The landlord exodus is fuelling a rental crisis

I’m a tax adviser, and I know of several clients who are either selling up, or not considering further investments, until the outcome of the Bill is known. It is a mess.

It might be an idea if Property 118 starts a petition to get 100k signatures to try and improve the landlords’ rights.

That landords are leaving the market seems to be a matter of divided opinion. That is opinion divided between all the various property professionals and landlords at the sharp end who support the idea and Mr Pennycook in Government who does not, saying there is no shortage of supply. No prizes for who I think is right!

The word Exodus is dramatic and great for click bait. However, yes there is now a steady stream of LL sellers vs buyers. Remember CGT is as LOW as 24% for high tax payers so now is the best time to capitalise as the Labour government will soon shift it back to 28% or higher once they realise their budget was a damp squib for growth so need more tax revenue from those with big shoulders.

Long term interest rates are now ticking up, not down, due to the Labour Budget. Good for savers, bad for borrowers.

As a landlord, I am minded to sell my properties and avoid the hassle and uncertainty. It is much easier to do estate planning for my kids with cash, and I can get a better, hassle-free return, investing elsewhere.

“Exodus” is debatable – it takes time to sell, many landlords will be on mortgages with redemption penalties, many landlords will sit on the sidelines until the Bill is further down the road, etc.

I have good tenants (quickly touches wood) and would not evict them however once they leave I will sell up. So I’m not part of a current “Exodus” but I am part of what I suspect is a very large number of “exiting” landlords. This will take a number of years to unwind however the rental market will continue to get tighter and tighter for the unfortunate tenants.
The increased stamp duty put in place deters new comers to the market whilst leaving CGT unchanged would suggest the door has been left open for those who wish to exit.
To me this would suggest a clear political objective of killing off the PRS and we can expect no assistance in any form from the Govt.

Governments of all hues , possibly excluding Reform UK, have messed up the housing market. By all means level the playing field with private buyers by not allowing tax relief. By all means force EPC of C as a minimum as renters are often low income . But the biggest driver of rental prices is risk. The more difficult and longer it takes to remove a non payer both dissuades new entrants and adds risk premium. Both of these force rentals up massively. It’s not the landlords job to subsidise those who can’t or won’t pay.

Reply to the comment left by Ryan Stevens at 21/11/2024 – 10:20
Will not happen, because the all landlords are portrayed as greedy villians with only money on their mind.

Yet there are cases of housing associations and councils who supply sub standard accomidation, yet never get pulled up for it.

Reply to the comment left by Chepstow Landlord at 21/11/2024 – 12:47
I agree.. makes complete sense. We have sold one property in London, which paid down the mortgages of the others. With the massive hike in SDLT, ridiculous government meddling, I definitely will not be buying anymore rental properties. I put money into a high interest account and earned more/just as much as I get from one property and I do NOTHING for it!!! I LOVE IT!!! No more late night messages or hassle from tenants!

When you walk round our housing estate you cannot fail to miss the forest (and I really do mean that) of for sale and sold signs on 2 bedroomed properties.

I personally know that most of the 2 beds properties were once rentals and surely not all of those sold will have been to landlords.

Yup, the exodus is certainly around here.