No Fault Evictions

[Phil Pascoe]

They don't need to - the SNP has already done it in Scotland and as a result totally messed up the housing market north of the border.

Remember - there is no situation that a politician cannot make worse.

The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help.

Ronald Reagan

 

[Fergie 307]

Because the claim is that landlords supply properties but the vast majority of them do not, they obtain existing properties.
In other words they are useless, nobody needs them, except for their fairly simple property management services which in general they don't perform at all well.
Secondly their domination of the market and profiteering pushes rents up to the highest level possible, with the lowest quality of service possible.
They are a social problem.

And your sources for this sweeping generalisation?
Is there any particular reason that you are so convinced that the majority of landlords are evil people out to screw their tenants.
Certainly not the case in my experience.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

In 1990 average house prices were a multiple of ~3.5 times salary. Currently they are ~9 times salary.

The conclusion - house prices are driven largely, but not only by monthly mortgage repayments.

My father build and sold two bed bungalows in about 1958 - 59 and sold them for £999 - I don't know what the wage was at that time, but I suspect that was maybe 3 times salary. I know in 1967 he had labours working weekends to take home £10 a week.

Dramatic price increases came with the huge reductions in interest rates - the lender is concerned only with whether the borrower can keep up the payments, not with which part of the debt is actually being repaid. Instead of a monthly payment on e.g. a £30,000 house, you could for the same payment get a £40,000 house, so I for one wasn't remotely surprised when £30,000 houses became £40,000.

 

[mark w]

Because we will sell them.

We are providing a service.
Until the law is changed to permit local authorities to control the planning and building of homes to rent, someone needs to supply homes. The culture in this country is to regard home ownership as the ideal, until politicians don’t pander to that notion and permit the land speculators euphemistically described as builders control the supply, private landlords will be one of the vital providers of homes.

If you sell them they are still there,

Because we will sell them.

We are providing a service.
Until the law is changed to permit local authorities to control the planning and building of homes to rent, someone needs to supply homes. The culture in this country is to regard home ownership as the ideal, until politicians don’t pander to that notion and permit the land speculators euphemistically described as builders control the supply, private landlords will be one of the vital providers of homes.

If you sell your houses they will still exist, you are not providing housing you are offering a house or houses for rent, not an affordable rent either, a lot of people who rent claim some sort of benefit which in turn usually offers some sort of rent subsidy to cover your high rent.
Currently housing associations provide housing with affordable rents, they can, if they can afford it build houses too (most can't because of underfunding).
You are not providing a service to your community, in fact you are probably costing the tax money who cover the cost, either in full or partly, of the rent you charge. It can be the case that tax payers are covering the cost of other peoples mortgages, an insane situation.
Take the landlord out of the situation and let the state cover the cost of a families mortgage, probably work out cheaper in the long term.
I note you didn't comment on the profit you make out of the "service" you provide.

 

[Terry - Somerset]

Glad to hear it! The more get offered for sale the lower the price.

Unless there are more properties this merely substitutes a shortage of homes to buy with a shortage of houses to rent. As a generality those at the bottom of the economic pile with most of life's challenges will still be unable to buy and have nowhere to rent.

But most landlords don't. They buy and exploit existing homes.

Landlords do not exploit existing homes, they provide essential flexibility in the housing market.

Some landlords wrongly exploit tenants - there should be swift and simple remedies to stop and punish offenders. Some tenants exploit landlords, damaging property and failing to pay agreed rent. Similarly swift and effective remedies are needed.

As mentioned - most don't provide homes. They are redundant, nobody needs them.

A ridiculous argument - you may as well suggest we don't need supermarkets as they don't grow the food, we don't need bus companies as they don't build buses.

As for energy companies - all elements of the supply chain from well to fuel tank are just exploiting mother earths bounty so we don't need them either.

 

[deema]

Seems you have never been to Shanghai. One housing community likely has the same population As most Scottish towns and it takes significantly less time commuting from one side if Shanghai to the other than it does to do the same in Devon.
Shanghai has one of the best public transport systems in the world.
If everyone wants to live in London, the British population needs to adapt to living vertically in skyscrapers like they do in China, Singapore, Hong Kong. These apartments can be more comfortable to live than your standard semi-detached.
The future is up, not out.

Used to run a company there and one in Beijing. Very very familiar along with the commute! I suggest you try it!

 

[Phil Pascoe]

And your sources for this sweeping generalisation?
Is there any particular reason that you are so convinced that the majority of landlords are evil people out to screw their tenants.
Certainly not the case in my experience.

My friend has been a landlord for 40 years. He has had tenants for nearly that long who all say he is a great landlord. He has also been seen off over those years for many £10,000s.

 

[Terry - Somerset]

The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help.

Ronald Reagan

I always thought the words were "I'm from head office ..................."

 

[Jacob]

And your sources for this sweeping generalisation?

The facts

Is there any particular reason that you are so convinced that the majority of landlords are evil people out to screw their tenants.

I didn't say the majority - but there's a lot of it about.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-67914836

 

[Phil Pascoe]

That's the social housing you're so fond of, not private lets.

 

[Limey Lurker]

I have just (last Friday) been able to get a tenant evicted on a "No Fault eviction" first time in 25 years as a landlord. Owed £3000 in Rent, £1000+ damage to property, legal costs £250 and it's going to be at least 3 weeks before the place is fit to rent again.

Spend the last two days cleaning dog mess off the kitchen floor, replacing kick boards and 5 cupboard doors on new kitchen, just the tip of the iceberg, every carpet in the house new when he moved in is damaged some must be replaced, plasterer coming in Friday as the dogs he didn't tell me he was bringing stripped a wall. It's taken since January to shift him. If I had had to go down the fault route it would have been another 12 weeks and £1500 legal costs even if he left before I had to pay bailiffs to shift him. Found out he stopped paying gas and electricity, probably council tax as well and he did the same to a previous landlord.

Just hoping when they end no fault eviction they do something to speed up this process.... not holding my breath landlords are an easy target, it's all unearned income after all. Perhaps they will even build the houses we need to bring rent down to sensible levels that people can afford and stop people turning streets into endless HMOs that exploit the tenants and wreck my business.

End of Rant

Thatcher repealed the Fair Rent Act on the grounds that "Rents will find their own level".

 

[Jacob]

...

A ridiculous argument - you may as well suggest we don't need supermarkets as they don't grow the food, we don't need bus companies as they don't build buses.
...

No I do recognise the "service" aspect of it but they don't really compare.
Not least because the actual active service needed to run a rented property is tiny, as compared to running even a single bus as a service!
The bus driver or owner gets paid for the work he does, the capital required is a detail.
The landlord gets paid because he owns the property, the capital is all, even if his service is abysmal. He is paid because he owns the thing, not for the service he runs.
In fact you have hit on some fundamentals; the difference between the "rentier" class who live by owning, and the "working" class who live by working. Boundaries are never clear of course and most people do a bit of both.

 

[Jacob]

Thatcher repealed the Fair Rent Act on the grounds that "Rents will find their own level".

and they do - the highest level possible and generally beyond the means of the low paid. Driven higher by housing benefits etc. A perfect storm of positive feedback.
They would find their own level better if there were no housing benefits and rents controlled to an affordable level for tenants. House prices would follow.
Rule of thumb used to be housing cost one third of income, or something along those lines.

 

[Majimoto]

I have just (last Friday) been able to get a tenant evicted on a "No Fault eviction" first time in 25 years as a landlord. Owed £3000 in Rent, £1000+ damage to property, legal costs £250 and it's going to be at least 3 weeks before the place is fit to rent again.

Spend the last two days cleaning dog mess off the kitchen floor, replacing kick boards and 5 cupboard doors on new kitchen, just the tip of the iceberg, every carpet in the house new when he moved in is damaged some must be replaced, plasterer coming in Friday as the dogs he didn't tell me he was bringing stripped a wall. It's taken since January to shift him. If I had had to go down the fault route it would have been another 12 weeks and £1500 legal costs even if he left before I had to pay bailiffs to shift him. Found out he stopped paying gas and electricity, probably council tax as well and he did the same to a previous landlord.

Just hoping when they end no fault eviction they do something to speed up this process.... not holding my breath landlords are an easy target, it's all unearned income after all. Perhaps they will even build the houses we need to bring rent down to sensible levels that people can afford and stop people turning streets into endless HMOs that exploit the tenants and wreck my business.

End of Rant

His references made no mention of his history of non payments?

 

[deema]

His references made no mention of his history of non payments?

An interesting point, now imagine your a landlord with a ‘ wonderful’ tenant you want to get out and a reference request appears…..would you mention the arrears / what a terrible person they are? If you do, and are not ultra careful how you word it, the tenant will have the ability to take to you to court over it! So, the bad tenants get passed around.

Its illegal to create a web site that landlords are able to rate tenants! I know I thought about creating it.

My son runs an estate agency that also manages rental properties for landlords. I can say that the majority of private landlords are seriously looking to exit. That’s every single family who presently have a home will be evicted, and try to find accommodation in the area with even more limited supply of rental properties. Yep, rents will go through the roof, and there will be a lot of displaced homeless people. I’m sure all those pushing for these reforms will be opening up their spare rooms and taking them in. Their socialist concisions will not allow them to be homeless…..oh, but they wont and instead blame the conservatives for not building more houses, or greedy landlords, in fact anyone apart from themselves for making a total mess of an already messed up market.

 

[Jacob]

.....I can say that the majority of private landlords are seriously looking to exit.

Good, but apparently not true, just a rumour.

That’s every single family who presently have a home will be evicted,....

Not if Labour come up with some civilised rent controls including end of no fault evictions and other security of tenure measures. Long overdue.

 

[deema]

There is already rent control, contrary to what most people believe. Tenants can appeal their rent rise and unless it’s within guidelines the they will win and the landlord will be forced to change the rent. Sounds all very good doesn’t it? Well, the cost of maintaining a property has sky rocketed, materials have at least doubled, labour has as well over the past couple of years. With a push to build more houses and insufficient skilled people to build them labour costs will continue to rise significantly. Landlord Insurance has double, and for those who have a buy to let mortgage that’s also doubled if not tripled at renewal. All tax benefits have over the last few years been taken away, and regulations are piled on top of regulation. A lot of landlords are now at best at break even and looking at making a loss going forward. That is why a lot are looking to exit when their buy to let mortgage comes up for renewal.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Good, but apparently not true, just a rumour.

My son runs an estate agency that also manages rental properties for landlords. I can say that the majority of private landlords are seriously looking to exit ...

Deema's son was lying. Of course.

 

[Jacob]

There is already rent control, contrary to what most people believe. Tenants can appeal their rent rise and unless it’s within guidelines the they will win and the landlord will be forced to change the rent. Sounds all very good doesn’t it? Well, the cost of maintaining a property has sky rocketed, materials have at least doubled, labour has as well over the past couple of years. With a push to build more houses and insufficient skilled people to build them labour costs will continue to rise significantly. Landlord Insurance has double, and for those who have a buy to let mortgage that’s also doubled if not tripled at renewal. All tax benefits have over the last few years been taken away, and regulations are piled on top of regulation. A lot of landlords are now at best at break even and looking at making a loss going forward. That is why a lot are looking to exit when their buy to let mortgage comes up for renewal.

Let us hope this could be the beginning of a burst in the property bubble and we see falling prices.
Negative equity is a short term risk but inflation tends to take care of that in time.

 

[Cooper]

Dramatic price increases came with the huge reductions in interest rates

For me the dramatic increase was the early 80s when Thatcher encouraged building societies to demutulise and permit banks to provide mortgages. The banks then had a virtually no risk investment and began funding gazumping. (I'm sure she was encouraged by her friends and donors in the housing speculation bussines, Barrats and co, who when she retired gave her a very valuable house on a private estate in Dulwich.)

you are not providing housing you are offering a house or houses for rent, not an affordable rent either,

You presume to know about my circumstanses and I suspect that of other private landlords.

I'm sure my tenants think I'm providing their home and a service. Their homes are far more comfortable than mine and maintained to a high standard.

As to fair rent, I don't know if either receive any housing benifit but I haven't increased the rents since 2016 and consequently charge £400 less a month than if I let at the current local rates. (A fair rent I believe is considered 80% of the market rate, I'm only charging 70%. And a masive chunk of it goes to HMRC).I know many people who own rental homes and treat their tenants in a similar way.