Open Letter to Landlords and Shelter

Reply to the comment left by Luke P at 22/10/2018 - 11:45Agree, but meanwhile the damage is being done and sadly Larry does not respond well to consrtuctive criticism or show any evidence of being able to take friendly well-meaning advice.

Points taken about the twitter feed. We will get there. In the meantime to old Mrs Landlord and others like her I completely reject any of her advise. Sniping from the side lines is easy. If these people are interested join us and pledge like so many others have. I am working a damn sight harder than mrs Landlord which is why she has time to correct my typos. Sorry if that upsets, but bottom line I am Fighting our corner and I will accept advise willingly from any body who has pledged, and not from those who "talk the talk, but wont Walk the walk. Robert Mellor has emailed me and advised on a number of points. I have listed and will listen because as a member he has and will have an input. Same goes for all members.

Yes, I have pledged the £100 even though I have disagreed with a couple of Larry's previous comments, and I've done this because Larry appears to be trying to stand up for private landlords, and be a strong voice against the unfair demonisation of landlords. He may not be doing everything right, but at least he is doing something, and he is willing to listen to reasonable comments and ideas. Sure, there will be mistakes, there may be things said that aren't very tactful, BUT we should remember that he is taking a stand for the benefit of all landlords, and for that I thank him and support him. However, I will disagree with him when I believe him to be wrong or misguided, as I would for anyone else, but on the whole I do believe that he is heading in the right direction with the proposed policies.
I have not seen his Twitter posts, and perhaps he may need to think more carefully about his comments, but he is entitled to his personal opinions, just the same as anyone else. As long as his Twitter posts are from him personally, not claiming to represent the views of the Landlord Alliance members, then I don't see this as an issue.

Reply to the comment left by Robert Mellors at 22/10/2018 - 20:37
Annie Landlord has told us that the Twitter feed which she found worrying is in the name of the National Landlords Alliance rather than in Larry's own name. I cannot pledge to support those comments. Larry has indicated that he only wants advice from those on the inside but he is setting up an association to influence those on the outside so it is seems only logical and sensible to look at it from the aspect of how it appears to outsiders, as I and others have tried to point out. Unfortunately Larry views this as "sniping from the sidelines". However, on the thread relating to Irish taxation he says the Alliance will not engage with government so, other than ranting on Twitter, I fail to see what it will do to further the cause of the PRS. I appreciate his point that he is putting in a great deal of time and effort to improve the lot of all landlords, something I am not and have never claimed to be doing, and his accusation is true in that respect. However, I believe the way he is going about it is misguided and I fear it may well do more harm than good from a public relations aspect.

Annie you are entitled to your opinion ,as is everyone. Having said that ,the Opinions of those who pledged and who Join are the opinions we will listen to. These members want change. They want an organisation that will fight their corner. They are sick of the status quo. I said from the outset that we would campaign hard and that is what we will do. You have not pledged, you worry about our PR style. What about the other organisations. Yes our style is and will be different. We will not assist Councils implement their rotten schemes, we will never stop shouting about S24 etc. Sit on the sidelines and let others do the lifting or join us. Remember all the other approaches, Tactics, Mr Nice Guy methods have faiiled. Simple as that. FAILED. If that was not the case we would not have S24, Selective licensing, £30k fines without due process, failed Eviction process, media Hysteria re the Sector. That is the reality , and I am sure we all wish it was otherwise. It is in to that environment that the Alliance was born and if those on the outside expect us to be polite and tip toe around the issues Think again. The Alliance will do what those who pledged asked us to do. Those who have pledged want us to be vocal, they do not want us to be anything like the useless organisations on whose watch the anti landlord legislation was introduced. We will do as the members want and expect. Anything else would be a betrayal. There may be policy errors but certainly nothing like the policy error of the RLA who have published an essay from Shelter. Yes absolutely, an organisation representing Landlords publishing an essay by an organisation which is anti the PRS in the extreme. What about the Policy error of the RLA getting involved in the Banks policy of no social tenants. The Alliance will definately have no dog in that fight. So you See Annie, They are horrific policies and a PR disaster for the RLA. We have not nor will we err to that extent, because our aims are crystal clear. To represent landlords and where there is blatant unfairness such a s24 we will not stop shouting about it.

Reply to the comment left by Larry Sweeney at 23/10/2018 - 08:58
@OML - Larry makes an excellent point. We'd all prefer to use intellectual, articulate dialogue to effect change, but as has been mentioned, there are at least two groups having a bash at that but it isn't/hasn't worked. Why would you want more of the same? If it doesn't suit you and you insist on not pledging, keep quiet. Move along. You are not the bastion of external influence. Nobody has a right to contain a particular groups influence purely because it extends beyond the confines of the group, which is what I read from your comment.

You make take the view that you will not just quieten down...fine but we're still marching ahead anyway, so you become nothing but an irritating noise. Although once the Alliance's forum us set up, we can take our discussion from here and amongst invested members.

Reply to the comment left by Luke P at 23/10/2018 - 12:01
You misread my comment Luke. Far from trying to contain the group's influence as you suggest, I pointed out how Larry had himself constrained that influence by avowing not to engage with politicians. I will not comment further, not because of anything you say but because it's pointless so I'll take my husband's advice when he gave up commenting and leave you to stew in your own juice.

Reply to the comment left by Old Mrs Landlord at 23/10/2018 - 12:42
Indeed it is pointless you commenting further. Your husband is a wise man.

I did not initially pledge because I (sensibly) wanted a bit more info and wanted to see how the alliance would be set up. Having followed the twitter feed and read the aggressive/sarcastic responses from Larry I conclude I was right not to pledge. I don't want a landlords organisation supporting or denigrating political parties, or indeed individuals, in my name, nor projecting an image that I believe will only damage our public image even further. I feel the only chance we have of persuading the public of our true role in providing decent housing is to show that we are professionals who know what we are doing, and that we care. The alliance may be in danger of doing quite the opposite

I think all points have now been made and countered sufficiently thank you.