Landlords - are you selling up or will do when your tenants leave?

UnsureAboutthis

As above.
Also is you don't mind, just say what area of UK you live
in to give it greater context.

Will you, have you put up rents this year and if so by what percentage 
and was the amount less than last year/etc.

These new rules which 101% favour the tenants, when do you expect them to
become the law. In my view, it may be around mid 2026.

someone we know who has at least 20 rentals in se London is now selling
up when his tenants leave. A reletative is also thinking the same way. 
They don't want to take the risk of getting new people in and they trash the
place and leave 2/3 months later or even decent teannts leaving after a few
months as the time/effort/costs to find new lot, decor/risks etc
is not worth it

In your opinion, will the above stance by some Landlords push up rents?

Exodi

I can't comment on the former part of your question as I am not fortunate enough to own multiple properties, however on the second question 'will some landlords [exiting the market] push up rents?' I don't think it's as simple as one might think.

The knee jerk reaction might be yes, less properties being rented out equals less supply, and basic supply and demand economics show that where there is the same demand but less supply, prices will increase.

Though this answer is too simple, in my opinion. Firstly, we must consider that the property isn't being knocked down, it is being sold to someone else. The new owner may rent it out, they may have rented previously but have bought this house, etc. Secondly, even if we ignore this and assume the houses on the market will have no effect on rental demand, we could apply supply and demand economics again to realise that an increased supply of houses on the market might cause house prices to go down. You could then consider that if house prices were to decrease, whether that would have an impact on rents.

Then there is the legislation. The RRB amendments to section 13 will no longer allow contractual rent increases for private rental agreements (that is, clauses that increase the rent automatically by some form or index or percentage) and any existing agreements with such a clause would be void. While it will still remain possible to increase rent by a 'manual' statutory s13 rent increase with the relevant notice, I would expect that rental increases will decrease by volume, either due to inertia or avoidance of conflict.

That's also not touching upon the tribunal changes, or the aptly coined 'nothing to lose' challenges expected to be afforded to tenants.

Personally, I don't think there will be any significant impact. It seems the most vocal on this have conflicted interests, as they might prefer the Renters Reform Bill is not passed so of course would suggest it might be worse for tenants (by causing rents to go up). But it's such a complicated question, I am not qualified to answer it - just pointing out the potential nuance to the typical knee-jerk response to that question.

Nearlyold

We have 6 rentals, East Midlands, no mortgages. A cross section of property types, (and tenants, all of whom (touch wood) we get on with). Any maintenance issues are aready dealt with straight away. All properties are well insulated with modern boilers and smart controls etc.  We usually increse rents on an annual basis though that's not contractual.  No current plans to sell up. 

theartfullodger

Live in SE england.  Have one student let quite close, used to have 3 more houses in the highlands of scotland but sold (one a year due to CGT) as given i'm 77 & it's a 10 hour each way drive wanted out of those remote properties.

I'm not planning to sell my remaining property now or when tenancy ends. Quite happy to gamble on that being OK.  Have a number of pensions and various savings, shares, ISAs etc so risk spread as it is.  

Remember Proudhon's remark: "Property is theft" - see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre-Joseph_Proudhon

Good luck.  If you can't afford to gamble, well, don't 

Best wishes to all

Albermarle

Though this answer is too simple, in my opinion. Firstly, we must consider that the property isn't being knocked down, it is being sold to someone else. The new owner may rent it out, they may have rented previously but have bought this house, etc. Secondly, even if we ignore this and assume the houses on the market will have no effect on rental demand, we could apply supply and demand economics again to realise that an increased supply of houses on the market might cause house prices to go down. You could then consider that if house prices were to decrease, whether that would have an impact on rents.

Could also be that if more properties come on the market and prices decrease, more people currently renting could afford to buy their own home. So less rental demand.

tacpot12

I'm a landlord in South Yorkshire with just one property, but have been thinking about buying another. My 'plan' was to sell up when I started to find the process of managing the property starting to get too taxing. Like others I have a range of investments to support me in my retirement, and so am already familiar with the alternatives that I might invest in when the time comes to sell up. 

I'm not planning to sell up just because of the Renters Reform Act. I'm broadly sympathetic to the aims of the changes proposed in the legislation. I don't like the idea of having to register just to be a landlord as this seems to just be a cost with no benefit to me, but it's probably enevitable.

So for me, it still depends on why my tenants move out. If they move out next year, I won't sell up, but if they remain in the property for another ten years, that might well coincide with the point when I no longer want the problems of being a landlord. 

nakie999

I'm holding for now. One flat in Kent, no mortgage left, rent up 5% this year just to cover maintenance and insurance. Won't sell unless major repairs pop up.

Uriziel

I have looked at the bill now and I would definitely sell if I was a landlord. You essentially lose all ownership of the flat. If you have been a kind landlord and kept the rent down you would not be able to raise it to market value so you will always lag behind. I don't see why anyone would keep renting out. You will also not be able to ask them to leave and sell the property. It says you need to give a legitimate reason, which is what? If it goes to court they will side with the tenants. If you tell them you need it for your family they'll probably tell you that your family can rent elsewhere. If you need them to move so you can sell you will be told that the tenants can stay until you find a buyer or even until the buyer has a completion date which will put off most buyers.

user1977

Uriziel said:

I have looked at the bill now and I would definitely sell if I was a landlord. You essentially lose all ownership of the flat. If you have been a kind landlord and kept the rent down you would not be able to raise it to market value so you will always lag behind. I don't see why anyone would keep renting out. You will also not be able to ask them to leave and sell the property. It says you need to give a legitimate reason, which is what? If it goes to court they will side with the tenants. If you tell them you need it for your family they'll probably tell you that your family can rent elsewhere. If you need them to move so you can sell you will be told that the tenants can stay until you find a buyer or even until the buyer has a completion date which will put off most buyers.

Have you actually read the bill? The grounds for possession are those stated in Schedule 1. I can't see anything which gives the courts the discretion you are suggesting.

BungalowBel

We sold our (one) flat a year ago.  We didn't want to run the risk of not being able to evict unsuitable tenants (although in fact, we had never evicted anyone).  Our last tenants moved to a house as their daughter was getting older.  We felt the legislation was already too onerous and as we are in our seventies, decided to call it a day. We sold to an owner-occupier.

chrisw

Uriziel said:

I have looked at the bill now and I would definitely sell if I was a landlord. You essentially lose all ownership of the flat. If you have been a kind landlord and kept the rent down you would not be able to raise it to market value so you will always lag behind. I don't see why anyone would keep renting out. You will also not be able to ask them to leave and sell the property. It says you need to give a legitimate reason, which is what? If it goes to court they will side with the tenants. If you tell them you need it for your family they'll probably tell you that your family can rent elsewhere. If you need them to move so you can sell you will be told that the tenants can stay until you find a buyer or even until the buyer has a completion date which will put off most buyers.

There will be no problem increasing the rent to the market rate. The only new issue will be that there's no back dating if the tenants appeal.