Bears In Despair part 2......

whathavewedone

Lostinrates, I can't think about this any other way but with my legal hat on and if a piece of legislation was a resounding failure before I cannot see why it would work now.

I can see it from a tenant's point of view, of course I can, and if I could rent my house at a fixed rent ad infitum and pass it on to my children instead of have a mortgage and have to worry about interest rates etc then I probably would. It sounds great. A nice home, security of tenure and zero risk so long as you can pay your rent. You have to ask yourself though, what's in it for the landlord if that's the case?

What would happen is that before the legislation came into effect you'd have a rush of small landlords issuing notices to quit and scrabbling to sell their properties. The majority of properties available for rent would be those owned by commercial landlords (and they too would have sold the good ones and only left the dumps above commercial premises in poor areas that they would be happy to let at more or less any price). It would of course depress house prices (at least in the short term) which is probably why so many on here are in favour of it but unless you are a one issue person it's pretty easy to see that the long term ramifications would not be favourable for the country generally.

On the EU point I shudder at the thought - I don't want us to give away any more power to the EU but that's just my personal view. The obsession we have with owning bricks and mortar may be illogical, it may be parochial, it may be petit bourjois, but it's part of what makes us British and there isn't a great deal left of that. If we don't like it, we can always move to Germany and rent there. After all, as part of the EU we are free to move and work around the union as we choose.

lostinrates

whathavewedone wrote: »

Lostinrates, I can't think about this any other way but with my legal hat on and if a piece of legislation was a resounding failure before I cannot see why it would work now. Precisely because it does elsewhere. I don't know about the legislation, I defer to your better knowledge, but I'm not arguing for that back, I'm asking for a new legislation that protects landlords from rubbish tenants too. I agree, if something i broke fix it, but I also think don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. (cliches rule). I'd say the system now is a little broke.

I can see it from a tenant's point of view, of course I can, and if I could rent my house at a fixed rent ad infitum and pass it on to my children instead of have a mortgage and have to worry about interest rates etc then I probably would. It sounds great. A nice home, security of tenure and zero risk so long as you can pay your rent. You have to ask yourself though, what's in it for the landlord if that's the case?
I agree: the pay off can not be that the landlord is made insecure. Of course the tenancies over seas are repairing tenancies, large deposits are required and the LL leaves no furntiture or fitings (usually) that can need repair and only the structure of the property is his responsilbilty. Drains are a grey area (I don't know if you recall we are actually in legal proceedings with a counter suit over an Italian tenancy: I'll be able to tell you how its sworked when its over. So far I'd say both sides are having to prove their case pretty darn throuroughly!)

What would happen is that before the legislation came into effect you'd have a rush of small landlords issuing notices to quit and scrabbling to sell their properties. The majority of properties available for rent would be those owned by commercial landlords (and they too would have sold the good ones and only left the dumps above commercial premises in poor areas that they would be happy to let at more or less any price). It would of course depress house prices (at least in the short term) which is probably why so many on here are in favour of it but unless you are a one issue person it's pretty easy to see that the long term ramifications would not be favourable for the country generally.

What do you think might happen long term, if a satisfactory line could be drawn to protect LL and tenants?
On the EU point I shudder at the thought - I don't want us to give away any more power to the EU but that's just my personal view. The obsession we have with owning bricks and mortar may be illogical, it may be parochial, it may be petit bourjois, but it's part of what makes us British and there isn't a great deal left of that. If we don't like it, we can always move to Germany and rent there. After all, as part of the EU we are free to move and work around the union as we choose.

I agree with a lot of that. Housing worries me MUCH less than EU gendarmerie and the threat to habeas corpus!

I must say, its a pleasure to discuss from different p.o.v. with good humour!