Cameron will NOT consider rent controls.

IveSeenTheLight

CLAPTON wrote: »

they vary over the country

I totally understand as this is a local council applied levy.
Certainly don't think the levy makes the newbuild unnatractive.

drc

I never understand the arguments against rent controls.

Surely if landlords can't get the rents they want anymore they will sell their properties and therefore there would be more properties on the market for first time buyers to buy, meaning less tenants and more homeowners?

Rent controls work really well in places like New York and Berlin and there has been no speculative bubble in Berlin because there is no point as landlords cannot make huge profits and there is strict regulation in favour of the tenant, so no damage to the economy with ridiculously inflated rent and house prices. There is absolutely no reason why they couldn't work here except that there are so many with vested interests in keeping rents high (many politicians are landlords) and the building industry is very influential in dictating housing policy.

Also, there is always the argument that they should just increase supply but where does it end? More homes are built and then more people come to live in those homes, creating a shortage so more homes need to be built and more people come to live in them creating a shortage add infinitum. The amount of land is not infinite and unless they are social homes, they will still be unaffordable to anyone but BTL parasites, so the problem continues.

The private rented sector in this country is completely dysfunctional and heavily skewed in favour of Rachmans. Cameron is not interested because it doesn't affect him having inherited millions of pounds from daddy.

IveSeenTheLight

drc wrote: »

I never understand the arguments against rent controls.

@The government is simply not interested in squeezing the rental market, indeed they have often come out and confirmed that they need the retnal market to expand.

Only by expanding do you increase the supply in order to meet / exceed the demand and keep a lid on rents

You might want to read this
https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/improving-the-rented-housing-sector--2/supporting-pages/private-rented-sector

Private rented housing is a growing part of the housing market. It comprises almost 16.5% of all households, or nearly 3.6 million homes in England. The private rented sector offers a flexible form of tenure and meets a wide range of housing needs. It contributes to greater labour market mobility and is increasingly the tenure of choice for young people.
The government wants to encourage a wider range of investors to build houses for private rent. The 2011 Budget introduced changes to Stamp Duty Land Tax which will mean that large-scale investors pay a typical 1% instead of 5% on bulk purchases, as Stamp Duty will be assessed on the average value of individual properties rather than on the overall value of the portfolio.
The Budget also included a range of measures that were introduced in the 2012 Finance Act to support the development and growth of UK real estate investment trusts to make them more suitable for residential investment.
In response to Sir Adrian Montague’s review of the barriers to investment in private rented homes on 6 September 2012 we announced:

• a £200 million fund to provide equity finance to house builders and developers
• a debt guarantee scheme to support the building of more private rented housing
• a team of private rented sector investment experts to support demonstration projects through the equity finance fund and development and take-up of the new debt guarantee scheme

The private rented sector is already governed by a well-established legal framework and we will not introduce any further regulations. This will ensure the sector is free to grow in response to market conditions.
Launch of the build to rent fund

The build to rent fund prospectus was jointly launched on 20 December 2012 by the government and Homes and Communities Agency and invites applications for the build to rent fund by noon 4 February 2013.
The new £200 million build to rent fund will support the development of new purpose built privately rented homes. It will provide ‘off the shelf’ investment opportunities and take the risk out of building homes with the intention to let. The fund will be used to build innovative demonstration projects to show what a more professional, larger scale private rented market might look like.
The scheme is designed to help finance private rental construction until homes are built, let out and managed. Developers will repay or pass on the loan when new investors are found.
For more information on the launch of the prospectus, you can read the Department for Communities and Local Government press notice of 20 December 2012. Further information on the build to rent fund can be found on the Homes and Communities Agency website.
New loan guarantees for private rented housing

We want to issue debt guarantees to support the building of new homes for the private rented sector.
The money we raise through issuing the debt guarantees will be used to help buy newly built homes. Rental income will then be used to pay for the reduced borrowing costs available through the guarantee.
Companies and potential joint ventures can submit an expression of interest to [EMAIL="housingguarantees@communities.gsi.gov.uk"]housingguarantees@communities.gsi.gov.uk[/EMAIL]. We will launch a formal bidding round this autumn. Subject to legislation, the guarantee will enable borrowing from early 2013.
The guarantee is designed specifically to attract fixed-income investors, seeking a stable long-term return on investment, but who desire to be insulated from property, commercial and wider market risk. The government guarantee will provide this insulation, guaranteeing long-term debt (up to 30 years).
Those particpating in the scheme must commit to purchase an agreed number of newly built rented homes in exchange for benefiting from the guarantee.
To join the mailing list and receive updates, or send the expression of interest form below, please use email: [EMAIL="housingguarantees@communities.gsi.gov.uk"]housingguarantees@communities.gsi.gov.uk[/EMAIL].