Reply to the comment left by "Dr Rosalind Beck" at "14/06/2017 - 13:12":

Thank you Ros - I will definitely use it.

Reply to the comment left by "Annie Landlord" at "13/06/2017 - 18:39":

Annie,
Slight correction I am actually a Tory party supporter, but a UKIP policy supporter.
If it hadn't of been for Section 24, they would have got my vote.

The Tories don't actually want to support small business, they say they do, but they have policies that don't.

As for cannabis, I understand exactly what the Lib Undemocrats proposed, but it's naive.

I have about 3 tenants who are addicted to Skunk.
It started when their prescription was delayed and they tried it out.

Cannabis has been made legal in some US states, but their problems are getting worse, not better.

They are still buying from criminals because its cheaper until your addicted.

This isn't a wishful thought it's a fact.

Reply to the comment left by "Mike D" at "14/06/2017 - 09:24":

Interesting Grauniad article but Generation Rent director, Dan Wilson Craw, does not understand moral hazard. He is quoted as saying: “Most get their deposit back in full, so many would balk at paying out money they’ll never get back, even if it is a smaller amount,” he says. “Insurance-based alternatives might be preferable for tenants who have little in savings and currently have to borrow a deposit in order to move.

“This can only work if the scheme doesn’t place additional obligations on the tenant. It is concerning that some versions of this system involve insurers pursuing tenants to recover any money they pay out to landlords. Tenants would think twice before signing up to that.”

Unless insurers can recover from tenants there is little to stop tenants from defaulting and the scheme would attract crooks who would deliberately default and leave the insurer to pick up the cost.

Reply to the comment left by "Gary Dully" at "14/06/2017 - 15:00":

Not naive at all. The US is only a short way down the road and decriminalisation has always been deeply controversial. Lib Dems looked very closely at countries such as Portugal, The Netherlands and Switzerland where decriminalisation is having the desired results. Logically, if cannabis is illegal, alcohol should be too as that destroys far more lives. However, we must agree to disagree!

Reply to the comment left by "Annie Landlord" at "14/06/2017 - 18:07":

You can agree to what you like Annie, but I have seen so many people get paranoid after smoking this poison it's baffling why it isn't stamped upon a lot harder.

Tim Farron couldn't reconcile his beliefs over LGBT and is trying to make himself out to be a religious martyre, picked on by the press.

He is a bloody idiot and wanted be a Prime Minister.

But I want you to consider this, when he wants to legalise cannabis.

You need to get real and if you actually believe the claptrap you have written, why not buy a few spliffs and give some to a few local schools to experience your logic and I hope you get 10 years.

The back room boys pushing for legalisation are the likes of big business people such as Richard Branson and other Terry fuckwits who don't deal or care about the consequences, they care only for profit.

Because they want to distribute the stuff and won't accept the eventual consequences will have anything to do with them.

Just like tobacco firms did until the medical profession had enough evidence to get them under control.

When I was born, if you got pregnant you got prescribed 100 John players cigarettes to counteract morning sickness.

I had to share my mums nipples with someone who smoked woodbines!

Don't fall for the crap being fed by the interested parties.

They have rationalised that cannabis is good for you, it helps you visualise an alternate reality and helps you to expand your mind.

Maybe it does, but while it's doing that, it also clogs up receptors in the brain and you require more the next time you try it. The initial euphoria starts to elude the user and they then require more quantity or stronger. ( Enter the criminal)

Ooh how good an idea is that.
When they legalised alcohol, people knew of its initial effects, but not the damage it caused.

If it was currently illegal and was invented by a vicar in Leeds last week, would you legalise it in 2017, knowing what you know today?

What about tobacco?, knowing what we know today, would you legalise it?

Cannabis eventually causes paranoia, self harm and a total disregard for anything than your last fix.

Here is a link to an image of one of my tenants, his name is xxxxx
https://www.dropbox.com/s/47toy3fs2ukxr2q/2017-01-07%2013.02.15.jpg?dl=0

If you have seen him, let me and the police know where he is, because the police couldn't find him and we don't know where he is.

He smokes cannabis resin, performs certain acts for money, "borrows " food from other housemates fridges and has to have at least 2 fixes a day.
He doesn't look healthy does he?

He used to have a job, family and children.

His normal life isn't very nice, he may even be dead.

This is what's happening on our streets right now,

As I recall, Portugal.is also offering treatment for habitual users of heroin, but it won't work, because the pushers will sell even more and know that the government will pick up the bill for it.

I have this week had to stop tenants trying to weigh in a stolen piano to pay for their next little drugs party where they try and recruit others.

Here is a picture of his possessions
https://www.dropbox.com/s/hokubzidenolbqq/2016-04-18%2019.01.25.jpg?dl=0

The police can't help, nobody has reported a stolen upright piano.

Reply to the comment left by "Gary Dully" at "16/06/2017 - 03:15":

I once knew a young lady who was an outstanding student and was one of a very small number of pupils at her school who was expected to go to Oxbridge, with a view to pursuing a career in medical research. She achieved several high grades in her GCESEs and A levels, including several A*s.

However, she was also a troubled teenager; she had trouble fitting in at school and her life became unhappier still when her parents divorced, she lost contact with her father and quarrelled with her mother. Unfortunately, she turned to cannabis in an attempt to escape some of the anger, hurt and confusion this caused her.

After that, her life went downhill. She was forced to leave university after only a few weeks after her second suicide attempt. Cannabis was by no means the only cause of this but I've no doubt it very much contributed. She never got her degree, or even got a job. She was fortunate enough to get a council flat and qualify for out of work benefits and for something like 15 years spent her days living to get drunk and high, when she wasn't depressed and paranoid. Needless to say, this has also taken a toll on her physical health.

I only relate this because it's an all too common example of how cannabis destroys lives.

Reply to the comment left by "Mandy Thomson" at "16/06/2017 - 10:08":

I agree. I have been in a position to observe the effects of long-term cannabis use, and those promoting legalisation infuriate me. They are also missing the implications of a correlation to schizophrenia. I admit the contribution to the tax coffers would be pleasant.

Dear All,
With all due respect - are we still talking about Hung Parliament or rather Cannabis Legalisation (which is not even on the cards as far as I am concerned)?

It would be good to discuss what is a forward strategy considering the new appointment to replace Barwell.
Also - has anyone read https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2017/6/new-government-needs-to-focus-on-attracting-btl-landlords
"The new government is being urged.." - should we contribute to that and how?
Is there any letter template to send?
Apologies if I missed that subject somewhere else...
Thank you.

Reply to the comment left by "Whiteskifreak Surrey" at "16/06/2017 - 12:20":

This government or any other for that matter, is highly unlikely to reverse the recent financial measures against landlords. I'm afraid it will take a few years for the impact on housing to come to the public's attention, at which point whichever government is in power will be seen to be doing something positive to alleviate this by easing financial restrictions on landlords, without incurring widespread public hostility - just the same as happened in the Republic of Ireland.

I therefore believe we now need to look at what landlords can do to mitigate their financial losses, instead of trying to fight this. As landlords, we also need to work on changing the public's totally inaccurate and unfair perception of us as wealthy uncaring fat cats.

Corbyn and Lammy demand a re-enactment of the Russian Revolution - seize the properties of the wealthy to house the poor:
https://www.politicshome.com/news/uk/political-parties/labour-party/jeremy-corbyn/news/86736/jeremy-corbyn-state-should-seize?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NEW%20MON-FRI%20Breakfast%20Briefing%20%20Events%20box%20copy&utm_content=NEW%20MON-FRI%20Breakfast%20Briefing%20%20Events%20box%20copy+CID_c4ff01f5865391aac63f6fbdeda8e544&utm_source=Email%20newsletters&utm_term=Jeremy%20Corbyn%20State%20should%20seize%20luxury%20properties%20to%20help%20those%20left%20homeless%20by%20Grenfell%20blaze

A helpful indication of what they would do if they were in power.