Labour manifesto: Will the last landlord to leave the PRS, please switch off the lights?

Well, what do landlords make of the political party manifestos this week?

The big one is Labour which is promising to ban Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions on day one. There’s still no indication of how they will do that.

The Tories say they will resurrect the Renters (Reform) Bill which has been such a success for them.

I was left with an empty feeling – none of the parties have really laid out a plan on how they will deal with the ‘housing crisis’.

I’ve said before it’s only a crisis when landlords are at fault.

More of the same for landlords

Indeed, there’s not a lot to choose between Labour and the Conservatives. Either way, it’s going to be more of the same for landlords.

I hope this is not the end of the PRS. Will we be saying by Christmas, ‘Will the last landlord to leave the PRS, please switch off the lights?’

Also, there’s no indication of rent controls which Labour will undoubtedly bring in at a local level to deal with ‘affordability issues’. I’m guessing that all councils will do this.

I’m also hoping they don’t prevent the sale of rented houses to prevent an exodus of landlords. Some Labour figures have previously said they don’t agree with a landlord evicting if they are selling or want to move in.

To Labour and its supporters – it’s crucial that landlords get possession when they need it. If you don’t want a tenant evicted for racking up arrears, then why don’t you pay?

I can see the only way to sell is with a sitting tenant. So, expect property values to take a hit too.

If there is an eviction ban and rent controls, then give it a few years when investment dries up and demand increases rents to eye-watering levels and we might see landlords being offered all sorts of encouragement to re-invest. Probably in time for the next election.

Landlords calling their estate agent

I imagine there were lots of landlords calling their estate agents in the aftermath of the dull speech from Sir Kier. He’s not a people motivator, is he?

Would you want to invest under a Labour government that is going to work overtime to make you the scourge of the modern world? Mind you, the Tories didn’t do much to help our cause either.

Ben Beadle of the NRLA is still welcoming the end of Section 21 if the courts are sorted out and the PRS works for both tenants and landlords.

If ever there was a moment for a leading light in the PRS to speak sense to power, this was it. But Beadle has fudged it once again.

We can’t build enough houses, including social homes, because of planning, money and the lack of skills and materials. Labour says it will build 1.5 million homes in the first Parliament! That’s not going to happen. Otherwise, it’s a great ambition.

Challenge unreasonable rent increases

Along with abolishing Section 21, Labour says it will prevent renters from being exploited and discriminated against (whatever that means) and give them the power to challenge unreasonable rent increases.

This is nonsense on stilts because lots of tenants will object and create a logjam on the numbers heading to the tribunal courts.

I was going to mention this the other week because any opportunity to object to a rent rise will effectively mean a rent cap in reality as landlords think twice about the aggro of putting rents up.

I also think that politicians must stop portraying tenants as some sort of victim and landlords as greedy and exploitative. It’s ridiculous and unfair.

And they raise the old spectre that standards in the PRS will be raised – how? Why? Just use the laws you have to crackdown on criminal landlords.

Most of us agree with renters’ rights, who wouldn’t? But the rights of landlords are also important, and we aren’t all bad people.

Being tarred with the same brush

We are being tarred with the same brush that we overcharge on rent, have poor-quality homes and evict tenants on a whim. Decent landlords don’t – but no one is speaking up for decent landlords.

Labour will also extend Awaab’s Law to the PRS which means that landlords will be liable – I imagine legally – for mould even if the tenant has caused it.

We will also – inevitably – see the return of EPC regulations so we’d better get saving to improve our properties.

I predict that holiday lets will be on life support if Labour wins, and student lets will go periodic. CGT will also go up (even if it’s just for landlords selling).

Does anyone else have the feeling of staring down the barrel of a gun? How many ex-landlords have you smiled at when they’ve urged you to sell up and get out while the going was good?

We’ve put up with a lot

I fear the negativity of being a landlord is going to get cranked up so we will leave through sheer shame. We’ve put up with a lot, from the section 24 idiocy to selective licensing, and here we have the prospect of a Labour party that not only doesn’t like us, but also doesn’t understand how the housing sector works and what we do to house people.

Even if we don’t organise ourselves, landlords individually might lead the stampede to the exit and issue lots of eviction notices (hopefully, section 21s, natch) and put their houses on the market.

We would see house prices fall, tenants made homeless, and landlords leave a sector that is increasingly geared towards making our lives difficult.

It would be the perfect start to a spiteful, ignorant and ill-thought out Labour government plan for the PRS that gets the reality check they aren’t expecting but fully deserve.

Until next time,

The Landlord Crusader

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