Another naive call for 5-year tenancies

GreatApe

So what do people think are the reasons for the rental sector to have expanded from about 2 million properties to now closer to 5.5 million properties? were the lows of the 2 million days a period of unsustainable low rentals or are todays figures of 5.5 million rentals high

michaels

GreatApe wrote: »

So what do people think are the reasons for the rental sector to have expanded from about 2 million properties to now closer to 5.5 million properties? were the lows of the 2 million days a period of unsustainable low rentals or are todays figures of 5.5 million rentals high

No housing shortage and you have fewer people per house and the economics tilts in favour of home ownership. More people and no more houses and economics now means that landlords are preferred.

Add in a banking crisis where changes risk attitudes meant lenders favoured those with capital and it was a quick reversal in numbers.

chucknorris

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Is there anything LL's do like?

Don't like tax changes, don't want to be regulated, don't want to have to licenced, don't want long term tenancies.

Seems as if they aren't really business people at all. As all too much effort. All they want is easy money for doing as little as possible. .

I don't like paying more tax, do you? I do of course agree with regulation, how else are housing standards going to be maintained and the poor protected? I don't agree with licensing, I think local councils see it mainly as a revenue source.

Back on the subject of longer tenancies, we have tried many times to get our tenants to sign up for longer rental contracts, they just won't do it, they prefer an initial year and then to be left on a periodical tenancy. But now that I am about to start slowly selling up, longer tenancies are irrelevant to me, I'll probably have sold nearly all my properties in the next 2-3 years (although my wife is hanging onto hers for longer). I am selling whenever a tenant gives me notice, the first tenant vacates this Friday, and I'm meeting with estate agents the following Wednesday.

System

Could you just have 5 years as long as no fault tenancies? So if they turn bad they can be evicted? I would've thought an option of (but not necessarily obligation of) longer contracts would be in the landlords interest, as long as the landlord can remove the bad

chucknorris

MatthewAinsworth wrote: »

Could you just have 5 years as long as no fault tenancies? So if they turn bad they can be evicted? I would've thought an option of (but not necessarily obligation of) longer contracts would be in the landlords interest, as long as the landlord can remove the bad

When the labour party were looking into longer tenancies, they were considering landlords having the right to possession if either the tenant defaulted or the landlord wanted to sell or move back in. I thought it was a reasonably good idea. But obviously the tenant should be forced into a longer tenancy duration. The only thing is though, the rental market might shrink, and in places like London (where rental demand is high) that might push prices up.

System

Going straight from 6months to 5 years is a huge step, I wonder if voluntary 1 or 2 year contracts could be an option, maybe especially if the tenant paid upfront

Zxcv_Bnm

I'm sure you could cut a deal with most landlords to stay 5 years and pay only RPI inflation on the rent, but he'd probably want to charge more for such a tenancy.

I reckon lots of tenants want a free option to stay 5 years but almost none would ever do so.

Thrugelmir

chucknorris wrote: »

I don't like paying more tax, do you? I do of course agree with regulation, how else are housing standards going to be maintained and the poor protected? I don't agree with licensing, I think local councils see it mainly as a revenue source.

Back on the subject of longer tenancies, we have tried many times to get our tenants to sign up for longer rental contracts, they just won't do it, they prefer an initial year and then to be left on a periodical tenancy. But now that I am about to start slowly selling up, longer tenancies are irrelevant to me, I'll probably have sold nearly all my properties in the next 2-3 years (although my wife is hanging onto hers for longer). I am selling whenever a tenant gives me notice, the first tenant vacates this Friday, and I'm meeting with estate agents the following Wednesday.

Was really a rhetorical question addressed at many of the more recent LL's.

CLAPTON

MatthewAinsworth wrote: »

Going straight from 6months to 5 years is a huge step, I wonder if voluntary 1 or 2 year contracts could be an option, maybe especially if the tenant paid upfront

in what way aren't 1 or 2 year contracts an option at the moment?

westernpromise

If someone wants a five year contract and someone else wants a year all they need do is offer the landlord more money, I'd think. If it's better than a short tenancy why are tenants not prepared to pay more for it?