Landlords are the whipping boys and girls as politicians line up to hurt us

And so it came to pass that landlords became the preferred enemy of choice when politicians are electioneering and chasing votes, especially from tenants.

It’s not enough that on 1 May, the Renters’ Rights Act kicks in, abolishing no-fault evictions and turning every tenancy periodic.

Many of us have also just been stuffed by Making Tax Digital, forcing quarterly digital reporting on small operators whose rental income hits £50,000 or more.

It’s a bureaucratic pain that adds cost and hassle to those of us already juggling mortgages, repairs and rising taxes.

And now, as May’s local and Scottish elections loom, the message from the Greens and the SNP is crystal clear: landlords are the enemy.

Rent control pledge

We might provide quality, safe homes for millions, yet we’re painted as profiteering villains in a game of populist one-upmanship.

The unbelievable Zack Polanski, the Green Party leader, launched their local election campaign last week with a pledge for rent controls.

It’s also official party policy to bring about the ‘effective abolition of private landlordism’ and for councils to have first refusal on vacant rental properties (like they can afford to buy and maintain them).

“Build council homes. Bring in rent controls. Time to end rip-off Britain,” he tweeted to his followers.

Sounds like a great refrain, doesn’t it? But this isn’t subtle.

Polanski has the brass neck to declare that rent is money ‘siphoned’ from the High Streets into landlord pockets.

The Greens’ local election campaign includes introducing rent caps tied to local incomes, tenant rights to demand green upgrades, and an end to Right to Buy – the very scheme that turned council stock into a big chunk of the private rented sector we now manage.

First refusal to buy

In Scotland, the SNP is doubling down: tenants could get first refusal when landlords sell, at a ‘fair market rate’ (yeah, right), on top of existing rent controls that have already seen more than 700 landlords exit the market.

We’ve become the whipping boys and girls for political activists chasing votes.

Small landlords, that’s the mum-and-dad operators who let out one or two flats to fund pensions or pay family bills, aren’t property ‘moguls’.

We don’t sleep on pillows stuffed with £20 notes.

We’re the backbone of a PRS that houses 4.7 million households, stepping in where social housing fell short.

Yet Polanski and co. treat us as the problem, not the solution.

Rent caps don’t work

Then we have Scotland’s rent caps which haven’t tamed prices – they’ve driven rents up faster than in England.

Landlords are quick to impose a market rent, as the rules allow, but that makes growing numbers of homes unaffordable.

That, to be clear, isn’t the fault of landlords but of the blinkered, clueless SNP stooges who thought they’d win votes by imposing controls.

They failed.

In addition to landlords selling up, other landlords have moved into short lets.

Property118 has been clear on rent controls. They have never worked, anywhere, and yet they are a popular chorus in British politics.

This ignores Berlin’s rent control experiment which led to black markets and waiting lists. Stockholm’s controls created decade-long queues.

Strict rent controls deter maintenance, slash new supply and punish the very tenants they claim to help.

Yet the Greens insist that ‘rent controls do work ‘ while ignoring the evidence.

PRS collapse disaster

The collapse of the PRS will be a disaster but it is quickly becoming a reality with the tinkering of our political pygmies.

We’ve already seen thousands leave amid Section 21 reforms, higher stamp duty and interest rates.

Who fills the gap? Not councils, they’re years behind on building targets.

Councils and housing associations are still offloading stock they can’t afford to upgrade because of Awaab’s Law.

Tenants will sadly see longer council house waiting lists, and stepping into the void will be criminal landlords the councils just won’t tackle.

We will see more small landlords exiting and being replaced by corporate giants who will have shareholders to answer to.

That means rents will go up to boost profitability.

Own the consequence

The saddest thing for is that Polanski and the SNP won’t own the blame. They’ll forever point to ‘greedy landlords’ or a phantom Tory legacy while the rental market shrinks and the housing crisis deepens.

The PRS grew because deregulation in the 1980s and 90s worked because it brought flexibility and choice.

Now, layer after layer of regulation, from the Renters’ Rights Act to MTD to these election gimmicks, clueless politicians are strangling it.

We’re not the rip-off merchants; we’re the ones keeping roofs over heads while politicians grandstand.

Speak up now

Landlords, the May elections are a warning shot. The hate isn’t just about smearing landlords for a sound bite, it’s policy.

We need to engage more, speak up locally, try to explain on social media platforms while also preparing our portfolios.

Let’s be honest, the activists won’t stop at rhetoric, they will deliver real laws to achieve their aims.

If the PRS dies, it won’t be from market failure.

It will be a political assassination, and it will be renters paying the price.

Until next time,

The Landlord Crusader