Is rent hiking a good business model?

The first point is 76% of landlords are not increasing rents. This is something to be celebrated. It s ironic Private landlord behave much better then the socialist Labour leader of London's Islington Council part who want year on year inflation busting rent increases.
Check this video interview....

http://bcove.me/0tizio21
That the problem with socialists. They have double standards.
Why don't these socialists offer social rents or rent these houses to Housing Benefit tenants.

The insult in your first line set the tone of your 'leftie' childish diatribe. It's difficult to know where to start with an 'ex' landlord who was, obviously, no good at it.

As one of the London 'crew' (you're really a trainer using derogatory terms like that? God help your students), I associate with numerous London landlords and have yet to find one that has rubbed his hands with glee and proclaimed, 'I can't wait to rip off my tenants with another rent increase'. You're making it up as do many 'journalists' looking for an easy column-filler.

I have recent experience of bending over backwards for a tenant, a young, fit, bright man in his early thirties who had been made redundant. Reduced his rent, made repairs, at no cost to him although his fault, and put no pressure on when he fell behind with his rent. I called round for a regular periodic inspection and found he had disappeared and totally trashed the place. 4000 pounds later I took the view that I had been fortunate that he hadn't burnt it to the ground and moved on.

An enforcement officer for landlord and tenant law? Don't make me laugh. "Ok Mr Tenant whatever the problem is you're right and the landlord's wrong"!

Where are your facts? What depths did your study reach? How many tens of thousands of tenants did you interview? How many landlords did you interview? Certainly not me or anyone I know.

On the subject of people not wanting to move away from their 'community' (I've always wondered, what is a 'community' exactly? I've yet to come across one in the places I have lived), my wife moved from her village in the north of her home country and settled in a bigger town where there were better job prospects. To this day she regularly travels to see friends and family and enjoys the outings. What's wrong with doing a 'Norman Tebbitt'? He was an educated man from the right, so you wouldn't understand him.

I am truly disappointed with Property 118 if they lead with wildly uninformed tripe like this from a trotskyist with a double-barrelled name.

Yours,

Philip R Allen

Hi Phillip, it's OK to attack the message but not the messenger. I am Property118 so I accept accountability for publishing this and several other articles which Ben has written. If you were to know Ben, as I do, you would realise that he probably the fairest Tenancy Relations Officer in the UK. His position, working as a TRO and also with Shelter may make him appear to be the enemy but I do not believe that is so. Ben is one of the few in his position who genuinely tries to understand the mindset of landlords. Without communication, understanding and reasoned debate our industry will not progress and will continue to be villified. We must admit that Shelter and the Council carry more weight than we do as landlords. That's because we are such a fragmented group. We need to unite to shout louder, in the meantime, it doesn't hurt us to communicate.

i think you need to look at the circumstances behind the stats. many landlords dont put the rent up in line with market conditions until there is a change in tenancy. it may well be that this explains a large measure of the 24%. when bureaucracies start interfering with market forces is when things will get worse for everyone. everyone has a choice where they live, and if should landlords subsidise rents below true market so that tenants get their first choice? as you said people need to consider moving out of london, but what youre proposing wont encourage this. furthermore why should existing tenants get preferential terms over people wishing to relocate to london. there needs to be mobility of labour.

I agree with Philip, but I disagree on his final point that the likes Ben should not be invited the write in. Wihtout Ben's article, there would be nothing to respond. Ben has raised valid concerns and it an opportunity for Landlords to put them forward.
YOu should also invite the likes of Shelter and some Labour MPs to write in. I dislike Shelter, as their comments are propoganda campaign. They only ever get phone calls from bad tenants. As a landlord for 20 years, no tenant of mine has had to make a phone call the Shelter. Many of them don't even know who Shelter is.

Forget London for the moment, even if it is its excessive salaries for the few & tax-free expats which cause the seismic ripples in provincial house prices - we rarely raise rents on tenants in residence, just between tenancies after refreshing makeovers. However, tenants who fall behind with their rent because 'I spent too much at Christmas' or 'I spent too much on holiday' get a blunt choice at their next review. I don't object to tenants having luxuries, but I'm not a bank. Our average tenancy lasts for about 2 years - one bedroom flats. Longest to date has been 8 years & she was a joy to have.

Wouldn't it be nice to charge £30 for a letter regarding unapproved arrears and high penalty rates of interest taken direct from their pay without reference to the courts?

Taking accommodation without payment is theft, even if our politicians choose to rule that it isn't. Let alone taking the landlords furniture on departure after Notice to Quit. We are now in the process of UV marking all our white goods with Inventory numbers.

Phillip I can only presume that you have only recently come to P118, otherwise you would be familiar with me, my tone and the point of my articles.

My ‘Don’t Shoot The Messenger’ series is an informative, light hearted, playfully provocative and respectful elbow-nudge to the landlord community from someone whose job it is to prosecute landlords for harassment and illegal eviction but whose 22 years in the business leaves me with a
certain world weary cynicism, brought on by investigating complaints of nightmare tenants against what, by and large is a decent landlord community.

During those 22 years, when I haven’t been running around with a blue light on my head, kicking in doors and telling landlords “Your nicked son”, I have been a landlord myself, a letting agent, a homeowner and a tenant.

I don’t believe in the cartoon evil landlord or the doe eyed victim tenant.

I work in one of the most deprived areas of London, so I see the worst examples of everything and I write about that, because it is my life, its what I know.

My main concern is trying to deal with the fact that landlords and tenants don’t seem to like each other, and yet they need each other to survive. I strive to illuminate that in everything I write.

I have travelled up to Norwich, in my own time and at my own expense, just to connect with people in landlord/tenant world. I met Mark, Neil, Teena, Jack and the whole P118 crew and we get on famously. We don’t agree on everything but we don’t have to.

P118 regulars Paul Barret, Mary Latham and Ian Ringrose will tell you that we get the hump sometimes and bitch a bit but we still have respect for each other. We just have different views on various aspects of landlord and tenant stuff. That is the source of debate and ultimately, understanding.

I have a whole list of landlords who at one time or another I have threatened with prosecution. I pride myself on the fact that those same landlords call me by my first name, pop into my office to check that their eviction paperwork is in order and even, on occasion, invite me to family barbecues.

Lighten up mate and enjoy the playful debate. I do, that’s why I write for P118.

Oh and by the way. I just noticed your last comment. I have a double barreled name not because I went to Eton....it was Deptford Green Boys actually and if you met me you would know I have an accent like Ray Winstone. My name simply comes from a blending of mine and my wife's name. And dont knock Tripe. There is a brilliant Fujianese restaurant in Bethnal Green Road called 'Gourmet San' where they do a fantastic sweet and sour tripe. You cant get enough tripe in my book. I take offence at what is obviously a tripe-ist comment. Trotskyist????? Nah......Tripe-ist Yeah......absolutely haha

Hear, hear Ben; you just make sure you keep on doing your posts, you make things interesting when Landlording is not the most exciting subject in the world!!

Your commentary keeps us LL grounded as sometimes I think we can disappear up our own a---'s

As regards LL and tenants not liking eachother.

I don't think this is a consequence of their individual descriptions.

I think such perception is borne out of both parties' experiences with eachother which have been largely caused by inadequacies in the rental system in the UK.

When you have for example a LL who will not resolve dangerous defects or supply the service that a tenant could reasonably expect to receive as per the AST you can understand the tenant crossing the LL off his Christmas card list!

Conversely you have a very p----d off LL when a tenant fails to pay rent and works the eviction system to stay in property, trash it, steal from it and then leave at eviction date with no real sanction possible against them to recover losses they have caused the LL.

Is it any wonder that suspicion of eachother is legion.
Of course these circumstances of such perception have built up since the new HA came in about 3 decades ago I think.
To start to like eachother we both need to start conforming to our obligations
There does seem to LL that there is a natural prejudice against Ll with a seeming lack of attention to the massive 2.1 billion pounds of losses that bad tenants caused last year to LL.
If such losses had occurred to tenants I believe there would be much shouting about the poor old tenant and how he was being crucified by the bad LL.
Well this situation is actually happening to LL and yet we don't hear much from Shelter or anyone else for that matter about such circumstances..........................................funny that!!

Maybe I see the World through rose coloured glasses or something? However, the vast majority of tenants I meet hold their landlords and letting agents in high regard and vice versa. Yes there are a few a55holes and I’ve met them too in all three guises. The bottom line though is that over 23 years and with a very large portfolio I’ve only ever had three tenants from hell in the whole time and perhaps two or three late payers every year. I’ve had more bad drivers run into my car over the same period! Perhaps I’ve been lucky, or perhaps I’ve just learned to avoid trouble? I liken this to people who manage to regularly get themselves into street fights and in trouble with the law. They only do so as a result of their own attitudes and not learning from lifes previous experiences.