Don’t use the ‘L’ word

8:32 AM, 5th January 2022, About 3 years ago 71

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The majority of the Buy to Let community say they would prefer not to be called “landlords”, according to research from mortgage intermediary Mortgages For Business. Some parts of the US media, including regional divisions of NBC, have reportedly stopped using the word “landlord” due to complaints from the community.

When it came to the UK, 59% of those surveyed by Mortgages for Business said they wanted the British media to stop using the word “landlord” and that the term was dated.

When the Buy to Let community was polled on their preferred name, 43% said “Small Housing Providers”, 36% said they would prefer to remain “Landlords”, and 21% opted for other options including “Rental Accommodation Provider”.

Gavin Richardson, managing director of Mortgages for Business said: “Sections of the media have vilified the buy-to-let community. The government has hammered them – think Theresa May’s 3% Stamp Duty surcharge and other tax deterrents. It’s got to the point where the buy-to-let community doesn’t want to be associated with the term ‘landlord’ anymore. The term carries much more baggage than it once did. No wonder the community wants a rebrand.”

Additionally, 73% of those surveyed said they felt “unfairly portrayed as this generation’s financial bogeyman”. Only 8% felt that landlords were not “financial bogeymen” at all while the remainder accepted that their notoriety might not be entirely unwarranted.

Gavin Richardson said: “The majority of landlords are paying 40 per cent tax on their rental income – plus stamp duty – which means the Government is profiting hugely from Generation Rent. And to what end? Hammering landlords over the last five years has done first-time buyers no favours – research from Nationwide suggests first-time buyers now need to save a huge 113 per cent of their annual salary for a typical home deposit of 20 per cent!

“What would happen if we took landlords out of the housing equation? The impact on the property market would be significant and almost entirely negative. It’s not as if the Government is pouring money into social housing – or making any progress on house building. Frankly, the Government should be championing landlords and lauding their contribution to the housing sector – landlords are bailing the Government out!”

“On top of that, millions of Brits face a financial crisis in retirement by not putting enough money aside for their pension. Two thirds of employees aged 45 and over face poverty in old age unless they act soon. One in five Britons say they have no form of private or workplace pension. It is regularly drummed into us that we need to invest for a comfortable retirement. And yet, when people start building a nest-egg – investing in property to try to ensure they have an income for their retirement – they are reviled!”

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Comments

Monty Bodkin

20:23 PM, 9th January 2022, About 3 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Boble at 09/01/2022 - 19:30
"I have been a property investor for over 45 years."

As a first time poster?

Chinny reckon!

Sums up this whole waste of time discussion.

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Old Mrs Landlord

22:45 PM, 9th January 2022, About 3 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Monty Bodkin at 09/01/2022 - 20:23
I agree it is now a waste of time since so many comments have been deleted after others have responded to them that any sensible arguments made are now impossible to follow.

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10:19 AM, 12th January 2022, About 3 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Smiffy at 09/01/2022 - 10:35"They are not entitled to that use, you permit it."
Actually no - once you rent it out you no longer have full ownership nor control, let alone "authority". You have a repair obligation and an exposure to an increase in the land value. The only legal recourse you have is via the court, subject to various hoops and hurdles.
Many old-school land"lords" would do well to realise that the person paying for their BtL mortgage should be regarded as a valued customer not some kind of inferior being to be treated like an infestation of vermin and who should defer to you as if you are superior to them. .

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10:30 AM, 12th January 2022, About 3 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Smiffy at 09/01/2022 - 19:26I'm glad you have the long-term investor mentality rather than the common "make a quick buck then kick 'em out onto the street" attitude that plagues the industry, but to add to my earlier reply, strictly speaking it's no longer solely "your" house once you rent it out. Unlike a licence-to-occupy, a tenancy, like a lease, is a form of temporary ownership. You'd never get a freeholder saying to a 99-year leaseholder "this is your home but it's my flat".

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Smiffy

19:57 PM, 12th January 2022, About 3 years ago

Reply to the comment left by ImpartialObserver at 12/01/2022 - 10:19
I'm afraid that is BS, with an AST you do retain ownership and ultimate control. Whether you have to revert to court to terminate a contract, is irrelevant, you still own the property. No tenant is "paying my BtL mortgage" because I don't have any BtL mortgages!
Whilst I treat my tenants with respect, the relationship remains landlord and tenant.

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Smiffy

19:59 PM, 12th January 2022, About 3 years ago

Reply to the comment left by ImpartialObserver at 12/01/2022 - 10:30
You clearly don't understand the difference between tenancies, long leasehold and freehold.

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Seething Landlord

23:07 PM, 12th January 2022, About 3 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Smiffy at 12/01/2022 - 19:59
In contrast with a freehold, which lasts forever and where there is no higher interest or landlord, a leaseholder's interest in the land is time-limited, and someone else (ie the landlord) holds a higher interest.

'Tenancy' and 'lease' mean the same thing, but commonly the term 'tenancy' is used to refer to short(er) term leases, whilst the term 'lease' is used to describe long-term leases.

When you grant a tenancy (a short term lease) you are giving the tenant a legal interest in the property, subject to as many of the stated terms as are legally enforceable and to various implied terms, so the relationship between landlord and tenant is similar to that between freeholder and leaseholder.

The hallmarks of a tenancy include the grant of exclusive possession of premises for a period of time, which explains the right of quiet enjoyment and authority to refuse entry, even to the landlord, so the rights of the landlord as "owner" are significantly restricted. This is I think what ImpartialObserver was getting at and far from being BS, as you so delicately put it, is legally correct.

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Smiffy

14:28 PM, 13th January 2022, About 3 years ago

in an AST, the landlord can serve S21 notice to terminate without any breach on the tenants part. Contractually, the tenant is obliged to do so.

Therefore, the landlord clearly retains ultimate control.

The tenant also has no right nor ability to use a property occupied under an AST, for security. The AST has no asset value.

None of the above happens with freehold or long lease hold.

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Seething Landlord

16:52 PM, 13th January 2022, About 3 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Smiffy at 13/01/2022 - 14:28
The landlord cannot expire a s21 notice during the fixed term of an AST which although obviously much shorter is the equivalent of the 999 years of a typical long lease so its availability does not affect the principle that the landlord is not in control for the duration of the lease.

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Trish

12:04 PM, 15th January 2022, About 3 years ago

The term 'landlord' is masculine by implication, and a landlady is not the same thing at all. Not sure what would be the right term, but it should certainly be non-feudal and gender neutral.

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