No Furlough for landlords?

Landlords buying properties to rent out, (holiday lets excluded), are considered to be investors and are taxed as such. They do not have earnings they have investment income. This is the government's viewpoint not mine. I have considerable investment in ordinary shares, mainly in the FTSE 350 companies. My capital value has fallen around 30% which does not bother me too much as I do not intend to sell. However my dividend income has also fallen around 30% as well. I do not expect the government to make good this shortfall. There are very few secure or guaranteed investments which give a good rate of return. The writing has been on the wall for a couple of years now, that investing in properties on AST is now no longer a viable and reliable investment. The rules have changed so much and there is no political will from any party to make life any easier or fairer for the landlord. I expect the NRLA to have closed down within 5 years as there will be so few members it will no longer be viable. My existing properties will either be company lets or holiday lets.

I'm a member of NRLA and was a member of NLA prior to the merger. I receive regular emails about their campaigns, updates on changes to legislation and guidance as it happens and I follow them on social media, where they regularly post updates. I think their success in getting Shelter, Crisis and Citizens Advice on board to form a coalition to call on government to provide loans to tenants (note tenants, not landlords) was a major achievement. For the first time the homelessness charities and the landlords organisations have actually worked together. I'm not sure what else landlords expect the NRLA to do. They have to remain professional at all times otherwise they would have even less influence. It seems their relationship with Chris Pincher might have been crucial in staving off the end of S21 (so far)

Reply to the comment left by John MacAlevey at 28/09/2020 - 15:29
Yes

Reply to the comment left by Annie Landlord at 28/09/2020 - 16:13
My thoughts exactly and for an association which has a membership of only around 4% of the total number of landlords it seems to me that they have a remarkable degree of influence in government circles. I hope they go from strength to strength as they continue to present the acceptable face of landlordism.

Reply to the comment left by at 28/09/2020 - 15:58
The whims of government ! .Landlords were encouraged initially by the government then as usual they do a U turn and say we are investors, well of course we are, wasn't that always the case .It would be slightly more palatable if they were also not driving down the price of houses also by embarking on Brexit which has brought uncertainty to the market for years .As for the NRLA sounds like it should rebranded as NRTA. Landlords are now giving interest free open ended non repayable loans to tenants so do they need any more assistance. How are the government penalising shareholders?

Reply to the comment left by David at 28/09/2020 - 19:47
It is not a U turn! Governments have always regarded people who buy property to rent as investors and the income from properties has never been regarded as earned income. For example you could never use this income to make increased pension payments. However the government has used this situation, or perhaps more correctly, abused this situation by bringing in Section 24. Interest is now only tax deductible at 20%. It could have been a lot worse and interest could have been not be tax deductible at all and we could have done nothing about it. Have you ever wondered why there have been no successful legal challenges against section 24? The reason is that the government's cast iron defence will always be that loan interest is a legitimate BUSINESS expense. Being a landlord is NOT a business. Brexit uncertainty may have lowered house prices but has at least has been partly compensated for by the stamp duty holiday. The Government has not been directly penalising shareholders but has put out some very strong hints to companies. For example banks and insurance companies should not pay dividends for at least 12 months and conserve their capital for tough times ahead. The government would also take a very dim view of companies which have taken tax payers money for the furlough scheme continuing to pay our out dividends to shareholders. This is why some companies like Persimmon in which I hold shares, have given back to the government all the grants from the furlough screen so that hopefully they can soon start paying dividends again with a clear conscience. Investing in shares is not for the faint hearted, you must take the medium/long term view. I have been investing in shares for nearly 50 years and unlike property investment the rules have hardly changed during that time. Shareholders do pay income tax on their dividends and also capital gains tax on sales of shares at either 10% or 20%. (neither apply if all your shares are held in ISAs which is the only way all sensible investors hold them). It is very important when looking for suitable investments not just to consider the merits of the investment without carefully considering all the related tax implications.

Ok, the argument that preventing evictions is both unjust and illegal I can get behind, but suggesting for a second that Landlords should get furlough or direct financial support is exactly the attitude that makes us landlords such an easy target for the government and is exactly the reason the rest of the electorate won't bat an eyelid if ever more draconian actions are levelled on us.

Reply to the comment left by TrevL at 28/09/2020 - 23:55
Is banning evictions illegal, I don't think so as the government can do exactly as they wish and who is rich enough to test this in court.What the government has done is made a mockery of every legal contract in existence though. I dont think the impression created by the media about landlords can get any worse .

Reply to the comment left by Seething Landlord at 28/09/2020 - 15:16
2.5 million landlords don't belong, because like me they will not shell out money to an useless organisation. I left 3 years ago after 15 years membership, when I realised they were just using landlords to provide an income stream, rather than speaking up for and defending them.

Reply to the comment left by William Williams at 03/10/2020 - 09:59
And they seduce them with forms and an advice line to attract that funding (with which to do nothing).