Why the victimisation of landlords shames everyone

Reply to the comment left by Osprey at 21/02/2025 – 10:03
Exactly – they were the provider of deposit insurance used by the letting agents I employed to house nineteen students a year. I have sold those HMOs due to idiotic S24 tax implications and the opportunity to invest the capital without the negative connotations being a landlord now carries.

I cannot boycott them now with one remaining family let that will be sold if and when the tenants leave – but any remaining active landlords can avoid supporting this disingenuous nonsense by finding good, straightforward commercial operators to fulfil their deposit protection needs.

Reply to the comment left by Steve Rose at 21/02/2025 – 11:15I think Reluctant Landlord is correct.
I evicted non paying house trashers through the courts but never got any money back, not even the fees which the court ordered them to pay. They are living somewhere now I guess? No CCJ from me because I am not sinking good money after bad and I was happy to just refurb and sell the property after them. They would come across as nice people to any new potential landlord.
I also quite recently got rid of a moron from an hmo. The guy came across quite well on viewing and had glowing references which we carefully followed up on. It turned out that he was extremely dirty although he went to work in an office in a suit. His room smelt pungent and even his door was black from him pushing it. He would bring back random women that weren’t particularly classy (being polite here). He had a knack of irritating his housemates in odd ways He would lose keys, leave doors unlocked etc. He would leave empty beer cans in the regularly maintained garden etc. His rent would be the odd bit late here and there with apologies when he would finally reply after a week or two. The new landlord asked “is rent up to date?” Well yes it was. That said I would have probably lied to get rid of this guy, and no other landlord would ever be coming suing me, lol.
Often in life the worst people get the best references, not just in landlording.

We landlords have no rights to speak of which is ridiculous when you think that the government can dictate how we operate properties that we own and have paid for with our own money and effort. We need a proper Union to fight back and defend our rights.

Reply to the comment left by Steve Rose at 21/02/2025 – 10:05
True, but even the strictest referencing is no guarantee of a smooth, hassle-free tenancy. We still need to deal with problems that will inevitable arise when the lived experience is not as good as the supposed track record.

My guess is that increasingly landlords will have to start threatening recalcitrant tenants with court action and point out that the moment a CCJ appears against their name, they can forget ever getting somewhere else to rent.

Reply to the comment left by JamesB at 21/02/2025 – 20:18“no other landlord would ever be coming suing me”
I would. But you were a victim of the same behaviour you espouse
Here’s what I do:
1) I accept that the courts are useless.
2) I insist on references for every tenancy in the last three years. I speak to the landlord by phone (you can tell a lot more verbally than in writing). Then I ask for everything we discussed to be put in an email. If there is any hesitation then the tenant is rejected.
3) I insist on a home-owning guarantor – not for the courts but because, in my experience, a quick text to the guarantor nips problems in the bud.
4) I maintain my properties to a high standard and charge a reasonable rent – this means that I have the pick of tenants every time.

In 25 years of being a landlord, I have never been out of pocket with a single tenancy. Hence my initial statement.
Bad tenants are ALWAYS a result of bad tenant checks.

Reply to the comment left by Peter Merrick at 22/02/2025 – 07:28
Why on earth don’t you insist on a home-owning guarantor? They are much more effective than any court in my experience.

Reply to the comment left by Steve Rose at 22/02/2025 – 08:04“5) I leave the dross to the council to house, or to people like you.”
Thanks for that.
I have been a landlord for 30 years with hundreds of tenancies, most of them fine. I simply illustrated with an example of how even ok references can lead to an issue.
The fact that you think you could sue me if I told you that an hmo tenant was currently up to date with his rent and nothing else about him does make me wonder if you have ever been through a court process, but each to their own I guess.
I do actually reference in a similar way to which you describe but be aware people do lie and can be very clever about it. My wife and I actually drove to an address that a potential tenant we had a bad feeling about had given for an employer reference only to find it was residential and they knew nothing of the company, for example.

Reply to the comment left by Steve Rose at 22/02/2025 – 08:16
To clarify, your understanding of corporate residential landlords and every trading business from unincorporated sole traders to FTSE 100 multinationals is ‘expecting’ (and presumably receiving) funding from ‘the tax payer’ to offset interest on the borrowings which create the direct tax liability from the asset purchased with the borrowings.

But it is specifically excluded for one type of borrower? Your politician speak of ‘hardworking’ savers (as in poor victims) seems to suggest you have a weak argument.

Reply to the comment left by Steve Rose at 22/02/2025 – 08:06
Depends on the tenant, e.g. if they are in regular employment then it’s not usually necessary. But it might come to that in future with the new legislation coming in.

Reply to the comment left by JamesB at 22/02/2025 – 08:28
I can see where you’re going wrong if “Is he up to date with his rent” could be considered anywhere near a sufficient reference. It certainly wouldn’t for me. (You realise that you’re entrusting your second largest investment to your tenants, right?)
I’ve only been a landlord for 25 years, and only had dozens of tenants, but then most of my tenants happily stay for years because we’re happy with each other.
I bet you’ll miss S21, it doesn’t bother me one bit.