When will politicians ever listen to landlords?

Watching Matthew Pennycook’s ‘performance’ in Parliament in nodding through the Renters’ Rights Bill, I was struck by two things: landlords must be the only group of people who can be smeared without any comeback, and we were never close to having a seat at the table when the bill was being put together. Not once.

That means we are being subjected to legislation that will upend our businesses without having had any meaningful input on it.

The portrayal of landlords throughout the bill’s journey has been shocking.

The housing minister offered the usual bilge about how great the bill is for tenants and then had the brass neck to say: “The current system for private renting is broken. In abolishing section 21 no-fault evictions and modernising the regulation of the sector, the Bill will improve the lives of England’s 11 million private renters. It is a transformational piece of legislation.”

Oh, it’s transformational, all right.

Landlord organisations thanked

He also thanked Generation Rent, Shelter, Crisis, Citizens Advice, the Renters’ Reform Coalition, the National Residential Landlords Association and Propertymark, for their input.

While the NRLA and Propertymark undoubtedly gave the consultation their best shot, they were speaking unwanted words of truth.

That’s no way to develop such far-reaching legislation, is it?

So, well done to the shadow housing secretary, James Cleverly, who said: “Rights are all well and good, but if accommodation for those tenants does not exist, they are no better off.”

Pennycook says the PRS has ‘been broadly stable’ since 2013-14.

How deluded is that?

The portrayal of landlords as exploitative profiteers has been relentless, yet not once were we invited to have a meaningful say in a law that could unravel our livelihoods.

Pennycook’s speech in Parliament painted a rosy picture for tenants.

He spoke of empowering renters, giving them security to build lives in their communities and shielding them from homelessness.

The Bill, he claims, will elevate the quality of private rented homes, ensuring safety and fairness as standard.

It promises to crack down on unscrupulous landlords who mistreat or discriminate against tenants.

On the surface, these are noble aims. Few would argue against safer homes or protections for vulnerable renters.

Landlords ignored again

But the narrative stops there, ignoring the other half of the equation: the landlords who keep the private rented sector afloat.

Landlords are not faceless corporations but individuals, that is retirees, families and accidental landlords, who rely on rental income to survive.

We have faced ever-rising costs, punitive tax changes and now this bill.

I appreciate that many tenants and lefties don’t want to hear that landlords need to make a profit when providing a home.

But landlords are running a business, not a charitable free housing scheme.

We all know that tenants will have nowhere to go when we sell.

Either there are fewer homes they can afford, or growing numbers of landlords will house asylum seekers.

Mass exodus from the PRS

I feel sorry for those landlords who have kept rents below market levels for years to be handed this situation.

The bill’s supporters argue it will benefit ‘responsible’ landlords by simplifying regulation and clarifying possession grounds, allowing quicker property recovery when needed.

I’m sorry but this bill will do the opposite.

Landlords who struggle with months of non-payment of rent, an expensive slog through the courts and then a hefty repair bill from a disgruntled tenant won’t go through that turmoil again.

They just won’t.

Let’s be clear: I’m not saying that the PRS is perfect, it isn’t. There are bad landlords who don’t care but no amount of legislation or landlord licensing will resolve that.

Painting all landlords as villains is lazy and unfair. Most provide decent homes, often at personal financial risk.

But what stings most is the lack of consultation.

RRB punishes landlords

Now we’re left grappling with legislation that feels like a punishment for daring to invest in property.

Pennycook’s vision of a fairer rental sector is a lovely soundbite for tenants, but it ignores the economic realities landlords face.

Balanced reform would have recognised that landlords and tenants rely on each other.

There’s still time for the government to pause and listen and even engage honestly with landlords, not just tenant advocacy groups.

Politicians will need to acknowledge that pushing us out will hurt tenants too and that not everything in the PRS is ‘broadly stable’.

Without a thriving PRS, the housing crisis will deepen.

The Renters’ Rights Bill may deliver for tenants, but at what cost to the landlords who make renting possible?

Until next time,

The Landlord Crusader