Another naive call for 5-year tenancies

beecher2

A bill has passed in Scotland and as of next year most tenancies will be unlimited. I imagine this wouldn't happen if mortgages were impossible to get.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Most private tenancies in Scotland are short assured tenancies created under the
Housing (Scotland) Act 1988 (the Act also provides for assured tenancies). The Private
Housing (Tenancies) Scotland Bill seeks to create a new private residential tenancy to
supersede the tenancies provided for by the Housing (Scotland) Act 1988. It is
expected that most new tenancies from late 2017 would be private residential
tenancies.
The overall aim of the Bill is to improve security of tenure for tenants, while providing
appropriate safeguards for landlords, lenders and investors. The main features of the
proposed private residential tenancy are:
 It will be an open-ended tenancy. Landlords will be able to recover possession of
their property using one of the specified grounds for repossession. This
represents a change from the current short assured tenancy where landlords can
seek repossession at the end of the tenancy term without having to give a reason
- commonly referred to as the “no-fault ground for repossession.
 The initial term of the tenancy must be for a minimum six month period, although
a shorter or longer period can be agreed between the tenant and the landlord.
 During the initial term the tenancy cannot be ended by the tenant, when agreed
by the landlord, and the landlord can only end the tenancy using certain specified
grounds.
 The grounds under which a tenant can be evicted are updated. There are 16
proposed eviction grounds, some of which do not feature in the current
framework.
 If the tenant does not leave the property after being given notice by the landlord,
the landlord will have to seek repossession through the First Tier Tribunal (‘the
Tribunal’). The Tribunal will decide on the merits of each case.
 A tenant will have recourse to the Tribunal if they believe their tenancy has been
wrongfully terminated.
 Streamlined and less complex notice procedures to end the tenancy are
proposed.
 Landlords will only be able to increase rents once in every 12 month period and
only with three months’ notice. If a tenant considers that any proposed rent
increase would take their rent beyond rents charged for comparable properties in
the area, they will have the ability to refer the increase for adjudication to a Rent
Officer at Rent Service Scotland
5
 A local authority will be able to apply to Scottish Ministers to approve a rent
pressure zone covering all or part of its area. This would limit rent increases for
sitting tenants in that area for up to five years. Within a rent pressure zone
landlords would still be able to increase their rents by a minimum of CPI +1%.

http://www.parliament.scot/ResearchBriefingsAndFactsheets/S4/SB_15-68_Private_Housing_Tenancies_Scotland_Bill.pdf

ruggedtoast

westernpromise wrote: »

They wouldn't be able to buy it if the tenants have the right to occupy it for five years. The sector would vanish overnight.

Oh what a shame.

westernpromise

beecher2 wrote: »

A bill has passed in Scotland and as of next year most tenancies will be unlimited. I imagine this wouldn't happen if mortgages were impossible to get.[/url]

I'd be surprised if that were given any consideration at all.

Meanwhile here are some fun predictions about house prices from 2 years back. A Savills report called it pretty well spot-on so far, but the comments are hilariously wrong, starting with the most recommended: "In reality the market is crashing at a rapid pace".

So he'd have been short then!

Edit: forgot link: https://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/nov/06/london-house-prices-2015-savills

beecher2

I think I'm right in saying that in Scotland the landlord can evict if he has the intent of selling within 3 months of the tenant leaving. That seems a bit of a better idea. There are 16 grounds for eviction which are listed in the pdf file I posted

westernpromise

ruggedtoast wrote: »

Oh what a shame.

For tenants, yes. The rate of evictions - as in, proactive tenancy terminations by the landlord - has started to rise rapidly. Generation Rent admits this is at least partly because of landlords exiting. Their preferred explanation - that it's landlords selling to capture capital gains - does not work, because it does not account for why this should suddenly increase now, or why landlords would exit and then re-enter, paying enormous transaction costs to do so.

Basically, shouty entitled renters have not yet joined the mental dots and worked out that what's now happening to them is a consequence of things that they have been pushing for and cheering, and were warned about. Or they have, but they now feel stupid admitting it.

CLAPTON

beecher2 wrote: »

I think I'm right in saying that in Scotland the landlord can evict if he has the intent of selling within 3 months of the tenant leaving. That seems a bit of a better idea. There are 16 grounds for eviction which are listed in the pdf file I posted

so if a landlord has the intention of selling they can evict;
presumably there is no actual requirement to sell.

westernpromise

CLAPTON wrote: »

so if a landlord has the intention of selling they can evict;
presumably there is no actual requirement to sell.

In which case the whole thing is a waste of time. You just evict and the day after they leave you change your mind and re-let.

beecher2

CLAPTON wrote: »

so if a landlord has the intention of selling they can evict;
presumably there is no actual requirement to sell.

I assume they'd lose landlord registration for the property when they give the intention of selling.

ruggedtoast

westernpromise wrote: »

For tenants, yes. The rate of evictions - as in, proactive tenancy terminations by the landlord - has started to rise rapidly. Generation Rent admits this is at least partly because of landlords exiting. Their preferred explanation - that it's landlords selling to capture capital gains - does not work, because it does not account for why this should suddenly increase now, or why landlords would exit and then re-enter, paying enormous transaction costs to do so.

Basically, shouty entitled renters have not yet joined the mental dots and worked out that what's now happening to them is a consequence of things that they have been pushing for and cheering, and were warned about. Or they have, but they now feel stupid admitting it.

OK. I thought it was because there was a housing shortage caused in part by buy to let landlords monopolising housing using preferential financial products that aren't available to first time residential buyers, and then being mollycoddle by a government 30% comprised of buy to let landlords.

But I see now that its all the fault of tenants.

Because you explained it, using your expertise as a not at all shouty not in any way entitled buy to let landlord.

michaels

If landlords had trouble finding tenants for their properties at rents that cover their costs them I am sure they would offer contracts more preferable to the tenants. The fact that they do not suggests there is no lack of demand.

I do have an issue with the agents who try to go for 6/12 month asts that then need to be renewed at the tenants expense rather than just going on to rolling periodic. This seems like sharp practice to me and should be stamped out.