Overuse of the adjective “Rogue”

The adjective Rogue is very popular with the media. It has been applied by “Shelter” to Private Sector Landlords who are retiring (or dying!).

If the landlord does die then what happens to the tenant who may have lived there for up to 15 years albeit the average length of tenancy is 4½ years? Left wing organisations such as “Shelter” seem to lose sight of the fact that landlords get old and die.

According to Shelter the word Rachmanism is applied to myself because I am retiring, but two years ago Shelter wrote to tell me I was Fantastic. That does not sound like Rachmanism to me!

The Oxford English Dictionary defines it as the exploitation and intimidation of tenants by unscrupulous landlords. It was a Royal Borough landlord who gave his name to the word. Perec or Peter Rachman came to England during the war as a refugee from Poland. Indeed Shelter’s Chief Executive says all a landlord has to do is use a Section 21. So why the need for Rachmanism?

I specialise in new two bed mid terrace up to three bed detached houses in Kent along the M20 corridor. I do believe all houses should have a lawn for young children to play on. However, as the average length of tenancy is 4½ years the landlord cannot end tenancies merely to take a young couple with a baby. There is hardly wrongdoing by the existing tenant so hardly likely to be a vacancy.

The young couple with a baby have a real problem but it is not in the gift of a Private Sector Landlord to resolve it by exiting an existing tenant.

When my wife and I were 22 years old we had two small children and lived in a flat which we found difficulty in finding. Nothing changes in 50 years! After the war my parents, and two three young children, lived in two rooms in a shared house. Nothing changes in 75 years!

It is a numbers game. There are simply insufficient houses to house all those people that need to be housed! The only answer is to build more and where do the people live in the meantime?

I hear of Rogue Journalists, Rogue Solicitors, Rogue Housing Officers, Rogue Policemen, Rogue puppy farmers and so on. However, the act of retiring does not suddenly make a Landlord into a Rogue Landlord.

Last week I sold five three bedroomed detached houses and not one two bed mid terrace. All were houses where the tenant had moved out by “Natural Wastage”! None were evicted. All five were tenants who gave the landlord notice.

Mortgages are cheap for Landlords and owner occupiers.

Fergus Wilson

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