BTL to be reviewed

Gorgeous_George

Maybe tenants would like to offer something in return for security of tenure. How about stamp duty based on the property value when they move in to a rental property (BTL, council or HA).

Thought not. That's not the level playing field either.

GG

HugoSP

Gorgeous_George wrote: »

Maybe BTL properties could be forced to register a change of use with the local council. Once registered as a BTL, reverting to owner occupier status would be at the discretion of the local planner. Equally, properties could have the BTL status removed if LLs failed to maintrain the property or failed to deal with anti-social tenants.

GG

In practice this would probably be too problematic as there are a lot of let properties that come into the rental market for 6 months at a time whilst their owners travel abroad etc.

All our BTLs have been subject to some works before the tenant moves in. Some have required a building certificate.

It seems that this could be a tool used by LAs to enforce minimum standards for BTLs. It needn't cost me any extra than the basic building control fee of some £50 plus vat to get an inspection, indeed this inspection could be incorporated into the BCO fee if one is required.

I would set the minimum requirements as:

1. Safe in terms of electrical and gas installations
2. Basic security and safe means of escape are present. Ie window and door locks, and windows and doors that can be opened.
3. Building in a fit and safe state to occupy, note it wouldn't have to be structurally sound in terms of no subsidance/movement, just that it will not collapse with the tenant inside it.
4. Building is essentially free of significant damp.
5. Effective sanitation and personal bathing facilities (fully functioning and clean bathroom with hot and cold running water)
6. Effective washing facilities in the kitchen (fully functioning kitchen sink).
7. Maintained to a hygenic standard (no unidentifyable dead things in the bathroom, gutter, kitchen, drains etc).
8. Internal decor and fabric is essentially in good order, ie no huge lumps of plaster coming off the wall.

95% of properties (owner occupied or tenanted) would fit the above criteria with little or no work needing to be done. Hence people wanting to let out their homes whilst working abroad etc would not normally have a mountain to climb, as by and large they want to maintaint those standards for themselves anyway.

In addition the tenant should have:

1. A means of contact for the landlord or his agent in the event of emergencies, so that damage caused by breakins or fire can be reported immediately.
2. In lieu of this the tenant can be provided with a contact number for service contracts and insurers who would act on the landlord or agents behalf in this respect. Hence the poster who appeared here on new years day trying to get her door fixed would have a clear line of communication and would not even have to post for advice here.
3. Service charter from the landlord to explain what can be expected in terms of repair turnaround etc.
4. Details of grievence procedures laid out for both parties in the event of failure to carry out essential repairs in a timely manner or non payment of rent.

...well, there's a start.

IMO this would shunt a lot of amature landlords out of the game and improve the quality of rented accomodation.

There is one BTL in my village that I looked at recently that needs a huge amount doing to it. The LL wants top dollar for it, and oddly enough it won't sell. It would fail at least some of the conditions criteria laid out above.

Enforcing standars would bring a lot of bad ex BTLs onto the market, giving FTBers an opportunity to snap them up at lower prices or other BTLs an opportunity to develop them and rent them out.

Gorgeous_George

I have to agree with all of that Hugo except many FTBers want to move in to a house that is fitted out with a new sofa from DFS on HP, 100 inch telly from the catalogue and no hard work like painting a wall.



GG

TenantRights

Hi Everyone,

I've been thinking for some time now about setting up, initially just a website, focusing on pulling together UK rental tenants, with a goal of campaigning to get at better deal for tenants

There is an increasingly large number of tenants now in the UK due to the plague-like spread of BTL, and renting has never been a more painful or intrusive experience than it is now

I've followed various forums for a few years now and sensed that most people felt the same, i.e. utterly fed up with the AST and the ability for landlords to dictate terms to tenants, and kick them out every 6 months, even if they pay their rent on time. There is also an ever increasing number of useless amateur landlords making our lives a misery

However, as far as I know, other than fantastic forums like this, there is no national, central website or organisation to pool together the various skills of the UK rental populace to fight for better rights for tenants, or just plain help each other out and share skills, ideas and experiences

I have no legal experience, nor do I work in the property industry, but for lack of someone else doing it, I would be very happy to get a website running, get a blog and forum online, and rely on the web community to spread the word on the internet, and amongst friends without access

My first concern, was how to get started on a campaign. Within a few weeks, I'm sure we could have a handful of bullet points to get started, but where to take them?

Well, we just got our answer with this BTL review

I know it seems a pointless exercise, who can win when going up against the might of the private landlord sector and its fans in Westminster, but really, we have to keep faith in our Democratic system and believe that if enough of us back something, we can bring about change

I'm not just talking about filling out a gov.uk petition either, this will need direct action and campaigning using the media and direct discussions with those responsible in local and national government

So, my reason for posting here is, should I go ahead and do this? Will I get backing and support?

Thanks
TenantRights

MissMoneypenny

Mrs_pbradley936 wrote: »

To get back to the subject of a social housing shortage, many people cannot afford to buy and renting is cheaper. I have an interest in the topic because I own property so I just did a simple calculation to illustrate the costs between buying and renting. I am using my own property as an example. It is a two bed flat approx 12 years old within easy commuting distance to London, it would cost around £140K to buy.

It currently rents for £675 a month. It would cost £902 per month to buy.

(100 per cent mortgage and 6% interest rate over 25 years)

In addition to the mortgage the buyer would have to pay the service charges of £80 per month. I pay those not the tenant.

I cannot see from these figures that private landlords are a problem

Based on your estimated buying price of £140,000.00

With a 10% deposit and a 5 year fixed 4.99, cost £744.25pm (25 years) or 682.26 (30 years) both repayment mortgages. Interest only would be £523.94.

With a 20% deposit, £661.55 (25 years) or £606.45 (30 years) both repayment mortgages. IO would be £464.73.

With a falling market and flats already taking a hit, the buying price could very well be a lot less than £140,000.00 and therefore a smaller mortgage and smaller mortgage repayments.

Gorgeous_George

TenantRights wrote: »

Hi Everyone,

I've been thinking for some time now about setting up, initially just a website, focusing on pulling together UK rental tenants, with a goal of campaigning to get at better deal for tenants....

There is no harm in trying. The important thing about any forum is the members. All forums get trolls and I guess what you propose will be the same. You shouldn't underestimate the hassle of moderating a forum.

This particular thread is not about canvassing opinion for your own aspirations. It's about discussing a potential revierwe of the rental sector and BTL in particular.

I'd like to see a requirement for a booklet to accompany the AST summarising tenant's and landlord's rights along with useful points of contact.

I fear the outcome will be something worthless - like HIPs.

GG

HugoSP

Gorgeous_George wrote: »

I have to agree with all of that Hugo except many FTBers want to move in to a house that is fitted out with a new sofa from DFS on HP, 100 inch telly from the catalogue and no hard work like painting a wall.



GG

Tell me about it!

Our flat that is now off the market was being viewed by FTBers, and one property investor.

All the FTBers said it needed too much work. The place is some £10k cheaper than others that are smaller. The only difference is that the interior doors and the kitchen may be a bit newer, but the whole flat is servicable.

If they want to pay an extra £10k on a flat that has had some new moulded interior doors, cheap B&Q kitchen and laminate kitchen floor then who am I to stop them. Or they could spend £10k less then do the work themselves for £3k, and choose the fittings themselves.

Having bought investment property myself, I am personally very suspicious if the interior is awash with fresh magnolia and the interior is staged. I would prefer to view it undecorated without giving any notice to the owners, so they don't even have a chance to tidy up. At least you can then decide if the smell is down to the shower not working or rising damp;) . Also if it needs decorating you can usually see defects like damp etc, if there are any.

Gorgeous_George

My BTL was so bad that I didn't bother with a survey. Seven months of hard work later and it's a little palace - until the tenants trashed it!

GG

Sapphire

brit1234 wrote: »

Buy to let and loose lending have been causing the problems the last 7 years. Half my generation have put their lives on hold whilst the other half are mortgaged up to their eyes.

If you look at any new development you will find they have been targeted at landlords with a small corner set aside for shared ownership.

People in this country being encouraged to look on property as investments rather than places to live have been largely responsible for the massive and unsustainable hikes in property prices, which have priced out would-be first-time buyers.

CYBERCIDERSAVER

subjecttocontract wrote: »

I believe the poster is eluding to the situation where BTL investors can offset their mortgage interest against tax and FTB'ers can't.

If it happens it might cause some serious problems as large numbers of BTL investors sell up thereby significantly reducing the private rented housing stock. Less rented accomodation available.....just when there is massive shortage of rented property.

To sell up now ( and quickly ) would be no mean feat unless the property was priced low and that would allow people currently priced out of the market back (like me!!!):rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Meaning the house I am renting takes the place of the one I am buying

And of course everyone lives happily ever after:hello: