Are most landlords under charging?

Reply to the comment left by "Graham Durkin" at "14/11/2015 - 17:35":

On a general note I think that when LHA tenants leave now for whatever reason, most landlords will definitely aim to replace them with working people so that rents can be maximised, although I realise in some areas it is primarily LHA tenants who are the market.
What I find infuriating is when statements are made about landlords somehow cashing in on LHA - talk about massive LHA bills because of landlords - they use phrases like 'landlords' pocketing taxpayers cash'. Well, let's see what they do when no new landlords provide any housing to anyone on benefits and ones who already do replace them with workers. The anti-landlord brigade won't be able to criticise landlords for taking LHA then. They're quite happy to pay similar amounts to Housing Associations, with the only difference being that landlords get no subsidies and have to pay tax on the rent received, and also if the tenant doesn't pay that comes directly out of the landlords' monthly income, whereas the Housing Association staff are paid no matter whether tenants pay or not.
Taking all of these factors into account in the poorer areas where landlords provide this housing it must often be the case that this housing is provided more cheaply than that provided by the 'not-for-profit-but-we-still-get-a-reliable-wage-packet-every-month lot.
They'll miss landlords when they no longer cater for this group or at least start retreating from that market.

Reply to the comment left by "Ros ." at "14/11/2015 - 17:49":

Just on a political point I would prefer to talk of rents being "optimised" than "maximised", it's more balanced and less able to be misinterpreted.

Or we could just say it as it is .....TAT tenant added tax, collected by LL to give to government, Current rent of £550 is actually going to be frozen by me , but over the next few years it will increase by 20% to £660 with the phased introduction of TAT in line with government PRS finance plans, as a tenant i would also be furious and and pass my opinions to government on this outrageous theft directly from tenants in the PRS .......i think that is about as accurate as describing the new situation as a "20% relief"

Reply to the comment left by "James Fraser" at "06/11/2015 - 13:21":

I believe the reason why landlords do no regularly increase rents will be the underlying knowing that tenants, usually decide to move if regular rent increases are passed on. I have experimented with the concept of regular small rent increases each year, but in each and every occasion the tenants moved on, which only leads to more costs for the landlord with refurbishments, decoration, cleaning, advertising and a whole lot of time spent managing all the change over, which is time a landlord gives freely, and believe me a lot of time can be spent freely in this area if a landlord wants to maintain his/her property in top condition, which attracts the best rentals, and hopefully the best tenants, but this is no gurantee. Cleaning up behind tenants is something that is seriously overlooked. I do believe housing associations, which I believe are usually owned or invested in by the local councils, are truly aware of the cleaning up costs that can be incurred from one tenant to the next. No one ever speaks about the tremendous amount of time and money a private landlord works carrying out these operations.

The outsiders, appear to be oblivious of this very serious side of be a private landlord. It is a personal service that most landlords give freely.

I believe corporate rental investors, as they do not get personally involved, are unaware of the reduced returns that can be made on property as a result of tenant change over.

Reply to the comment left by "Doreen Marr" at "14/11/2015 - 18:25":

We have instituted a "professional" rather than a "good domestic" standard of cleaning. At the end of each existing tenancy we pay a professional cleaning company to place the apartment in that condition and the AST now stipulates that the tenant is reponsible to return the apartment in the same standard. In practice this means that the tenant's deposit is billed for the difference between the actual condition and the subsequent pro clean. This may not be feasible in all markets but by being very clear about what is expected and agreed will help with deposit claims.

Reply to the comment left by "Trendo " at "14/11/2015 - 18:23":

I missed this before but think it actually has quite some merit, the difficulty thogh being one of quantification especially if finance is raised, discharged, or moved within a portfolio; you definitely wouldn't want to have declared that tax was being levied and then not pay it, see what happes if you raise a "VAT" invoice if you aren't VAT registered. Aa general letter expressing that rates were being increased by ex "becasue" still seems like a good idea and would go down well with the media.

Like so many others, and having been a Landlord for the past 25 years, I have never previously put the rent up whilst a tenant is in residence, choosing to do this in between tenancies. However, maybe due to the housing shortage, I'm finding that tenants are staying longer in properties, and so an occasional small rise needs to be implemented now and again, having 1st discussed this with tenants, and being sensitive to their financial situation..

In one property in the West Midlands (One bed cottage) the tenants have been there 4 years, and I've raised the rent recently from £375pcm to £400pcm, which I'm told is still £50pcm below the norm, but you would think from the response that I'd raised it to £750pcm. They are still there though!

Another property in Swindon, where for the past 10 years we've rented out 2 bed houses for £550pcm, are now fetching £750+pcm, and so for one nice working couple we have, who have been in situ for 4 years, and will be there many years to come we feel, we have come to an agreement of £590pcm. The local Agent we use thinks we are mad not to go for the max figure obtainable, but like so many others, we're looking for as few shock in life as possible, as are our tenants, and so rent rises are few and far between.

Reply to the comment left by "Martin S" at "15/11/2015 - 15:13":

Your local agent is of course entitled to think what he likes but your thoughts and compassion for your tenants reflect those careful considerations that the majority of us have for our tenants.

I'm pleased to say that my agent totally agreed with my difficult decision to raise rents during current tenancies (for the first time) and they even wrote a very supportive letter to each affected tenant explaining amongst other very kind words about how I run my properties, that the rents were still below market asking prices in the area.

My agent is fully aware that they are completely reliant on their landlords for their survival and like most of us they have done whatever they can to spread the word about what is about to hit the UK.

I undercharge on all my properties. the current level of rent on my 2 bedroom properties are £450 - £475 i only charge £375 and do not increase my rents and my properties are done to a high standard……My 3 bedroom properties rent levels are £525 but i only charge £450……I also have a 4 bedroom property with a rent level of £700 and i only charge £550……..So yes i massively undercharge and never increase the rents.

Reply to the comment left by "Stephen Costello" at "18/11/2015 - 14:15":

where are your houses - I might want to rent one and rent mine out