Summer Budget 2015 – Landlords Reactions

Here is an excellent article from early 2015 explaining why not enough houses are being built - there is no mention of buy to let being the problem.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-30776306

http://ichef-1.bbci.co.uk/news/624/media/images/80219000/gif/_80219041_uk_house_building_624v2.gif

That is an appalling graph of house building over the years.

Shelter say it is the availability of building land to blame. I think that is a small, albeit important factor. How can that sort London's housing problems? They ain't making it anymore.

They knock PRS, this will alter the balance, favour the small FTBer at the expense of the whole of the rental sector. The number foe FTB is readily determined. The number looking to rent is far harder to establish, sofa surfers, those sharing in illegally sublet flats and in sheds, legal and illegal immigrants arriving is far less easily determined.

The BBC article does not cover the demand by region or sector IE flats at the very lowest end that are safe, pleasant and affordable. Osborne's political vote buying gimmick does nothing at all for this desperate sector apart from increasing LL and hence tenants costs. Or reduce availablabilty. Or both.

Reply to the comment left by "Chris Byways" at "03/01/2016 - 12:38":

The private rental sector is also a crucial part of this country's overall mobility of labour, and by definition is essential for the career progression of millions of people in this country.

Through this exercise in fiscal persecution, the Government isn't just jumping on the latest anti-landlord bandwagon, it is opposing the very concept of a mobile workforce that this country needs, and creating a financial barrier to career progression along with it.

Local jobs and regeneration are great, but they're not a viable course for a significant and growing number of people across Britain. For most people the days of living on the same street as your parents and working for decades at a factory 5 minutes walk from home are long-gone. This is 2016, not 1976, and that world went almost entirely bankrupt and disappeared. Now lots of people migrate between the country's commercial/economic centres in pursuit of promotion as well as new jobs, from elsewhere in the UK and from overseas. This is the reality of the labour market. Workers are increasingly mobile and requiring of rental accommodation.

Based upon my tenants and my own circle of friends, I'd say this trend of mobile advancement is even more acute in the public sector. I've let to loads of teachers and NHS staff from elsewhere in the UK, who are either newly commencing their career or taking it up a level. Though their fields have very clear hierarchies and paths of progression, the next rung on the ladder can often be already occupied in their current location, thus requiring the mobility to progress in a different part of the country. For this increasingly dynamic workforce, buying a home and settling down is not realistic. They want to move around, advance their careers to their optimum first and buy later on. They demand rental accommodation, will continue to demand rental accommodation, and aren't going to be disappearing for the foreseeable future. The Government is cocking things up for them to score short-term political points, and for George Osborne to spin himself as a more centre-ground leadership contender.

A lady who rented a room from me in 2014 was a paramedic. She was originally from Devon and came to me from Northampton after completing the initial stages of her progression there. Then after just over a year she moved to Bristol, and on to the next stage of her career. Meanwhile, a significant chunk of my friends are teachers. Though half of them now own their own home, this was only after a period of renting: migrating from school-to-school to find the most suitable long-term teaching environment and eventual progression to well-paid roles as department heads. Those teacher friends still renting are doing so because they can still see themselves moving around and need to remain flexible in the mean time.

This is mobility of labour and the demand for rental accommodation. I am a landlord who is supplying this demand and I'm not sorry for doing so.

As much as some journalists, and now irresponsible politicians, may consider our campaign to have "some nerve", I do not feel the slightest bit dirty or remorseful for what I've been doing: no more remorseful than any other private individual legally meeting an abundant demand and openly declaring their income to HMRC. And no less up for the fight than they'd be, were a bunch of unqualified, mountbank PR men attacking their livelihoods for the sakes of image and electioneering.

Reply to the comment left by "Gareth Wilson" at "03/01/2016 - 15:17":

Gareth- I must applaud above, I totally agree that, these electioneering candidates use landlords for their own hidden agendas, such as Osborne who has seemingly set his eyes to become next PM. His mission is to deceit both landlords and tenants. He is deceiving tenants by declaring a war on landlords however, little they know, it won't make an iota of difference, if they can't buy today they won't be able to buy tomorrow-Yet he is contending that, it will make life easier for tenants.

Several number of economists have commented in Financial Times that, government polices are unlikely to alter supply and demand dilemma therefore, upward pressure on prices is here to remain. Details in link

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/87652554-afa8-11e5-b955-1a1d298b6250.html#axzz3wCsecHqS

Reply to the comment left by "Andy King" at "03/01/2016 - 16:47":

Ho Ho Ho!

Telegraph front page today, next pm will be an outsider.....

And the best bit
"Who can show warmth as well as intelligence"

Sorry Alice Osborne, even your colleagues have rumbled you don't have either!

From Ruth Davidson.

The government will directly build affordable homes... 4th Jan 2016

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-the-government-will-directly-build-affordable-homes

Reply to the comment left by "Mark Brown" at "04/01/2016 - 05:49":

Although a very welcome move, its only a drop in the ocean to meet the demand for housing. Lets hope they don't fluff it up by giving the contracts to 'Prefered' tenderers such as the PFI scheme which never really achieved its aim. Can't see that happening though, the government bodies will have their pet contractors.
Something the government also has to address is the skills shortage. Now that they are also considering clobbering small business with further red tape by making them submit multiple returns each year, I can see why building trades don't want apprentices. I do architectural design and won't take anyone on due to the red tape and employment laws despite probably having enough work to possibly expand.

By the way, come back from my Christmas break to see the fund raising for the legal challenge had been started and raised in around a week. Amazing. Well done.

Very helpful comments from Lord Flight

http://www.conservativehome.com/thecolumnists/2016/01/howard-flight-the-government-is-wrong-to-attack-buy-to-let.html

Reply to the comment left by "Mark Brown" at "04/01/2016 - 05:49":

Gov are going to build 200,000 starter homes in next 4 years! A welcome drop in the ocean. Jolly well done.

They omit to mention how many MORE will be needed over those 4 years. And how many needed now.

BUT, in the last 6m they have announced moves that will likely destroy more than 200,000 rented ''starter homes'

If just 1 in 20 landlords homing the 4.75m households converted derelict houses, flats, offices warehouses, pubs etc, or funded additional new builds over that time, we could beat the governments pathetic efforts. Just like Homes under the Hammer show.

But I suspect 1 in 20 of us are more likely to get rid of 1 home each on average, due to changing from renting homes to all of the other options, (commercial use, holiday lets, short term lets, etc etc) as a result of the measures announced in the last 6m, and the scorn on PRS by Osborne and his mates below:-

"The group’s figure is made up of £9.3bn of housing benefit paid on behalf of low-income tenants, £1.69bn through the “wear-and-tear” tax relief landlords can claim on their properties, £6.63bn of tax that landlords do not have to pay on mortgage interest payments and £9.06bn of tax landlords do not pay on their annual average capital gains.

Generation Rent calculated that landlords, who house 4.75m households in the UK, are earning £77.7bn a year: £42.3bn in rent and £35.4bn in rising house prices. Through income tax on rent and capital gains tax on sold properties, it estimated they were handing £8.9bn to the taxman.

The campaign is calling for an additional landlord levy of 22% on rental income, which it said would recoup the £9.3bn housing benefit bill and should be used to fund 90,000 new council houses." (sic) Guardian 9/2/15