Renters right Bill.

pope

Hi I have a question about the new Renters rights Bill law the government is planning on bringing in. Reading on GOV guide it seems like that it's going to become a real struggle for landlords with so much legislation. Abolishing section 21 and if landlord fails register a property with the PRS large penalties. And so much more.

What are peoples opinions on this are landlords selling up ?

What are the chances that this law will actually come into force?

Thank you.

user1977

pope said:

What are the chances that this law will actually come into force?

Verging on 100% given it's a government bill and they have a big majority.

RHemmings

In this forum, general discussion on house prices and the economy are not allowed. 

One thing I will say: people who are landlords are going to have to do the job very diligently. We do see posts on here where a landlord will ask 'can anyone tell me how to service notice on a tenant?' Being a landlord without having the knowledge and diligence to dot all i's and cross all t's isn't going to work any more. 

I'm deliberately not commenting on how that may change the rental market. 

theartfullodger

There have always been law changes in renting properties, swinging the pendulum in favour of  landlord or tenant as parliament sees fit.  (Eg, ok Scotland, leases act 1449). It's reality, what did you think was going to happen.

Again Scotland (come on England, catch up) breach of landlord registration has a £50k maximum - sadly rarely enforced. And s21 equivalent was abolished there some years ago, the sky did not fall in.  As a landlord there I myself saw no significant impact - indeed prospective tenants would tell me they were pleased to find I was who they thought landlord was, having checked first (free, 24/7…more catching up to do).

Any prudent landlord (I've been one since 2000 with brief period in the 1980s) should be planning on there being legal changes and profit or loss changes also.  

Part of life, many might say "deal with it" .

Best wishes to all.  Preferably all who abide by the law.

BungalowBel

pope said:

Hi I have a question about the new Renters rights Bill law the government is planning on bringing in. Reading on GOV guide it seems like that it's going to become a real struggle for landlords with so much legislation. Abolishing section 21 and if landlord fails register a property with the PRS large penalties. And so much more.

What are peoples opinions on this are landlords selling up ?

What are the chances that this law will actually come into force?

Thank you.

Already sold up last September due to this Bill.  You're right, too much paperwork and legislation for a small landlord.

ReadySteadyPop

theartfullodger said:

There have always been law changes in renting properties, swinging the pendulum in favour of  landlord or tenant as parliament sees fit.  (Eg, ok Scotland, leases act 1449). It's reality, what did you think was going to happen.

Again Scotland (come on England, catch up) breach of landlord registration has a £50k maximum - sadly rarely enforced. And s21 equivalent was abolished there some years ago, the sky did not fall in.  As a landlord there I myself saw no significant impact - indeed prospective tenants would tell me they were pleased to find I was who they thought landlord was, having checked first (free, 24/7…more catching up to do).

Any prudent landlord (I've been one since 2000 with brief period in the 1980s) should be planning on there being legal changes and profit or loss changes also.  

Part of life, many might say "deal with it" .

Best wishes to all.  Preferably all who abide by the law.

Good advice.

chrisw

I've found that the Independent Landlord website and accompanying YouTube videos are great for getting an understanding of what the changes and EPC proposals mean and implications.

https://theindependentlandlord.com/

Mr.Generous

Lots of landlords are going to sell when current tenants leave. RRB will become law, probably go live around Oct / November this year. Because of capital gains tax many landlords will only sell 1 per year, but look to offload any with a low energy performance certificate sooner rather than later. Government announced today looking at stopping universal credit payments (for tenants in arrears) going direct to landlord. The private sector rental market is changing, landlords won't take a chance any more. No more up front payments for those who can't pass the financial checks, much more likely that a guarantor will be required.

The demand for rentals is steadily rising, the supply is going to drop with the exception of corporate build to rent - they will be expensive and take the best tenants, and HMO's for those who struggle. Landlords in between will see rents rising and tenants desperate to stay if in place, or desperate to get a place if not.

That's my view. I follow quite a few landlords online and many are selling up, but I personally know 3 other landlords plus myself making 4. One is selling up, none plan to buy any more.

Before the energy performance rules come into force 2030 many more will sell, I will offload 1 old terrace but keep the remaining houses as all will easily reach EPC grade C. Youmight see a bigger fall in supply in 2028/2029 because of the time frame to get evictions, and the inevitable drop in price for typical ex-rental homes.

motorman99

I’m a landlord with 3 rentals…..and I can tell you that from now on as contracts expire etc and they move out, absolutely NO ONE is getting a new tenancy unless they have a property owning, working guarantor. Even if it means less rent pcm, no guarantor, no deal thank you. 

slpj

I'm a landlord too. Just one property, a 2 up 2 down semi in good condition; I used to live in it, and became a landlord only because house prices crashed and I wouldn't/couldn't take a loss. 32 years so far. Same tenants for the last 19 years. EPC level E, but that does not mean the house is cold or expensive to heat.

I can't afford to attain EPC level C. A waste of money anyway.

Then there is the so called "Decent Homes Standard" about to be foist on the PRS. Nothing wrong in principle, as there are no doubt a minority of bad landlords with very poor properties.

BUT, attaining the minimum standard, may well be ridiculously/ruinously expensive.

Read the guide 2006 is the latest version.

Section 4.4
Dwellings which fail to meet this criterion are those which lack three or more of the following:
● a reasonably modern kitchen (20 years old or less); ● a kitchen with adequate space and layout;
● a reasonably modern bathroom (30 years old or less);
It's proposed that this is the MINIMUM STANDARD.

A new decent home standard is being consulted on. Do you expect it will be watered down? I don't.

Why should I, -- even if I could afford to, -- be made to rip out a perfectly good kitchen and bathroom, just because they are deemed too old, to meet someone else's arbitary standard of 'modern'?

The rest of the RRB doesn't bother me. It's pretty well fair enough.

My tenants want to stay, but if those upgrade costs become a reality, they will be evicted under the new section 8, eviction due to selling the property.

Madness as far as I'm concerned.

Yes it will become law. There is no stopping it. I see no evidence that the most damaging clauses won't be included.

My guess is, most 'small' landlords, will be forced to sell up, even if they wouldn't have done so orherwise.

But only time will tell.

I'm awaiting the final details to make my own decision.

 

October22Mover

slpj said:

BUT, attaining the minimum standard, may well be ridiculously/ruinously expensive.

Read the guide 2006 is the latest version.

Section 4.4
Dwellings which fail to meet this criterion are those which lack three or more of the following:
● a reasonably modern kitchen (20 years old or less); ● a kitchen with adequate space and layout;
● a reasonably modern bathroom (30 years old or less);
It's proposed that this is the MINIMUM STANDARD.

 

Having just read the section of the guide you're referring to, you've missed out some lines which make it clear you do not need to remodel the kitchen and bathroom if they are already in good condition:

Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-decent-home-definition-and-guidance

"4.4 Dwellings which fail to meet this criterion are those which lack three or more of the following:

• a reasonably modern kitchen (20 years old or less);
• a kitchen with adequate space and layout;
• a reasonably modern bathroom (30 years old or less);
• an appropriately located bathroom and WC;
• adequate insulation against external noise (where external noise is a problem) and
• adequate size and layout of common areas for blocks of flats.

4.5 A home lacking two or fewer of the above is still classed as decent, therefore it is not necessary to modernise kitchens and bathrooms if a home meets the remaining criteria."

So you won't need to "rip out a perfectly good kitchen and bathroom" as long as you meet the other criteria - all of which seem pretty reasonable.

I do agree though that setting requirements around EPC ratings is stupid because the ratings just reflect a list of features. The flat we rent at the moment has a rating of D, but you could leave the heating off all winter and the temperature never, ever drops below about 16.5C - we know this because we have a smart thermostat and can see what temp the flat gets to when we are away. We have a panel system on one of the walls that isn't well-insulated and seems to be what keeps the rating down, but our landlord put up heavy floor to ceiling curtains over those walls and they do the trick at keeping in the heat.