Government look to throw landlords under the bus with 3 year tenancies

Reply to the comment left by Alan R at 02/07/2018 - 12:30
I disagree - this legislation is great for tenants.

Reply to the comment left by Luke P at 02/07/2018 - 10:11
What about where the lease does not permit contracts over 12 months as is the case on one I rent?

if this comes in, then landlords who take tenants to court for non payment etc. and get a fourteen days order that tenant should be out, should be able to go get them out themselves
with out going back to court for bailiffs at the end of the fourteen days
I call that fair

Reply to the comment left by James at 02/07/2018 - 18:54I don't know of a single Landlord that will evict a Tenant "spuriously". There is always a reason more often than not it is rent arrears, followed by damaging the property, and then anti-social behaviour. I believe, even in Scotland now these are still valid reasons for early eviction i.e. a breach of the tenancy agreement. If you're an owner-occupier try not paying your mortgage for a few months and see what happens!!
Why would a Landlord evict a good Tenant and risk getting a bad Tenant? have to bear the cost of a void period, refurbishment of the property, end of tenancy clean, advertising costs , referencing costs - why would a Landlord want to incur these costs?
Fact: 93 % of tenancies are ended by the Tenant
Fact: average tenancies last 4 yrs 2months

Apologies if the following link has already been shared.

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/overcoming-the-barriers-to-longer-tenancies-in-the-private-rented-sector

Have just “responded online” via above link. Very easy to do.

Reply to the comment left by James at 02/07/2018 - 18:59
No not leveraged. However, I am somewhat concerned that, in the future, a 3 year tenancy could leave me vulnerable to a non-paying tenant. The current ASTs work very well if both parties honour their obligations so why change things. My tenants live in safe, comfortable, well-maintained properties paying sensible rents. Property prices in my area have not increased by much - no big profits coming my way.

Reply to the comment left by James at 02/07/2018 - 19:14
I know we shouldn’t feed the troll, but homelessness IS rising and will continue to do so as landlords evict - which is what is happening in the real world right now. If we evict social families when there is no council housing, what happens to them? They’re not buying, nor are they getting taken on by other landlords.

Oh, and as for FTBs buying into a falling market - hilarious. You do realise banks don’t lend (esp to FTBs) in a falling market, right? If you think differently, explain why FTBs were hit especially hard (no lending whatsoever) in the wake of the credit crunch?

Reply to the comment left by James at 02/07/2018 - 18:44
"So there will be a magical new supply of high-quality tenants to fill all flats"

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-41761292

The UK's population is set to exceed 70 million before the end of the next decade, according to the Office for National Statistics.
The ONS projections are now for a 3.6 million, or 5.5%, increase over the 10 years

As Paul Daniels would say
-"That's magic!"

Reply to the comment left by James at 02/07/2018 - 18:44
Hi James
I am simply telling you as a landlord - and a landlord that speaks to other landlords - that having to grant 3 year tenancies will inevitably raise risks for landlords as possession will only be possible on discretionary rather than mandatory grounds, throughout most of the tenancy. Therefore, it is inevitable that those tenants who are a higher risk financially, in particular the less well, or with large family outgoings, or lack of checkable references, will find it harder to compete for the limited supply of good quality accommodation. And yes, in high demand areas, tenants are in competition with each other because of under-supply exacerbated by government policy.

Your point about sharers and students going to different areas than families is just plain wrong I'm afraid and tells me you are clearly not a landlord. In my areas of Kingston, London and Cambridge, all three groups will, in many streets, be competing head-on for the exact same property.

Some tenants will indeed be winners out of three year tenancies. The young professional tenant with good references and a steady job will always be sought after. But in my experience, that type of tenant generally gets to stay as long as they want anyway. It's the families that face the biggest hurdles because of schooling etc. and for them supply is already very limited in high demand areas. If the government had decided on a policy of incentives to make it attractive for landlords to rent to families, it would have been much better.

I rent quite a bit to non British nationals because of the location of my property. These are professionals on 6 month-2 year visa and don't want to tie themselves up to anything longer. Any such legislation will be discriminatory against all non British nationals especially non EU members who are here on visa.