Housing crisis deepens as landlords sell up – NRLA

Plenty of homes.

Just too many people a government that fails to plan for their own incompetence.

Reply to the comment left by Cider Drinker at 15/11/2024 - 10:38You have no argument from me there and that's something that needs to be addressed. But regardless, I think the point here is that successive government's are making a bad job worse by their continuing hostility to landlords that is driving landlords out of the sector.
Or at least, I should say that for me as a 30+ year portfolio landlord having my my business trashed and being demonised, villianised and taxed to death is selfishly the point for me.

I don't know who is kidding who regarding Landlords selling up because this is definitely happening in large numbers in my area, evidenced by the sudden forest of for sale signs which have gone up since these jokers came to power! and confirmation by our agents.

It is convenient for the government to pamper to the rantings of the likes of Gen Rent & Shelter and reinforce the stance that all Landlords are money grabbing 'fly by night' wide boys, because they are up 'shit creek without a paddle' Social Housing has been sold off cheap and not replaced or numbers increased to accommodate increasing population, instead, relying on the private sector to fill the shortfall. Now they are systematically removing the safety net which provided mainly reasonably priced and safe accommodation, were the government had failed!

Everything this and the previous administration has or plans to do with regards to PRS has a serious and significantly greater impact on tenants, but generally this does not get aired and where it does and the media and some respected officials stick there head above the parapet, they are shot down and that is the end of it.

Most tenants believe Landlords are the baddies, choosing to believe that all those allegedly fighting for their cause and the government are looking after them. They are not and never will be able to, certainly not in the short to medium term. When PRS dies, as it surely will unless things change, what will be left? Certainly not much choice. Social Housing is unavailable, Corporate Landlords who will still be looking to make a good profit for investors (just look at what happened when the nationalized industries were sold off, first priority was not to deliver the service a a based price we could afford, but to maximise profits to directors and investors.

The government are making a fundamental mistake in hammering PRS landlords out of existence, which is what is happening right now, and this will be a shameful legacy for future generations!

We have a 2 bed apartment which has become available and despite the agents insisting that it is advertised at a much higher price than I would have wanted, they said that any less and they would be inundated with enquiries and would be unable to pre-vet them fairly. Notwithstanding we still received dozens of serious enquires from many people who would seriously struggle to pay the rent and all outgoings as well as feed and cloth themselves and their families. The reason, they are ALL desperate to find somewhere to live in a market that significantly shrunk and rising rents because of same.

Nothing has brought this home to me than when I conducted my last viewing which was very upsetting. This 60ish yo single lady works full time in care services and has a 25yo grandson living with her full time who is Autistic with some challenging behavior. Her income was not ideal, but with additional care funding for her Grandson, she said it was manageable. However she then said that she also has 4 other grandchildren, 2 of whom are Autistic with some disruptive behavior who stay with her overnight on several nights of the week so that their parent(s) can work some evening shifts to provide for their families. This was one hell of a brave and caring lady, and I would have loved to have helped her, but this living arrangements are definitely not suited to a 2 bedroom apartment in a small generally quiet block of 4.

She told me that she had received a Section 21 Notice from her current home because her landlady had died and her niece and nephew who had inherited wanted to sell up, which is understandable. She then went on to explain that she had tried to secure a house to rent, but there is very few on the market and was fighting back tears not for sympathy but she was genuinely very upset that she may face homelessness in the near future.

Her current eviction notice expires mid December and when she went to the Council they told her, as expected, to stay put otherwise they will treat her as having made herself homeless.

I don't know what the answer is now or if there is a way back for PRS, but I all I see at the moment is people desperate to put a long term roof over their heads, trying to make ends meet with high cost of living and 'do gooder' organisations doing their upmost to make things worse, much worse.

My message to government - most landlords care passionately about providing good quality housing at a reasonable rent and care a great deal about the wellfare of their tenants. They want their tenants to treat the property as home for as long as they want to stay there. These landlords especially portfolio landlords, treat this as a fully fledged business, keep accurate accounts keep in touch with tenants, make sure inspections and repairs and done as and when required with minimum delay and certainly commit a sizable proportion of the working week dealing with all things pertaining to this business. Legislation and taxation hurts only the good landlords and tenants, whereas the rogue landlords will carry on regardless, and soon that will be all that is left in my opinion.

We definitely need a champion in this business to stand up vigorously for those that have and continue to provide the homes that are in desperate need and neither the government, Large corporate landlords, nor any of the tenant advocates cannot and will not. More punitive legislation will make the situation worse as sooner or later landlords will all cash in and do something else and when that happens there will be civil unrest for sure.

So Ben, are you going to be our robust champion and fight this 'Sh*t Show' ?

Removal of S21 has worried a lot of landlords as the risks of being a landlord will now have increased.

Something the NRLA were in favour of, but they don't mention this as a reason strangely?

It’s very clear to me that driving out independent landlords is an unwritten government policy. I estimate sometime prior to the 2015 budget the government made a back room deal with various companies such as Lloyds Bank etc to clear the way for them to make good profits in the BTR sector.
The destruction of the Private Rented Sector in order to reshape it as the Corporate Rented Sector is completely deliberate.
This and previous corrupt UK governments don’t care one jot for the pain and misery they are causing to landlords and tenants alike.
I have a small portfolio of 6 very nice Victorian terrace houses and a flat, I intend on selling them all and 26 people will have to go and find another place to live. My decision is a reaction based entirely on government policy, it doesn’t have to be this way but I’m not prepared to carry on in the face of this government onslaught against my retirement income.
The government has turned the PRS from a medium return/low risk investment into a low return/high risk investment. My proceeds of sale will be leaving the UK for investment elsewhere.

Reply to the comment left by Lordship at 15/11/2024 - 14:55
I’ve never used a S21 nor a S8.

I’m not worried about the abolishing of S21.

However, I do not feel comfortable increasing my rents to accommodate the additional costs of the Renters Rights Bill. Every line of the Bill increases costs for a questionable gain.

I look forward to selling up.

Reply to the comment left by Disillusioned landlord at 15/11/2024 - 14:44
Well said ! When will someone somewhere, government or otherwise, stand up for the many good landlords currently in survival mode in the PRS? I am one of them. Despite all my efforts to raise the bar in the last 9 years, with section 24 coupled with the new high interest rates, & energy costs doubling, I am fighting a losing battle to remain profitable. The question, - should I sell up and put my equivalent property investment money into stocks & shares which would produce a better income WITHOUT the many many many tenant related issues, is becoming increasingly tempting ! What's the point in dealing with all the tenant-related stress involved if there is now no longer any or very little financial incentive ?

It's not a housing crisis. It's an immigration crisis.
I'm a landlord in Southampton.
25yrs ago 5% of applicants were from abroad. Now 60% are.
Legal net migration 745k last year =6000 more homes needed week
80% of migrants move into rentals = Around 4800 extra rentals needed/week😮
+ the free housing for illegals.
Huge extra demand's the main reason driven rents up.
Nothing against legal migration. But it needs to be in balance. One in one out. Unless you like more fields concreted over & more traffic jams
Freeze immigration

Reply to the comment left by Disillusioned landlord at 15/11/2024 - 14:44
There will be many more people getting evicted as the landlord generation die off.

Nobody in their right mind would choose to be a landlord over having a good sum of money in the bank. My own children have said that they don’t want to be landlords. So, my Continuation Plan has been re-written and is now an Exit Plan.

This is nothing new, it’s been happening for ages, the most shocking bit about it though is that the government and charities don’t seem to accept it’s real??
All they have to do is look at my portfolio if they need any convincing 🤦‍♂️