Labour Brings in excellent Renter's Rights - long overdue.

BBC NEWS | UK | Scotland | First-time buyers at record low share.google/pzDjPkRsyMLTubKAn

Ilovecheese

How will it leadto a shortage of properties? The properties will still exist even if they are sold. They are not going tobe demolished

I think it will lead to an even grater shortage of rental properties. Of course the properties will still exist but the point is that not everyone can afford a deposit and a mortgage, especially when they are starting out. For instance, I had to rent for six years before I was able to save up enough for a deposit and get on the property ladder and I was by no means unusual.

An increasing number of people may never manage to move out of a rental property. The huge reduction in council properties available has also had an impact.

People may not have realised that many councils own housing associations. A surprising number of "council" rental properties are coming on to the market, but they're no longer branded as council homes. Some housing associations are also offering shared ownership schemes, which are a realistic option for people to get on the housing ladder. Housing associations usually own whole blocs but they also buy individual flats and houses and are in competition with the private market. A glut of property suitable for rental would benefit housing associations and potential tenants.

eazybee

Letting a rental property is a business, not a charity,

The level of mis-understanding on here is frightening.

they will just have to out on their big pants and suck it up.
(no more) high rents to pay someone else's mortgage or give them what is effectively free money.
How will it lead to a shortage of properties? The properties will still exist even if they are sold. They are not going to be demolished

As usual, not thought through.

There is a misquote in your italics. I said (on Page 1) that my children (early 30s) have managed to buy houses, but only recently, because of high rents to pay someone else's mortgage or give them what is effectively free money. I don't know where the 'no more' came from. Did you add it?

Anyway, in response to my actual words, I stand by them. It is very difficult for young people paying high rents to save for a deposit at today's house prices, and rents do go to pay mortgages for some LLs, and to top up the bank accounts of those who have paid for the homes they rent out. When mortgage rates rise, LLs often say they have to cover their costs by putting up the rent, so the tenants are paying for the LL's assets as well as for the right to live in their homes.

What was 'not thought through' in the words I wrote? With the added '(no more)' they don't make sense, but they are (I assume) your words, not mine. You may disagree that it's hard to pay high rents and save for a deposit, but it would be more persuasive if you said why you disagree instead of altering what I said and calling it 'frightening' and 'not thought through'.

In my locality a Reform candidate is standing for the council because she is a private landlord and wants to change things back again.

It seems Labour really are getting to some people and that can only be a good thing...

Hmm. I bet she doesn't tell low income renters.

Wyllow3

Hmmm.

Just look, for a moment, how GB news has presented this good news.

www.gbnews.com/money/landlord-tenants-renters-rights-act

" ‘I’m forced to sell my property as the reforms are highly damaging': Landlord warns tenants will pay the price".

Surprised? No.

I'm very much in favour of the new rights but have a strong feeling that those who are middle-income landlords will miss out while the very rich landlords will still thrive.

I do wish the government would strengthen the tax system so the rich pay as great a share on the money they make while the are sleeping as the middle and lower income do on the money they make from working.

Downside, rental properties have been sold and so there are less on the market.

Five LLs I know have now sold (one with 2 houses and the others 1 each) in my town. So that's 6 good family homes not available to families who, for whatever reason are not buying a house.
ALL of the LLs told me they were 'wary' of the new reforms.
Their investment, their choice but it's so very sad.

I think it depends on perspective. Houses are not being lost to the system, the total housing stock is still the same. If more people can afford to buy their own house because more affordable, previously rented homes are for sale, that is good for them. The issue is that there is a lag for renters, as there is in Wales, where similar legislation was introduced earlier. More council and social housing is now being developed here, but it takes time and in the meantime there is a shortage of rented property.

Part of the problem, the housing stock's the same, but it doesn't meet the demands of an increasing population.

keepcalmandcavachon

Five LLs I know have now sold (one with 2 houses and the others 1 each) in my town. So that's 6 good family homes not available to families who, for whatever reason are not buying a house.
ALL of the LLs told me they were 'wary' of the new reforms.
Their investment, their choice but it's so very sad.

The houses still exist; that isn't the problem. They will house someone. I would put it squarely with the lack of council housing. Sixty years ago the people living in council houses were nurses, teachers, lower-level management along with those just getting by or starting out. Now these people have to pay exorbitant rents. Some do manage to go on and buy there own homes but it is more and more difficult to do so. Slowly but surely the very wealthy are owning all the assets.

But we cant allow the appalling situation for some renters to continue, we have to keep their situation in mind.

This move is being taken protect people - families -being thrown out usually so the landlord can further put prices up in a racketeering manner, tho they have done nothing wrong:

desperate circumstances, losing their homes when good tenants.

Us with private homes talk about many issues, shall we do this or that on it, should we downsize, how we love our house

Imagine after years being told "you have to get put within X days"

I think we are rather missing this point, as it cant be allowed to continue.

So, do you think the rental market ending up in the hands of the very rich will improve things the way you want Willow? Good luck with that.

Another LL friend had over 200 responses after putting her property up for rental. Within a day!
A family I know are preparing to house hunt again for the forth time in 5 years as their rented home is to be sold. It's dire.
A 3 bed with parking around here will rent for £1600, and with the decreasing stock available surely it will become -
A- more difficult to rent.
B- then more difficult to save, whilst renting for a deposit.

It's good to get the balance right between landlord and tenant.

But some small landlords will sell fearing problems, especially about evicting tenants who trash property, etc., given the legal costs, the slow progress of court hearings and the tendency of courts to allow time for tenants (even the worst ones) to find new accommodation.

I guess that downside has to be accepted in the interests of the majority.

Well, DAR, its worth looking at Scotland:

"Key details regarding the Scottish rental market:

Landlord Exodus: Increased regulations, higher costs, and a desire to avoid new rules are causing many small landlords to sell their properties, according to reports in and.

The Buyer Landscape: While many rental properties are being sold into owner-occupation, there is also a shift towards larger corporate entities and professional 'build-to-rent' schemes, as discussed in and.

Tenant Impact: While reforms aim to provide security, the decrease in private landlords is reducing overall rental stock, leading to higher rents and a potential rise in corporate ownership of rental properties.

Proposed Policy Changes: The Scottish National Party (SNP) has proposed giving tenants "first refusal" to purchase their homes when a landlord sells, aiming to tackle the issue of available housing, as reported by.

Despite the fears of a total buy-up by corporations, a significant portion of homes from selling landlords are being purchased by individuals for owner-occupation

So yes, there is now a move but not wholesale for big companies buying them up: but surely for the renter, what matters is not who the landlord is, but how they treat their clients.

And that means that investment in property will now become part of portfolios for firms who pay our work pensions, and the people working in big firms will get jobs:

it depends if the big companies are owned by individuals get rich quick or corporate firms.

And how, as I have said, properties are managed.

There are plenty of small landlord who treat their tenants like *hit, making money quickly by not doing essential repairs. Possibly, as they have stretched resources to the limits and they cannot afford to do repairs, to make a quick buck

By the way, remember properties built to rent are being built, and it's not the small Landlord able to do this.

We clearly have to also build more social housing: every agrees with that in theory, except we hit the NIMBY's: and councils need more financial support to do so, when between 40 and 60% of their incomes go on Social Care

it could be possible for example, just as builders now are asked to build some low cost housing as part of a development, to demand the same of big corporations, ie they have to build more houses/flats as part of their enterprise.

But I can see no overriding reason to allow the current dire situation to remain for renters

In Wales, the majority of new affordable housing is being built by housing associations, supported by government grants. More council houses are being built too. The target is 20,000 additional affordable homes by the end of 2026.
There will still be a shortfall, but that doesn’t mean that the initiative is wasted, and hopefully will continue under the next government here.
The housing market has been going badly for renters for many years, I don’t think there is a magic bullet, but in the longer term I think all these moves will be beneficial to renters and people who want to buy an affordable home.

Grantanow

It's good to get the balance right between landlord and tenant.

But some small landlords will sell fearing problems, especially about evicting tenants who trash property, etc., given the legal costs, the slow progress of court hearings and the tendency of courts to allow time for tenants (even the worst ones) to find new accommodation.

I guess that downside has to be accepted in the interests of the majority.

I absolutely agree that there should be proper action taken against those who trash property. There is no excuse for that. I'm thinking aloud here, so this might be a daft idea, but would it work (or even be possible) to have rents paid direct to LLs from salary? That would mean that it would be impossible to default, and would also mean that LLs had to declare income for tax. I'm thinking on the lines of child maintenance payments, so the money goes out before it hits the tenants' bank accounts. I suppose that would work in large organisations with separate payroll departments, but in small companies it could be intrusive for employers to know that sort of information.

I do agree that there has to be a balance, and that good LLs shouldn't be faced with arrears and vandalism of their properties. Those things are a separate problem, but need to be dealt with too.

I think that people shouldn't be denied the right to keep pets, but also that they should be legally responsible for any damage (including smells) at the end of the tenancy.

The trouble is that too big a percentage of people's income is going out in rent because landlords see 'market rate' as equivalent to 'fair rent'. Perhaps a formula could be reached, where rents have to stay at a percentage of the average local property values? Or could there be centralised agencies, with tenants paying rent to them, and applying to them for repairs and maintenance, and the LL being paid direct and being unable to avoid keeping to their side of the bargain with repairs. The agencies could have the power to retain rent until repairs are done, or to manage maintenance themselves. So I suppose a bit like the old council house system, but with private landlords. The LLs would pay the agencies in the same way they do private agents, and if the system were compulsory the costs would (I assume) come down. Would that sort of thing make it fairer all round?

westendgirl

.Oh dear. It seems that whatever the Labour Party does there I are posters who are determined to dismiss the idea as no good .
Wonder why the Conservative party didn't build thousands of properties for social housing in their 14 year spell.

Why didn’t Labour during their 13 (?) year term, repeal or amend the Right to Buy law that they love to abhor? Could it possibly be because they thought it’d lose them votes?

keepcalmandcavachon

Another LL friend had over 200 responses after putting her property up for rental. Within a day!
A family I know are preparing to house hunt again for the forth time in 5 years as their rented home is to be sold. It's dire.
A 3 bed with parking around here will rent for £1600, and with the decreasing stock available surely it will become -
A- more difficult to rent.
B- then more difficult to save, whilst renting for a deposit.

The one I specifically know about, the estate agent took it off the market after one morning of viewings.

Personally, I think the new rules have already made things a whole heap lot worse for renters. Sadly.

Witzend

westendgirl

.Oh dear. It seems that whatever the Labour Party does there I are posters who are determined to dismiss the idea as no good .
Wonder why the Conservative party didn't build thousands of properties for social housing in their 14 year spell.

Why didn’t Labour during their 13 (?) year term, repeal or amend the Right to Buy law that they love to abhor? Could it possibly be because they thought it’d lose them votes?

I don’t think that can have been a major factor, the right to buy has been repealed years ago in both Scotland and Wales, and it hasn’t affected voting patterns to any visible degree?

American companies, BlackRock and Blackstone are heavily invested in the UK property rental markets, being asset management companies I can't think they're doing it for ultruistic reasons. Whilst we live in a global world, selling off infrastructure to foreign conglomerates hasn't particularly worked well, as far as utilities are concerned. In fact why should we expect to such bodies to give a damn about the by product on their investment, they're only interested in the bottom line. Look no further than some of our water companies, 70% in foreign ownership, that's gone well

The trouble is that too big a percentage of people's income is going out in rent.

We urgently need rents caps.

An example from just up the road. A former 3 bedroomed council house was sold recently for £220,000 and is now to let for £2,000 a month.

Who can afford £24,000 year in rent without needing to claim housing benefit?

With a 5% deposit and a 30 year mortgage, a family could have bought that to live in themselves and would be paying around £1,170 a month, doable for a couple both working.

We need rents capped to (say) what a family needing a 95% mortgage would pay so that landlords can’t profiteer in this way.

Remember the change in the law does not affect the right of Landlords still to remove tenants who destroy their property or act in an extremely unsociable manner or do not pay their rent

We seem to have forgotten that in some posts above.

How are the naysayers going to protect good decent tenants if this law is not enacted

The move towards bigger companies buying up rental properties will happen anyway.

Check out the fund that pays you your pension if it's not a state pension. They invest in these larger companies and soon might be paying you your pension.

Ethical investment funds will have to distinguish between good and bad companies.

I ask again

how will we protect good renters without this legislation

Naysaying the new laws will not deal with this currently appalling situation