Green Party manifesto vows to end no-fault evictions

The Green party are basically a bunch of middle aged well to do left wingers. Happily they will have little sway over UK politics apart from Brighton. They are a party with no policy on fixing illegal migration and if they think anyone earning over £55k is a high earner then think again.

Reply to the comment left by GlanACC at 13/06/2024 - 09:29
I'm quite interested in the move to renewables and I've an open mind about things like photovoltaics, heat pumps etc. The problem is that at the moment no party has made the economics work and that's largely because of tax policy.

You'd have thought that it would have been an opportunity for the greens to come out with a housing policy that was fair to landlords, fair to tenants and addressed the economics of favouring the use of renewables in domestic housing, whether owned as a PPR or let.

And instead we get this. Rent controls, when the SNP has already proved in Scotland that this is damaging. What a disappointment.

I'm a small-portfolio landlord (interested in renewables) and I can't vote labour because of this...

https://www.property118.com/election-dilemma-the-devil-you-know-or-dont/comment-page-3/#comment-176624

I can't vote liberal democrat because of this...

https://www.property118.com/liberal-democrats-unveil-housing-policy-abolish-section-21-and-reinstate-epc-targets/comment-page-3/#comments

And now I've got to rule the greens out even as a protest vote.

Not leaving us much choice are they?

Why don’t politicians say they are going to re-name Section 21 & stop calling it a NO fault eviction. It could be re-named something like Polite Request to vacate with the reason made clear to tenants. Then perhaps tenants who go to the council to ask for help should be required to show the eviction notice so the council can see the reason for the eviction. That way it gives the honest, polite, good tenants the recognition they deserve and the ones evicted for eg: trashing a property & not paying rent will have to answer to the council as to why they behaved this way. I also think it’s really naive to say that landlords evict on a whim. I and many other landlords have provided quality homes to many tenants for many years. Now I’m being forced to sell my entire portfolio and this is not on a whim. It’s mainly because of section 24 tax regime, high interest rates & fear of what the future holds for landlords (such as being restricted if I need to sell) and quite frankly I’m fed up of all the landlord bashing!!!! I’ve had my fair share of properties trashed, been left owing thousands of pounds in rent in the past. Fortunately I have a good relationship with all my current tenants & will try to sell with them in situ but if I can’t I will sadly have to ask them to vacate and it won’t be on a whim !!!!!

Reply to the comment left by Beaver at 13/06/2024 - 10:00
I have no issue with renewables, but the way the greens and that thunderbird woman are going about it will bankrupt us all. Look how long it is taking to decide on a SMR. We should have changed building regs by now so all new properties that can have them should have solar fitted.

Reply to the comment left by GlanACC at 13/06/2024 - 10:12The problem with renewables is that whether it is your principle private residence or a rental property you cannot deduct all your finance costs against your rents. If you could then I think many more of us would look at it. Our tax policy does not make sense from a sustainability perspective. E.g. At the moment builders do not have to pay VAT on new-build properties but they do on renovations. So it often makes more sense to demolish than renovate and retrofit. There is nothing sustainable about that.
And the best that the greens can come out with is rent controls? When they had all that ammunition? They are never going to get into power because the country cannot afford to let them, but at least they could be a competent pressure group.

Cannot afford to vote green even as a protest vote. So who is left?

Reply to the comment left by Kathy Christiano at 13/06/2024 - 10:08
They should gather some data from Section 21 Notices by adding a box where the landlord could give a reason for wanting vacant possession (selling, rent arrears, antisocial behaviour, just for fun etc.,). Then they’d be able to abolish Section 21 from a position of knowledge rather than one of ignorance.

Section 8 has a number of Grounds that are no fault of the tenant.

Back some landlords into a corner and they will come out fighting. As many approach the Autumns of their lives, spending time in prison wouldn’t be much worse than spending it in a care home. And it’d be cheaper,

Once again it defeats me why with such a big issue the political parties fail to take expert advice.
We, the experts all know there is no such thing as a no reason eviction. I'm all for protecting tenants, as is every professional landlord. Tighten it up by all means , but there has to be a quick easy and efficient way of getting your property back. I am in the enviable position of being near an airbase with most of my properties, so by preference now I take military renters as I know I'll get paid and that in 3 years they will leave. The rest of my portfolio I'm quietly off loading as and when I can.
Rent controls are a massive mistake, which we can all see. It's simple rent versus costs decides whether it's viable. Reduce the rent, less is viable, more leave and no one replaces.
I'm at the tail end now having done it for 20 years, but it saddens me, that whilst I'll be fine all those people I leave behind won't be.

Reply to the comment left by Martin at 13/06/2024 - 11:40
I agree. I did once rent to the MOD under a license to occupy and they were a brilliant tenant. I would rent to the MOD again with very little hesitation. But under the present system I would never rent to any Council or Council Tenant.

And that's not the fault of any landlord or the PRS...that's the result of policies that are not thought through and bad legislation that purports to protect tenants from a tiny majority of less scrupulous landlords but penalises the majority of good landlords for providing good accommodation.

It's also the result of the kind of electioneering that we are seeing at the moment with political parties failing to learn the lessons of the failed SNP experiment in Scotland, failed rent-control policies elsewhere in the world, and a headlong rush to achieve short-term electoral gains via media sound-bites at the expense of good governance.

The amusing part of any 'Green Party Policy' is the fact that George Osborne stole their removal of tax relief for mortgage interest in 2016 and therefore indirectly causing the actual housing crisis we are now encountering, obviously the huge rise in immigration hasn't helped but ultimately this was the first move in the collapse of the PRS.
We have had these left wing policies for quite a few years now and the crisis has worsened so its quite a shock to see them doubling down on rent controls, abolition of section 21 Etc Etc.
The only solution at this point is to revert all housing regulations and tax rules back to 2015 including the wear and tear allowance, this would bring fresh money into the market and create competition which is exactly what we desperately require.

Reply to the comment left by Michael Johnson - Amzac Estates at 13/06/2024 - 15:39
I agree that the market needs competition but the likes of Generation Rent and Shelter either don't seem to understand that tenants depend upon both supply and competition or maybe are driven by some other cynical left-wing agenda.

Tenants should care though: It's tenants that suffer from lack of competition.