Keir Starmer: Not all landlords are evil

Keir Starmer: Not all landlords are evil

10:02 AM, 1st July 2024, About 5 months ago 55

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In a heated interview on BBC Radio 5 Live, Keir Starmer declared, “not all landlords are evil,” but slammed some for driving up rents through bidding wars.

The Labour leader took questions from listeners and presenter Nicky Campbell on various issues including housing.

Labour’s manifesto pledges to abolish Section 21 immediately and strengthen tenants’ rights in challenging rent increases.

Build 1.5 million new homes

Mr Starmer took a question from a listener asking about her housing association property and how she could get on the housing ladder.

The Labour leader repeated Labour’s manifesto pledge to build 1.5 million new homes over the next Parliament by building on brownfield sites.

Keir Starmer emphasised the need for lower mortgage premiums, pointing out that many renters pay more in rent than they would for a mortgage but can’t afford the initial savings to secure one.

Tackle the rental sector

The Labour leader insists that under a Labour government, bidding wars would be made illegal.

This is despite critics dismissing the plan as “ineffective” due to a loophole allowing tenants to still make ‘voluntary’ higher offers.

Mr Starmer told BBC Radio 5 Live: “We also need to tackle the rental sector. As you know private landlords are often getting tenants or would-be tenants to bid against each other in an upward spiral and that means rent goes up and up and up.”

Mr Starmer adds: “Young people or people who want to buy their own home are paying a massive amount of their income in rent, and we have to stop that happening. There are very huge deposits as well that are being taken from people.”

Nothing against being a landlord

Nicky Campbell interrupted and challenged Mr Starmer and asked: “This all landlords are evil thing, these are working people.”

Mr Starmer hit back and said: “No, it’s not all landlords are evil. There’s nothing against your property and being a landlord and nothing wrong with setting a good rent that gives you a good income.

“Many people do it on a big or a small scale as a pension safeguard and I understand that.

“However, we can’t simply leave out of account what is happening nowadays, where the rents are just going up because there are more people who need to rent than there are places to rent, and the prices are just going through the roof.”

You can listen to the exchange by clicking here and listening from 33:45


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Beaver

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13:50 PM, 12th August 2024, About 3 months ago

Reply to the comment left by PH at 12/08/2024 - 13:47
I think that it also depends upon where you are in the country, how many tenants you have going for each rental property, and whether you use an agent. If you've got 30 tenants applying for your property and a tenant has the necessary proof of earnings, appears bona fides and is able to pay you upfront then your agent would have to be totally crazy not to recommend that tenant.

GlanACC

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14:23 PM, 12th August 2024, About 3 months ago

You never can tell. I had tenants once - both worked at Rolls Royce, both had newish cars. They rented a 4 bed off me, they painted the inside walls BROWN cos the kids had drawn on the walls. Then they stopped paying and as the cars were on lease and they were self employed contractors at Rolls Royce I never got anything.

So, no matter how respectable people can look, you never can tell.

Beaver

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14:43 PM, 12th August 2024, About 3 months ago

Reply to the comment left by GlanACC at 12/08/2024 - 14:23
And that's another reason why an offer from the tenant of payment of the rent in advance reduces your risk as a landlord, especially when the law only permits you a five week deposit. If tenants A, B and C all appear to be the same risk but tenant B offers payment in advance I cannot see why any agent would not recommend tenant B. I also cannot see a moral problem with it in the PRS.

PH

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15:03 PM, 12th August 2024, About 3 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Beaver at 12/08/2024 - 14:43
This sort of thing could also be what Rayner outlaws as they will see it as trying to gain an advantage.

Beaver

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15:06 PM, 12th August 2024, About 3 months ago

Reply to the comment left by PH at 12/08/2024 - 15:03
If you have areas where private rental property is scarce and 30 tenants are applying for a rental property then of course some tenants are going to try to gain an advantage.

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