0:01 AM, 19th February 2025, About 2 months ago 49
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A tenant organisation claims landlords selling up is a good thing, despite the fact that it is fuelling the housing crisis and leaving tenants with nowhere to live.
A piece on the left-wing news website Left Foot Forward by Tom Darling, director of the Renters’ Reform Coalition, claims a landlord exodus would create a “more professional renting system”.
However, despite his claims, he does not provide any statistics on how many tenants would be affected by landlords selling their properties.
Mr Darling claims: “The idea that less supply of rented homes is bad has an intuitive power. It fits neatly with most people’s understanding of supply and demand.
“But the important thing to understand is that the rental market isn’t like other markets – it is part of a housing system that includes other tenures like owner occupiers and social housing.
“There are more than twice as many households renting in England as in 2000, yet despite the expansion in ‘supply’ of rented homes, rental affordability is the worst it’s ever been, with nearly two thirds of working renters struggling to afford their rent, and record homelessness, driven as well by section 21 evictions.
“Meanwhile, all the ‘investment’ we have seen from buy-to-let landlords has not significantly improved the quality of rented homes either.
“Renters face far worse quality homes than owners or social renters, with about one in 10 living in homes with a category 1 hazard, which pose the most serious risks to human health.”
Mr Darling fails to mention the English Housing Survey, which reveals the majority of renters (77%) ended their last tenancy because they wanted to move NOT because of eviction.
The English Housing survey also reveals that private tenants are happier with their homes than social tenants, with 82% of private renters saying they’re satisfied, compared to 74% of social renters.
Mr Darling continues: “Would it be so bad if the private rented sector wasn’t so big? Consider, for a moment, that landlords did follow through on their threats to sell up.
“These homes are bricks and mortar. They don’t vanish when sold. Some houses would be bought by landlords (possibly larger and more professional landlords willing to comply with government regulations); others would be bought by first-time buyers, particularly if enough landlords sold to push house prices down – resulting in large numbers of people swapping renting for home ownership.
“More homes could – and should – be bought by councils and housing associations to provide desperately needed social housing, bringing down council waiting lists and costs and providing people with a secure home.”
Mr Darling does not mention that corporate landlords tend to charge much higher rents than buy-to-let landlords.
Many students tend to stay in privately rented accommodation as it is much cheaper than purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA).
According to Save the Student’s National Accommodation Survey 2025, the average monthly rent is £532 compared to £615 for student halls.
Mr Darling continues to claim: “In short, a reduction in the number of landlords could be an opportunity for many of the people currently trapped in private renting to escape – and to help create a better regulated, more professional renting system.
“And by the way, that’s not to say this will actually happen. Despite the endless supposition that a landlords exodus is underway, and has been underway for some time, the size of the private rented sector has remained relatively consistent in recent years – statistics suggest it has even grown slightly.”
Mr Darling failed to provide any statistics to back up his claims. Numerous articles on Property118 have proved this is not the case with government figures revealing that a third of landlords (31%) intend to sell their rental properties within the next two years, up from 22% previously.
However, only 7% plan to provide new rental homes, down from 11% in 2021.
In Scotland, more than 22,000 homes have been lost from the private rented sector due to government rhetoric and rent controls.
Mr Darling’s full article can be read here.
Keith Wellburn
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Sign Up9:38 AM, 19th February 2025, About 2 months ago
Has Tom Darling been asleep for a decade? Wake up man! You are parroting exactly what George Osborne was saying in 2015 and resulting in the measures that actually made the rental market as dysfunctional as the sales market was then for younger people.
Build to rent is great for affluent professionals who don’t want to buy (I’ve invested in a few companies). Tom Darling fails to understand that it’s not a zero sum game - just about bright enough to understand that, yes of course the same houses are being lived in if they move to owner occupation, but with no capacity to realise in a situation where there are significant supply and affordability issues in both the rental and the occupation markets, every ‘win’ where a renter becomes a FTB has a ‘loser’ of a young twenty something stuck in a childhood bedroom or someone stuck in a dysfunctional relationship in a joint home they can’t move out of to rent on their own.
Old Mrs Landlord
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Sign Up9:58 AM, 19th February 2025, About 2 months ago
Meanwhile, on our local BBC news this morning an item about university students in a large PBSA block having been without hot water since November and having to boil kettles for their ablutions and laundry. No mention of any fines or other action against the providers of this expensive accommodation.
NewYorkie
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Sign Up10:07 AM, 19th February 2025, About 2 months ago
He typifies the advice informing today's Labour government decisions.
Markella Mikkelsen
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Sign Up10:13 AM, 19th February 2025, About 2 months ago
There are so many assumptions that are wrong with this article, I almost cannot be bothered.
The worst one is the assumption that the landlords who will buy the ex-rentals will be more professional and compliant than the existing landlords ["Some houses would be bought by landlords (possibly larger and more professional landlords willing to comply with government regulations"].
Good luck!
Gromit
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Sign Up10:37 AM, 19th February 2025, About 2 months ago
Usual biased myopic leftie view of the rental sector with random quicps from the "How to Bluff Your Way in the Housing Sector" and "How to Bluff Your Way in Economics" books (Tom please donate the latter to Rachel Reeves).
Growth in the BTL sector is as a result of increased demand and has been far outstripping supply, which with increased regulatory burdens and taxation have driven up rents to levels that we see today. And with a supply shortage there's liitle incentive for bad Landlords to up their game.
Darling further demonstrates his bias/ignorance by citing citing Sec. 21 as cause of evictions which for anyone unbiased knows to be false, and shows his ignorance that revenge evictions were outlawed in the Deregulation Act 2015.
Martin
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Sign Up10:57 AM, 19th February 2025, About 2 months ago
So prices would be pushed down if enough landlords sold?
Might happen after the first 1.5 million as that's how many houses we are short according to Angela.
Meanwhile what's going to happen with the 1.5 million displaced renters?
Oh yes - we'd still be 1.5 million houses short!
graham mcauley
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Sign Up11:03 AM, 19th February 2025, About 2 months ago
This guy is beyond belief, is he qualified in any way? how do they get in these positions?
Jack Jennings
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Sign Up11:33 AM, 19th February 2025, About 2 months ago
It can be statistically shown that social houses have a lower satisfaction level than private rents. It can be shown that the rental properties already being sold are only damping down price rises rather than causing a fire sale. It can be shown that the financial return required for Build to Rent will not be affordable for low income families. It must be becoming obvious to many that a business model with a high investment and low return will not absorb any extra cost but will pass them down to tenants.
If there was a government directive that we could only own nice new cars up to a year old, our streets would be safer but most people would not be able to afford to drive. This is where the PRS is heading.
Andy
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Sign Up11:45 AM, 19th February 2025, About 2 months ago
I think Tom typifies the adage 'it's not what you know, it's who you know'. No doubt he'll soon be on the Head of Charity - Gov Adviser - Head of Charity roundabout, if he isn't already.
Dennis Leverett
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Sign Up11:45 AM, 19th February 2025, About 2 months ago
This is so typical of the ignorance of these people that write so much garbage based on absolutely nothing. Problem is, that applies to those running our country right now. They obviously have no understanding of basic economics or any experience in business and investing. Just soundbites and clicks. Wish I was a Dalek so I could exterminate, exterminate!!!