should landlords be licenced?

[Deleted User]

caprikid1 said:

[Deleted User] said:

caprikid1 said:

[Deleted User] said:

caprikid1 said:

[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.

That's what we already have.

And your plan to fix this is ? All you have suggested will make things worse ? Or is this a problem for the already hammered tax payers to fix ? The horrid sprawling run down council estates of the 70's not a pleasant or safe place to be.

Here's my plan.

Introduce a landlord tax. The tax will be based on local housing availability and affordability. The worse it is, the more tax they pay. The money get used to build new houses, for sale and for social housing. Built by the LA to a high standard, good size rooms, no obsolete equipment like gas boilers or radiators. Passivehaus standard. Sold at cost to FTBs.

Also introduce an empty home tax. It would be designed not to hurt people who just inherit property and then sell it on, only people who invest in property and then keep it empty long term.

I'd also bring in a scrappage scheme, where homes with low energy efficiency ratings can be sold, demolished and replaced with ones like I mentioned above. The owner would have to buy one of the new housing stock at a bit of a premium (the at-cost price would only be for FTBs).

A windfall tax would insulate other homes and pay for efficiency upgrades.

All this would create jobs and stimulate the economy, which it badly needs at this point. I'd also re-join the single market, or at least make it much easier and cheaper to import building materials.

I pay over 40% tax on my rental income ? How much income tax do you pay ? Or would I stop paying income tax and now pay a lesser local tax ? 

How much would make you sell up? That much.

[Deleted User]

3card said:

[Deleted User] said:

caprikid1 said:

[Deleted User] said:

caprikid1 said:

[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.

That's what we already have.

And your plan to fix this is ? All you have suggested will make things worse ? Or is this a problem for the already hammered tax payers to fix ? The horrid sprawling run down council estates of the 70's not a pleasant or safe place to be.

Here's my plan.

Introduce a landlord tax. The tax will be based on local housing availability and affordability. The worse it is, the more tax they pay. The money get used to build new houses, for sale and for social housing. Built by the LA to a high standard, good size rooms, no obsolete equipment like gas boilers or radiators. Passivehaus standard. Sold at cost to FTBs.

Also introduce an empty home tax. It would be designed not to hurt people who just inherit property and then sell it on, only people who invest in property and then keep it empty long term.

I'd also bring in a scrappage scheme, where homes with low energy efficiency ratings can be sold, demolished and replaced with ones like I mentioned above. The owner would have to buy one of the new housing stock at a bit of a premium (the at-cost price would only be for FTBs).

A windfall tax would insulate other homes and pay for efficiency upgrades.

All this would create jobs and stimulate the economy, which it badly needs at this point. I'd also re-join the single market, or at least make it much easier and cheaper to import building materials.

Surely this 'scheme' would drive most LL to sell their properties which would then leave a massive shortage of rental properties which obviously then causes big problem for the local councils

Please tell me where i have misunderstood

Yes, sell up to people who want to buy houses in areas where there is a shortage.

Most renters should be able to buy their homes from the LL. Maybe have some kind of scheme where the mortgage payment can't be more than the rent was, with some assistance to make up the difference.

That's kinda what they are doing, but in a way that makes things worse.

landsbeyondthesea

diystarter7 said:

I know of a few people who have worked very, very hard to buy and own their own property then set up something for their pension via a BTL.

Why did they not simply just work very, very hard and put money in one of many dedicated and tax efficient pension investment opportunities?

diystarter7

landsbeyondthesea said:

diystarter7 said:

I know of a few people who have worked very, very hard to buy and own their own property then set up something for their pension via a BTL.

Why did they not simply just work very, very hard and put money in one of many dedicated and tax efficient pension investment opportunities?

Simples really. They are the older generation that has more faith in bricks and mortar and all worked in warehouses/factory/builders/etc/etc. They've also heard too many frauds via so-called investments that
were frauds or don't deliver, that why.

FrankRizzo

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 

Other than higher costs to borrow these are important for tenants. I think an important point to make is that there are very little incentives for landlords anymore - covid furlough gov payments were an example of this where tenants received but did not pay landlords, the rent money should have really went straight to landlords.

FrankRizzo

diystarter7 said:

How about licencing prospective  tenants? EG, some sort of passport with insurance cover for when some don't pay rent, sub let and trash a property. This would make it easier all around. It will benefit T's and LL's.

great idea

FrankRizzo

A lot of landlords want to sell their portfolio and as a result often make small profit on each but are hit with capital gains tax making it not worth while. Gov should remove capital gains tax for landlords to encourage them to sell to first time buyers.

Murphybear

diystarter7 said:

Schwarzwald said:

Banning private landlords is not v smart idea i think. Is there even one country that has done that? I cant think of one, maybe an indication of how good the idea is.

i have some sympathy for a mandatory training or even call it license for any sort of landlord though to ensure they are aware of regulation at least when they start off.

generally i think the UK needs to overhaul its tenancy laws and regs as well as related tax system and simultaneously implement incentive systems that more houses are built / supply is increased, market becomes more liquid (lower transaction costs).

LL's have a legal duty re many things EG electrical certs, gas certs, and other H&S measures rightly so.
I know of a few people who have worked very, very hard to buy and own their own property then set up something for their pension via a BTL. One LL lost his BTL and his home when he met awful T's and could not get them out for over a year and they were not paying rent but pocketing money by sub letting and all of the time the LL has his legal obligations and constant faults created with heating etc which cost him more money and his health, his marriage and then lost everything.

You do get decent T's just like decent LL's but on some forums, it's just bashing the LL's 24/7. I'd love to be a LL and have a decent pension but  like the people I know I'd be a good LL and reward T's that looked after the place and paid their rent on time or told the LL re their genuine propblems and caught up with the rent later.

By all means, bash the LL's  but don't forget that the majority just like T's are decent people and not big corporations but people that are working hard, worked hard and did not throw their money away on smoking, hoildays and the latest mobile phones.

People rarely talk about good tenants and good LLs on forums.

I worked in the business for years and had hundreds of LLs and thousands of tenants through our books.  The number of trashed properties we had - zero.  The number who deliberately stopped paying the rent - 2 or 3 I can’t remember exactly.  One, who was on housing benefit but didn’t pay it to the LL, got taken to court and told the judge she used her HB to pay her mother’s debts  . The court awarded the LL £5 a week towards the debt.

We didn’t have any really bad LLs, some needed a bit of encouragement to get things done but nothing really serious.  

This was in mainly rural Devon, light years away from the big cities.  

If there’s one reform I’d like to see is it should be much easier to evict tenants who deliberately stop paying the rent.  

caprikid1

Murphybear said:

diystarter7 said:

Schwarzwald said:

Banning private landlords is not v smart idea i think. Is there even one country that has done that? I cant think of one, maybe an indication of how good the idea is.

i have some sympathy for a mandatory training or even call it license for any sort of landlord though to ensure they are aware of regulation at least when they start off.

generally i think the UK needs to overhaul its tenancy laws and regs as well as related tax system and simultaneously implement incentive systems that more houses are built / supply is increased, market becomes more liquid (lower transaction costs).

LL's have a legal duty re many things EG electrical certs, gas certs, and other H&S measures rightly so.
I know of a few people who have worked very, very hard to buy and own their own property then set up something for their pension via a BTL. One LL lost his BTL and his home when he met awful T's and could not get them out for over a year and they were not paying rent but pocketing money by sub letting and all of the time the LL has his legal obligations and constant faults created with heating etc which cost him more money and his health, his marriage and then lost everything.

You do get decent T's just like decent LL's but on some forums, it's just bashing the LL's 24/7. I'd love to be a LL and have a decent pension but  like the people I know I'd be a good LL and reward T's that looked after the place and paid their rent on time or told the LL re their genuine propblems and caught up with the rent later.

By all means, bash the LL's  but don't forget that the majority just like T's are decent people and not big corporations but people that are working hard, worked hard and did not throw their money away on smoking, hoildays and the latest mobile phones.

People rarely talk about good tenants and good LLs on forums.

I worked in the business for years and had hundreds of LLs and thousands of tenants through our books.  The number of trashed properties we had - zero.  The number who deliberately stopped paying the rent - 2 or 3 I can’t remember exactly.  One, who was on housing benefit but didn’t pay it to the LL, got taken to court and told the judge she used her HB to pay her mother’s debts  . The court awarded the LL £5 a week towards the debt.

We didn’t have any really bad LLs, some needed a bit of encouragement to get things done but nothing really serious.  

This was in mainly rural Devon, light years away from the big cities.  

If there’s one reform I’d like to see is it should be much easier to evict tenants who deliberately stop paying the rent.  

Unfortunately your anecdotal evidence does not fit the narrative that some on this forum would like to pedal and consider all landlords to do more damage to society than drug dealers.

no_moolah

My two cents: yes.

I've been lucky and had some good landlords in the past, renting as a tenant and a lodger. They were all reasonable and one of them always went above and beyond to sort repairs etc.

But recently I've had some friends who have experienced questionable landlord behaviour, and I'm currently advising a family member who's renting somewhere that doesn't even have planning permission to be used as accomodation (and that's just the tip of the iceberg). So my opinion based on experience is, yes, the majority of landlords are ok - some are even better than that - but the ones who don't meet their obligations cause such a disproportionate amount of headaches that some kind of licencing or approval scheme is surely necessary.

It would mean a little bit more time spent on paperwork for everyone, but it also would mean that the tenants currently taking the brunt of the 'bad' landlords by having to escalate issues etc can get some of their time back.