rise, pricing out the lowest-income groups.

2. Reverse plans to scrap Section 21, as this will also make landlords flee the market, in fear that they may never regain possession of their own private property.

3. Scrap Right to Buy, which has decimated the social housing sector and meant so many cannot find an affordable home (private landlords are then scapegoated for this, with some groups now trying to force private citizens to house people on benefits).

4. Enforce laws already passed to target the small percentage of bad landlords and stop increasing the regulatory burden on the majority of decent landlords. Constant passing of regulations which cost landlords huge amounts of money but do nothing to improve housing must end.

5. Bring a halt to extortionate local licensing schemes and replace them with a national register along the lines of Rent Smart Wales, with a nominal charge. Then make it a requirement for landlords to be a member in order to receive housing payments from the state.

6. Commission an independent inquiry into the ‘housing and homelessness charity’ Shelter to examine how it uses its approximate £60 million annual budget to target private landlords incessantly whilst not providing any housing itself. Remove any state aid and charitable status for this organisation until it stops misusing funds and begins to provide housing and shelter for the homeless.

7. As a general rule, reject policies which would damage private property rights in the UK. This would include the theft of homes advocated by the Labour Party (which they call ‘Right to Buy in the PRS, at a value dictated by the state); punitive tax policies which because they are at a level which is confiscatory can lead to bankruptcy and the loss of people’s private property; rent controls which damage the viability of rental homes and are thus also confiscatory and not least any tenancy legislation which takes control of the asset away from the owner and gives it to someone else.

In sum:

Policies for any business or sector need to protect the interests of all interested parties – in this case, tenants and landlords. If the current parties persist in scapegoating private landlords, they will cause more damage to tenants.

The 2 million landlords plus in the UK, their families, the tradespeople who work for them, the owners of the stores where they buy their building and decorating materials and others dependent on private landlords’ businesses will be looking very carefully at each party’s proposals for us and we will have our say at the ballot box.

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Comments

Michael Barnes

17:04 PM, 6th November 2019, About 4 years ago

7 Reject "any tenancy legislation which takes control of the asset away from the owner and gives it to someone else"

I cannot agree with this.
I am of the opinion that in many cases where the landlord/owner has acted in a criminal or similar manner with regard to letting a residential property (such as failing to comply with an improvement notice; overcrowding; running unlicensed HMO that is let by the room), then that person should lose control of the property for 10 years.

Criminals need to be hit where it hurts them: financially.
Not just criminal convictions that can be seen as a badge of honour.

If the criminals are rooted out, then it will be better for decent LLs and Ts.

Stewart

17:05 PM, 6th November 2019, About 4 years ago

John McDonald stated last night on LBC that he was withdrawing the tenants "right to buy" legislation. He was being interviewed by Ian Dale. He said the decision had been taken as many of the Asian landlords had complained about this strategy affecting the investments they held for their families. I hope this is the truth.

Michael Barnes

17:39 PM, 6th November 2019, About 4 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Alfington at 06/11/2019 - 17:05That sounds like racial discrimination: British objections don't matter.

Michael Barnes

17:43 PM, 6th November 2019, About 4 years ago

How is this to be got into the big wide world where it might make a difference, rather than just reverberating around the landlord bubble?

Larry Sweeney

20:37 PM, 6th November 2019, About 4 years ago

We want as a matter of urgency to get Shelter scrapped. This organisation provides housing for nobody.
The Alliance will comission an independent organisation to conduct a survey ,asking the public about Shelter. What they think Shelter actually do. This organisation will be at arms length completely independent but let me tell you what it will find. It will report that the overwhelming majority of people questioned will believe that Shelter the housing charity, provide housing, provide Shelter. How wrong . Shelter as we know house nobody, Instead Shelter attack the PRS non stop and want to undermine property rights. This should worry any houseowner not just landlords. We will in due course announce the results of our survey.

Dr Rosalind Beck

20:46 PM, 6th November 2019, About 4 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Larry Sweeney at 06/11/2019 - 20:37
Excellent idea, Larry.
I'm pleased to see that we got coverage on 24housing - one of the publications which published the 'Renters' Manifesto.'

David Dorset

21:58 PM, 6th November 2019, About 4 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Larry Sweeney at 06/11/2019 - 20:37I think this is an excellent idea. A couple of things though. The survey company must be a top 'press recognized' organisation. This will take money. I think if LA did a call for funds from members - just £20.00 a member would make a difference. The press must take up the results of the survey otherwise the exercise is a waste of money.
If the press pick up on the survey result then we would create millions of pounds worth of free publicity. This has to be an all or nothing venture.
Additionally the survey should levy public opinion on the fact that Shelter do not provide homes but they are funded by M&S and B&Q and Nationwide. Show the public who Shelter really are and hit them in the pocket otherwise they will just ride the storm. Many people inadvertently donate to Shelter through being customers of M&S, Nationwide and B&Q so we need these big names to pull the plug on this so called charity.

Michael Holmes

9:44 AM, 9th November 2019, About 4 years ago

The shopping list of things that need correcting is absolutely spot on. What nobody want to discuss however is the supply side of the equation. until we can put a stop to mass immigration, we will always be playing catch-up. A similar situation applies to climate change (so-called) the zeitgeist is not amenable to common sense, so we carry on spending billions on mitigation efforts that will only result in half a degree C saving in 50 years, as someone once said, you can’t make this stuff up.

Mick Roberts

12:41 PM, 10th November 2019, About 4 years ago

That's exactly it.
Corbyn said he's going to attack Rogue Landlords.
I want to ask him
What is he going to do for good Landlords and tenants that's really happy? Is he going to slam some more charges on them, so that have less funds to do repairs and the good houses get worse? Cause many MANY tenants are happy with their current Landlord.

I've got Landlord mates now not sleeping worrying if Labour get in saying We got to pay the tenants council tax and sell em the houses cheap.
We got the John McDonnell shadow chancellor is he, saying Ooh we not gonna make them Landlords with only 1 or 2 houses sell them cheap. Oh I see, so if you've got more than 2, we've worked all our life for em and lost in the first 5 years or so, we're being targeted are we? Where's the incoming tenants gonna live when he's made us give em away?

Cause the Nottingham Labour Council has absolutely screwed the private tenants in Nottingham. They thought they was getting back at Landlords, but it's the tenants that's now in dire straits. Homeless here is shocking. Boris Nobson visited last week and said he will tackle the scourge of homeless here. It was his twatty secretary of state who gave Nottm Council permission to http://www.selectivelicensingtruth.co.uk

Rennie

14:39 PM, 11th November 2019, About 4 years ago

I think...…..
Take out No.4 (stop increasing the regulatory burden....) and put it in No.7.

Take out "as a general rule" from No.7 and replace it with "repeal all legislation re landlords and tenants brought in in the last (5?) years and reject policies etc...……...

This is because it is the only way to set to right all the attacks against landlords and will result in an increased housing supply and lower rents for tenants.

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