Minister again denies landlord exodus but the numbers say otherwise

My letting agent is in despair; I've served notice on my 3 flats so that I can sell, and she has several other of her long term landlords also selling. One is getting 5 of his properties empty before October.
The agent has to field calls from devastated tenants who either can't find anywhere else, or find the competition has driven rent levels above what they can afford.
The situation is crazy.
The last straw, and the major stupidity, is having to keep property empty for 12 months if it fails to sell. Potentially thousands of empty flats because the sales market is so depressed, and forbidden to re-let.

PRS supply is broadly stable? I’d the man in cuckoo land?

They’ll be even more leaving if the HoL amendments are accepted ie tenants not obligated to have pet damage insurance etc.

I have been a Landlord since 2005 and I have just sold 2 of my BTL properties and am planning on selling my other 2 properties within the year.
For a small Landlord with mortgages the additional taxation (section 24) does not make being a Landlord financially viable.
The BTL market is only attractive to those who trade as a company or the financial elite who can afford to buy with cash and not need a mortgage which is all part of the middle class squeeze-out strategy.
This strategy is common thread throughout the UK and we have to wake up to what the Billionaires and their cronies within the government are doing to this country!

This man lives in another world to the rest of us!

I am a longstanding landlord from 1994….i am in the process of upping all my rents to full market price with the intention of creaming off bigger profits, then I’m going to start selling at 60 years old (i am 58). It has gone to the dogs and exit and spend it is now the goal. Due to the real exit of landlords and because my properties are mint and in good areas, I can command top rents and that is what I will do. The days of looking after my tenants in regards to price are over. I thank Micheal Gove and the current “set” for showing me the light. Regards Al

The most recent English Housing Survey only covers up to March 2024. Since then we've had
- a new even more anti-landlord government elected
- announcements requiring EPC level C by 2028, with a trajectory that means the next move will be to B and A in the 2030s. The EHS's figures on what needs to be spent to achieve a C are just laughable. No real world figures provided or the work done. No mention of the massive increase in building and labour costs since COVID. And who ever heard of an "average" cost of renovation building works, when houses are so diverse?
- a change to the EPC methodology to use RdSAP, which is far more prescriptive and is only likely to increase landlords' costs
- continued high interest rates and frozen income tax thresholds, so many many landlords are making tiny profits or even losses. Landlords are also getting older and many have simply had enough. The EHS of course does not measure landlord demographics or financial viability.
- and of course the RRB, which is going to be a train wreck as tenants are tempted to exploit their new rights and landlords encounter with full force the incredible difficulties of defending themselves and reclaiming their properties. Naturally there are no moves to increase the chances of landlords enforcing CCJs or ever getting their lost rent and property damage reimbursed.

Pennycook is relying on old data, has no forward-looking surveys or risk analysis, and I've seen no impact assessments.

As for his claim that good landlords have nothing to fear, he is clearly utterly out of touch. Has he done any analysis of landlords fears? Can he cite examples of specific situations that will or won't be affected by the RRB? Of course not. It's all fingers-in-your-ears and hope for the best, because ultimately he and his party do not care. They view private renting as exploitation of the poor and immoral, and basically view landlords as fair game. Thousands more people on the street as rental supply collapses may eventually change their minds, but it will take years.

Next moves: CGT on property will be increased to income tax rates in the next Budget, there will be nationwide licensing of all rented property and holiday homes, and - oh, I don't know - weekly televised execution by firing squad of randomly-selected landlords, "pour encourager les autres".

I was wrong. Google tells that the government's impact assessment on the RRB "estimates an average annual cost of £12 per rented property for landlords, with a net cost of £10 per property"
Ref: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67405a2353373262c0d825c5/Renters__Rights_Bill_Impact_assessment.pdf

Dear Pennycook.

It is unfortunate you are in denial but then you’re a politician and worst still a minister. By default you are therefore somewhat delusional. My entire portfolio is being sold. 1/3rd already about to be completed and rest planned over this year. This is all as a direct consequence of your policies and the reform act. I was and still am a very good landlord . Majority of my tenants long standing in properties less than 15 yrs old and rents frozen for years . Now they face uncertainty and it’s not my doing but yours and your governments policies.

Goodbye

I have been a landlord since 1995 and have now decided it is no longer a win win situation as far as renting residential property. It is now a win loose situation. I now only have 5 properties and I am currently selling a further 2 this year and the remainder next year. The final nail in the coffin is the requirements for an EPC to be a C by 2028. Most of my property portfolio are D and E , I would not be able to get a return on my capital expenditure as I am in my late 70's