Landlords feel unfairly penalised – but tenants want more regulation

A survey has revealed the gap in how landlords and tenants see the private rented sector – with most landlords saying they feel unfairly penalised, but tenants want more regulation.

The findings from Market Financial Solutions (MFS) found that 63% of landlords feel that the Government has introduced too much regulation.

However, 73% of tenants say they need better protection and want tighter regulation.

The survey of 2,000 adults also found that 65% of landlords feel not just being penalised but targeted by the Government.

Improve the standard of rental properties

The specialist lender’s survey also shows that 74% of tenants want more to be done to improve the standard of rental properties – and 78% say they should claim rent back if they live in poor quality accommodation.

Unsurprisingly, in the face of a cost-of-living crisis, 77% also want rent price controls and there is strong support for multi-year, long-term lets with 69% of tenants saying they should be more of these tenancies.

And plans by the government to abolish section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions – as revealed in the Queen’s Speech this year – has strong support from tenants with 62% saying the government is right to ban them.

‘There is some discord between landlords and tenants’

Paresh Raja, the CEO of MFS, said: “Clearly, there is some discord between landlords and tenants on the topic of further regulation in the private rental sector.

“With rents rising, tenants obviously feel that not enough is being done to protect renters, with many showing clear support for rent controls and tenants being able to claim money back if their accommodation is not of a high enough standard.

“That said, the influx of regulations in the past decade has left a majority of landlords feeling unfairly targeted.”

‘We need a buoyant rental market’

He added: “We must work to strike a careful balance – we need a buoyant rental market, so squeezing landlords too tightly might result in a greater number of poor quality or empty rental properties.

“In a market that’s already grappling with an undersupply of properties and an ever-growing demand, this could have detrimental ramifications for rental prices in the future.

“As such, the Government must tread a fine line between protecting renters and disincentivising landlords.”