Mayor of West Yorkshire blasts landlords for raising rents

by Property118.com Landlord News Team

9:29 AM, 6th October 2023, 3 years ago 101

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Landlord News Landlord News

The mayor of West Yorkshire has launched a scathing attack on landlords, in a new interview.

Labour mayor Tracy Brabin has criticised landlords who raise rents in a cost-of-living crisis.

However, she does not advocate for the use of rent controls and instead wants to focus on building more affordable homes.

Avaricious and greedy

Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin, told Inside Housing magazine: “People are becoming homeless because landlords are putting rents up in order to be in line with market prices, when actually they don’t need it because they’re in a fixed mortgage themselves.

“It just avaricious, and it’s greedy. I would say to landlords that do that, you’re not really welcome in West Yorkshire because it’s not fair. Particularly when the cost of living is squeezing people’s incomes.”

Ms Brabin, whose combined authority covers Bradford, Wakefield, Huddersfield, Halifax and Leeds, added: “A third of all children in West Yorkshire are living in poverty. 200,000 families are using food banks. This is fuelled not just by the cost of living but also rising rents.”

Not thought about rent controls

This year many labour mayors including Sadiq Khan and Andy Burnham have called for an immediate rent freeze to help renters deal with the cost-of-living crisis.

Labour’s Lisa Nandy slapped down the calls for rent controls in June, saying: “Rent controls that cut rents for some will almost certainly leave others homeless.”

Ms Brabin stopped short of joining her fellow mayors in directly calling for rent control powers. She said: “I’ve not thought about rent controls currently, it’s not in the forefront of my mind.”

A spokesperson for Ms Brabin later told Inside Housing magazine that building affordable homes was more important to the mayor.

Retrofit social homes

In Leeds last year at the Holtdale estate, 190 social homes were retrofitted with heat pumps, solar panels and insulation by Leeds City Council and low carbon equipment provider, Equans, at a cost of £9.6m.

Ms Brabin praised the work at the housing estate and said more needs to be done.

She said: “There are 680,000 social homes across West Yorkshire and we have to retrofit them all. So while this programme is really fantastic, and the outcomes are really spectacular, we’ve got to turbocharge that delivery.”

The full interview can be read here (for some readers this may be behind a paywall).

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Tags: affordable housing, Cost of Living Crisis, housing crisis, Landlord criticism, rent controls debate, Rent increase, Tracy Brabin, West Yorkshire mayor

Comments

Russell Cartner

Member Since June 2023 - Comments: 188

10:03 AM, 7th October 2023, About 3 years ago

Encourage many others to do the same thing
Why do you think Rishy Sunak has backed off
MP,s scared of losing there jobs are are letting him know what you think
Otherwise why the turn round
[email protected]

2 Report Comment Reply
Simon Orr

Member Since May 2022 - Comments: 12

10:14 AM, 7th October 2023, About 3 years ago

So Landlords are immune to interest rate rises ! It’s up to us to suck it up and take the pain , that’s not life , if you have a mortgage and the interest goes up so does the payment , struggling to see why a landlord should pay to keep the tenants comfortable, why people don’t understand it’s a business not an extension of the woeful council housing crisis

5 Report Comment Reply
Mick Roberts Read Full Bio

Member Since June 2013 - Comments: 3237 - Articles: 81

10:38 AM, 7th October 2023, About 3 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Zen at 06/10/2023 – 17:17
Richard Branson don’t need it, does he let us fly on his planes for nothing?

10 Report Comment Reply
Old Mrs Landlord

Member Since February 2016 - Comments: 1056

10:38 AM, 7th October 2023, About 3 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Keith Williams at 07/10/2023 – 08:39Yes, but every time rents rise there are a few tenants who can no longer afford to pay and their home is relet to someone from the pool of waiting applicants who can afford it. Most manage to downsize to somewhere cheaper but at the bottom of the pile nowhere cheaper is available and a few tenants are obliged to move in with relatives or apply to the LA for social accommodation. Because the number of people looking to rent exceeds the number of rentals available there is an inevitable increase in homelessness since there is also a huge shortfall in social housing. We all know why this situation has arisen but landlords with their “no fault evictions” are always the scapegoat.

3 Report Comment Reply
Bryan Abercrombie

Member Since June 2023 - Comments: 1

11:05 AM, 7th October 2023, About 3 years ago

I’ve just done the sums. 190 homes at 9.6 million equals £51000 per home. I think this council should get its own house in order before critising anyone. A shameful waste of taxpayers money.

7 Report Comment Reply
Troicep Read Full Bio

Member Since August 2022 - Comments: 2

11:39 AM, 7th October 2023, About 3 years ago

Interest rates up, rents go up. Is she completely stupid ?

8 Report Comment Reply
Keith Williams

Member Since October 2022 - Comments: 5

11:53 AM, 7th October 2023, About 3 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Old Mrs Landlord at 07/10/2023 – 10:38
Your argument is incorrect. If a person who can afford it takes the property when someone else leaves because they cannot afford it there is no net increase in homelessness. The person who does take it needs a home (ie currently needs a home). All that happens is they swap places on the list of people looking for a home. The home is not lost. No landlord leaves his property empty. Yes the poor are homeless but they are the very people no landlord wants, leave them to the social sector to cope with the problems and damage they invariably cause.

3 Report Comment Reply
Carchester

Member Since May 2019 - Comments: 121

12:14 PM, 7th October 2023, About 3 years ago

She (Brabin) is a Labour Party member. Marxist thinking and dangerous lot to govern.

6 Report Comment Reply
Gromit

Member Since September 2015 - Comments: 1013

1:12 PM, 7th October 2023, About 3 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Chris @ Possession Friend at 06/10/2023 – 17:36Probably dubious or dodgy.

Someone is making a handsome profit at £50k+ per house.

4 Report Comment Reply
Chris @ Possession Friend

Member Since May 2016 - Comments: 1570 - Articles: 16

1:13 PM, 7th October 2023, About 3 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Mick Roberts at 07/10/2023 – 10:38
What’s Richard Branson and Landlords got in common ?

Tenants want to fly on his planes and rent our houses but not pay the market rate -cost !

1 Report Comment Reply

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