Landlords – what are your suggestions to better the current chaos in the PRS?

How about a tax incentive to offer a longer AST's and hold the rent for say 5 year tenancies?

Reply to the comment left by Simon Baldry at 30/11/2022 - 12:42
With the current uncertainties, I don't think that many landlords would be willing to hold the rent for 5 years. Inflation only increases would be reasonable. Personally I would be willing to offer a longer AST only after I knew that the tenant was behaving well. Our tenants are on month to month now but have been doing this happily for years as we generally have a good relationship with them.

1 review George Osbone's punitive tax rules
2 make btl applications as simple as they used to be
Then progress will be made...

Any one want to put these comments out to the wider public and media? I have read them and they are good, solid and robust (love that new goverment word) but it is only us on this forum reading them. Attach them to other articles and do it as one. Everyone hits a low key non offence article with a copy of some of these very worthwhile ideas. Other that is all they will be - ideas. They are worthwhile comments and opens up more ideas and the agreement of other readers is great. but it is only us reading them!

Reply to the comment left by Ross Tulloch at 29/11/2022 - 14:26Hamish
I welcome your well presented positive ways that the property portal can bring good landlords the benefits of the 21st century using open data, while providing tools to remove the need for spurious licencing whilst making it much easier to identify non-compliant landlords and agents.
Much of what you have proposed overlaps with what iHowz have been pushing for, bringing together public access to compliance documentation, with any additional inspection regime based on the successful model we negotiated with Southampton, which ensures all properties are inspected by an independent surveyor and costs are significantly lower.
https://ihowz.uk/southampton-licensing/
In our response to the call for evidence o the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee with regards to the Government White Paper on the PRS A fairer private rented sector, we concluded with the following:
"Making our proposed Rental Safety Certificate accessible on the property portal, together with the registers of both accredited and rogue landlords and agents, would make it easy to identify compliant properties and their managers, removing the need for licencing, while enabling enforcement agencies to adopt a lower cost risk-based compliance regime
In addition to these compliance measures, unique identifiers for properties52, accredited landlords and agents should be encouraged. Specifying them on the property portal, advertisements, agreements, and other documentation could be used to exclude the unregistered from the market, providing a proactive, lower cost route to a fairer PRS"
https://ihowz.uk/the-white-paper-on-the-privated-rented-sector/
We continue to lobby the Government on the White Paper, including our proposal to amend S21, rather than outright abolition. We have also requested inclusion in any stakeholder discussions to agree the scope, design and testing of the Property Portal.

Reply to the comment left by Hamish McBloggs at 29/11/2022 - 14:02
You should be the Housing Minister, Hamish. You get my vote.

The way to sort it is for every landlord to sell up, then when the Govt cant afford the hotel bills, common sense will be found, they started this by selling council houses for half price and not replacing them. Its got to lead to a shortage and now they are just forcing the good landlords away.

Reply to the comment left by Rod at 03/12/2022 - 11:37
I've been away.

Let me read ...

In the Far East 3rd world country where I came from 50 years ago, life is a lot simpler.
Both tenants and landlords understand that:
*Nobody owes anybody a living.
*Nobody is forcing anybody to live anywhere.
*Dont pay rent, don’t live here.
*Good property, high rent.
*Substandard property, substandard rent.
*Each has a place in the society.
*Not paying 100% rent because 10% of the property doesn’t work is just a joke.
*Free market means: the tenants choose where they can afford to live at the rent they can afford to pay. The landlords get the rent/tenants their properties can demand or attract.
Ie The tenants choose the property as much as the landlords choose the tenant.
Sometimes there are more properties than tenants. Sometimes there are more tenants than properties. Prices and quality will move up and down accordingly.

We have had the occasional ‘negotiations’ for late rents paid over several days/weeks or downward reduction of rents etc but they are the exceptions - we always said yes and our tenants are always grateful. I can’t recall ever having to ‘kick out’ or even ‘ask’ a tenant to leave for none payment of rent in all these years. Never ever had to go to court over a tenant. I don’t think our experience is exceptional.

We are talking about a 3rd world country with scant protection law for either tenants or landlords. I don’t even know what the law says (never had to) but we coexist. We respect and are polite to each other. We know we need each other. We know and we accept our responsibility. Not so in UK. In UK, paying rent is optional!

What we have here in UK today is the consequence of our government passing its responsibility, resulting from its own failure, to the private sector. And can’t stop meddling! All these debates are just complicating the issues.

All we need are:
*for the government to stop meddling in the free market - it’s like the amateurs telling the professionals how to run their business. The market, when left alone, will adjust itself to a level that works for everybody.
*a court that works efficiently with industry professionals and, most of all, quickly - justice delayed is justice denied. Life, and bills, don’t stop just because the court can’t get its arse into gear.

Without solving these 2 fundamental issues, everything else is just sticking plaster and making life even more complicated because as we solve one problem, we create 2 more.

Can anybody see this happening? I can’t.

Reply to the comment left by Hamish McBloggs at 29/11/2022 - 14:02
Some good thinking there Hamish but I can't see letting agents ever agreeing to it as it would be depriving them of a great deal of their revenue. Recent legislation has already prevented agents charging for items and tasks which previously brought in income and the suggested portal would leave them with almost nothing to charge for.