POLL – What is the ROOT CAUSE of increasing homelessness, lack of supply of quality rental properties and rising rents in the UK?

Reply to the comment left by john thompson at 13/05/2022 - 11:32
Your right John,
Everybody's forgetting the 7 Million ' inhabitants ' of this country that are NOT eligible for NHS treatment ( but get it ) along with other public services - housing.
Time Britain talked about the Elephant in the room and stopped being Woke.

Limited primary care access during the pandemic will have resulted in undertreatment of mental health care issue including any sort of addictions, be they alcohol, drugs or gambling related to name a few.
The problem is multifactorial, but offered only one choice I opted for section 24. This survey needs a major re-think if it is to be of best value, but because of the complexity of issues I can see some merit in keeping things simple, and would be interested in the results.

Reply to the comment left by Chris @ Possession Friend at 13/05/2022 - 13:54Regardless of the cause being legal or illegal immigration, more divorces, or young adults not wanting to live with their parents, demand is going up. The majority of landlords have around 2 properties, not a large portfolio. The Section 24 tax changes only punishes these people; everybody else can incorporate. The abolition of section 21 also creates a disproportionate risk for the small landlord. The other changes don't appear to apply to the public housing sector so again these changes have the effect of being discriminatory and punitive.

It is purely a matter of supply and demand. There is simply not enough properties for people to live in. If you leave it to market forces, the less well off will be forced into overcrowded, poor quality accommodation. If you regulate the property market and rents are artificially cheaper, you just make the housing shortage worse. The only solution is for more domestic properties to be built.

Most landlords, as mentioned above, have one or two properties. The mortgages on properties are the landlords' major outlay and expense, and the removal of tax relief on these meant that it was almost impossible for an unincorporated landlord to make a profit.
Thousands have sold up, selling their properties often to first time buyers and thus removing them from the lettings market. Fewer properties available has meant higher rents and more homelessness. Section 24 should be scrapped before it's too late.

When you treat decent landlords - like I used to be- like pariahs and evil tenants like cherubs simply because you don’t want them yourselves then you drive us out. I now do mild and moderate airbnb; not for extra money but to avoid having tenants who, if they turn rotten, get the full force of the law behind them. My flats were and are luxurious and a credit to landlord standards. If a bad tenant decided to cause mould then he and his arse-kissing council would crucify me!! No thanks! So now, three first class private rentals have been taken out of the supply: pushed out by the shallowness of government!

Reply to the comment left by Tom McGrath at 13/05/2022 - 20:37
I became an accidental landlord in 2003 when I let my 2 bed flat in London while working away. I continued to let for the next 12 years, and fully expected another landlord to take it because it was freehold, and the yield and location were excellent. It went to a retired couple who had downsized, bought a house on the coast, and wanted a London pied a terre. I then planned to let my 4-bed house in London in 2016, but S24 would have pushed my tax bill through the roof if I had proceeded. I didn't, and sold up in 2019. Of my 2 remaining BTLs, one sale should complete this month [after 16 months arrears], and the other will go this year. Being an unincorporated landlord is a war of attrition, and I've had enough!

Reply to the comment left by Jo Westlake at 13/05/2022 - 10:48
Yes, why is this - does anybody know?

It seems counter-intuitive to me to charge experienced portfolio landlords more.

Reply to the comment left by Beaver at 13/05/2022 - 11:23
Press reports (well, what I've picked up from Radio 4!) suggest that councils are inspecting properties and applying the same rules as those that the PRS is held to so many perfectly good properties are being rejected as a result and the Ukranian hopefuls and their hosts are being given the kiss-off.

Reply to the comment left by Badger at 14/05/2022 - 11:06
So, it's OK for homeowners and their families, but deemed not good enough for deserving Ukrainian refugees, who would be so grateful just to have a safe space with someone who cares!

At the other end of the spectrum, we see undeserving illegal migrants, who hide their identities and ages and, encouraged by lefty lawyers, riot because they don't want to be housed in ex-army barracks. Well, it should be only temporary, until they are sent to Rwanda.