should landlords be licenced?

dimbo61

I have only been a Landlord for 12 years but in that time I have seen so many changes.
EICR, Right to Rent, How to Rent, GSC, EPC, S21.
Fire safety and better security.
Mortgage Interest relief, 
Increased costs for nearly every aspect of being a LL.
Council licence and inspection plus costs involved.
Higher costs to borrow money and huge increase in due diligence by lenders.
Many small Landlords are getting out 

squizz11

dimbo61 said:

I have only been a Landlord for 12 years but in that time I have seen so many changes.
EICR, Right to Rent, How to Rent, GSC, EPC, S21.
Fire safety and better security.
Mortgage Interest relief, 
Increased costs for nearly every aspect of being a LL.
Council licence and inspection plus costs involved.
Higher costs to borrow money and huge increase in due diligence by lenders.
Many small Landlords are getting out 

I understand all that but I signed less than 6 months ago,   he must have stretched it to start  with to not be financially viable 5 and a half months later.

tenants are not commodities,  we have had a crap week with it being my wedding anniversary and my husbands birthday, both firsts without him,  then this.    its not a great way to live.

deannagone

I am sorry for your loss and realise how much stress you deal with just trying to get the best education you can for your sons.  I have two autistic sons too, about the same age who were quite stressed by a bad relationship breakdown and emotional fall out from that (not the same as your situation though).

I couldn't afford private rental costs in the same area when the only private rental LL I've ever had finally decided to sell.  Couldn't move areas easily due to services set up in the local area.  So I went the social housing route.  I have to be honest, it was stressful.., but I knew eventually we'd have as permanent housing as one can get whilst renting however bad the process was.  We were put in too small emergency housing in a sink estate - so lots of noise problems which did unsettle my sons (but at least I made a case for one room hostel accommodation not being an option due to my sons special needs).  Lots of gatekeeping on part of council but after a couple of years I was offered a 3 bed maisonette by the council.  And we'll be here as long as I need it. Repairs aren't brilliant but a lot better than provided by the LL I had.

Fortunately my council at the time didn't place people on the homeless register in private rentals (or out of borough) although the changes allowing that to happen occurred soon after we moved into permanent social housing.  For us it was the best solution for stable housing even though it wasn't a perfect solution..

There were more people needing private rentals than there were private rental properties even when I started this journey, its far worse now.  Rents have doubled.  I am paying 1/3 of what I would pay for a private rental (and ours was always cold due to a lack of insulation, bad build quality and useless boiler that the LL wouldn't replace no matter how often it broke down.)  Here we are warm.  Not in the nicest area, but good enough so ASBO type problems only happen occasionally.

But I'm not sure now we'd even be able to access social housing.

Look at what is going on with your council (look on their housing policy website, maybe that is an option for you).

Of course, you will need to take on board what your housing needs will be in a few years time now your sons are older and one is at university.  I knew my needs would remain unchanged and I'd probably need to provide housing for my sons for a considerable period of time because of their special needs..  

[Deleted User]

Just ban private landlords.

zagubov

[Deleted User] said:

Just ban private landlords.

I've been a landlord, and simultanously, a tenant.
I did my absolute best to do it properly, but it was difficult. I reckon it should involve training and licensing. I think that in some parts of the UK you do need a license.

I read years ago that free-market Singapore in the 1960s ended up with a cartel of landlords driving up living costs so they nationalised the rental housing stock which was pretty extreme for a country that idolised private enterprise.

Murphybear

[Deleted User] said:

Just ban private landlords.

How is that going to help?  There is a desperate  lack of social housing already, so what do you want to do with the tenants who would normally go into private housing, throw them onto the streets?  Remember many tenants rent their homes because they are not in a position to buy.  

[Deleted User]

[Deleted User] said:

Just ban private landlords.

Bit unfair to hijack the topic.

caprikid1

[Deleted User] said:

Just ban private landlords.

I think the problem with this is you will end up with a lack of competition and a very vanilla housing stock. Large landlords won't buy quirky country cottages, high spec'd detached houses because the returns are not there.

Kicking private landlords is not the solution , quality social housing at volume so people have a real choice.

Me and my partner let out a few properties we have previously owned and I have to say further legislation will encourage small landlords out of the market but I understand the frustration. The reason the OP is being evicted is not due to a lack of regulation and tax on landlords its the exact opposite. Me and my partner could be mortgage free but chose to run a lettings business and genuinely try and provide nice accommodation without rent increases and have never evicted anyone in 20 years.

If we increase the burden on private landlords we need to make sure social housing is ready to take up the slack , at this point in time it is far from it.

brianposter

Presumably the ideal solution is to ensure that a tenanted property is valued at much the same as an empty property so that there is no point in evicting a tenant in order to sell a property. To achieve that it would seem to be appropriate to make life easier for landlords and to try to ensure that housing provides a more predictable investment.

One solution might be to provide a different form of tenancy where the tenant, or maybe the freeholder, takes over more responsibility for maintenance.

diystarter7

Sorry about what has happened to you OP.

LL's are on the whole just people like you that have worked/working very hard to better their lives and at times don't have a pension etc and buy a property to let and may have two mortgages.

LL's in the last few years have been piled on with new rules/laws and in some areas almost every LL is licenced at a great cost to them.

LL's, the majority ensure the property is safe and good.

You will get the not so nice LL's but T's usually have the law backing them but LL's dont and can lose thousands inc tens of thousands and even their property and the one they live in.

IMO, you need to go to a council or HA for housing

LL's licencing would not have stopped you being evicted.