19:09 PM, 27th September 2023, About A year ago 38
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The Liberal Democrats have pledged to give private rented sector (PRS) tenants and landlords a ‘fair deal’ in their newly published policy paper which would see three-year tenancies and ‘rent smoothing’ – or rent controls – being introduced.
Plans would also see landlords having to apply for a licence – ‘much like getting a driver’s licence’ – before they could rent out a property, and the system would see a national register of landlords being created.
Landlord licensing would see service quality being improved, the party claims, and ‘bad landlords would have their licences revoked’. Landlords with holiday lets would also need to be licensed.
The proposals also include a pledge to ban section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions.
The policy paper – ‘Tackling the Housing Crisis’ – comes after the Lib Dems’ annual conference in Bournemouth, alongside the publication of other policy documents.
However, party leader Sir Ed Davey made no mention of the party’s plans for the PRS in his speech on the final day of the conference.
In their policy paper, the Lib Dems state that England’s PRS is ‘unfair and under-regulated’ and want to introduce powers to tackle bad landlords and tenants.
They say: “England’s private rental sector is fundamentally unfair and under-regulated. For decades, the assumption has been that private rental was a temporary stop gap before homeownership, or a lifestyle choice.
“This is no longer the case; millions of people, especially the young, ethnic minorities and those on lower incomes, are stuck permanently in private rentals, with no prospect of the affordability of a council or housing association home or the security of homeownership.”
Under its proposed plans, all landlords would need a licence to rent out their property and there would be a national register of landlords – maintained by local councils.
The party says to gain the licence, landlords must meet minimum standards on safety and service provision. The process would set out what is required of landlords and would be administered locally.
The policy paper says: “We do not believe requiring landlords to get a licence and meet minimum standards would deter investment in the sector.
“We believe a licence would drive up the quality of service provision in the private rental sector, as bad landlords would have their licences revoked or denied if they failed to meet the requirements.”
The new licensing system would also require all rental properties to meet national minimum standards on safety, the environment and service provision. There would be a specific focus on ending the ‘national scandal’ of damp and mould in homes.
The party also says that all rental properties will have to meet high environmental and safety standards under energy efficiency requirements for landlords it would introduce.
The party also plans to remove the proposed £10,000 cost cap on the energy performance certificate (EPC) improvements that were scrapped by the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak.
The party would give landlords five years to reach an EPC rating of C, and 10 years to reach an EPC B rating.
The party claims a survey from 2021 indicates that 8% of private renters in England had received a no-fault eviction that year, while 32% were concerned they would be asked to move out in the next 12 months.
The paper states: “It goes against the liberal principle of equality that landlords have the power to make someone homeless on a whim. We would scrap Section 21 of the 1988 Housing Act, ending no-fault evictions.”
Eviction rules will also be changed so that landlords can only evict tenants in specific and proven circumstances, such as failure to pay rent or damaging the property.
The party says to prevent landlords from evicting tenants and increasing rents, they plan to introduce ‘rent smoothing’ – which is a form of rent control since rents can only increase by the Bank of England Base Rate during the contract period.
The Lib Dems say: “The interest rate, rather than inflation, is more relevant to the costs a landlord faces since property is a financial and investment asset rather than a labour-intensive business. This would not lead to the harms caused by blanket rent control, as landlords could increase rents at the end of a contract period.”
The party also plans to extend the default tenancy from one year to three years – and says that three years ‘strikes the right balance’.
In the policy paper, the party says: “Tenants, especially vulnerable people and children, need stability, whilst not starving the rental market of available properties. We believe three years strikes the right balance.”
The paper also says that the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) would be linked ‘to the real level of local rents’.
The policy paper ends with this statement: “We do not see evidence that the proposals outlined here would significantly reduce the availability of privately rented properties on the market. Bad landlords who exploit their tenants may leave the market – but ultimately their property would either be sold to better landlords or to new owner-occupiers.”
You can read the full Housing Policy Paper on the Lib Dems website.
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Reluctant Landlord
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Sign Up13:41 PM, 29th September 2023, About A year ago
Reply to the comment left by Martin Hicks at 28/09/2023 - 09:28
You've got to be brave to want to be a Liberal Democrat MP!
No just plain stoopid
Mick Roberts
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Sign Up15:09 PM, 29th September 2023, About A year ago
Reply to the comment left by JamesB at 29/09/2023 - 11:37
Yes,
We all thought it was the end ha ha. What do they think when they say these things. Tenants jump for joy think Why hey, like they gonna' catch up in 2 years yeah right.
I got my text ready to start sending people & I did as on that Friday after Corbyn, the texts started to come through saying Ooh Mick we han't got to pay now the news said. Details below:
I had to send the below when tenants started asking me on the Tuesday.
I sent Fri morning, & about 10 tenants said Ooh glad u explained that to us, we was just about to ask for Rent Holiday.
I started to get my majority benefit tenants to try it on (Well 2 of them-The rest supported me & the some others were about to ask me before saying Thanks to explaining to them that moron Corbyn had misled them).
Some of you lovely people have been texting asking for a rent holiday cause of the coronavirus. Now if u all want a rent holiday, there will be no houses no homes in 3 months, simple as that.
The business (which is houses) only functions if there is rent in. No rent in-No business-No houses.
There's not a magic tree out there to pay your outgoings.
The comment you may have heard on the media this week has not helped tenants at all. Corbyn Labour Anti Landlord tripe saying tenants can ask for a rent holiday was aimed at workers who have lost their job & FULL income & got to wait for benefits which YOU ARE ALREADY GETTING, but some of u r rubbing your hands in glee thinking that was aimed at u.
And it was a rent holiday, some of u have interpreted that as Ooh baby no rent to pay. The workers still had to pay when they get back on their feet. Some of u have got into arrears with me before & took years to pay & some still paying off now years later. You text saying Can I have rent holiday cause of coronavirus, then u also don't say I'll pay next week.
Some of u have been with me over 20 years, most of u over 5 to 10 years. I look after u the best I can despite all the constant recent attacks from Council and Govt. But I will not look after people trying to take advantage and plunge me and u into losing your home.
If I get one more text from someone on FULL benefits asking for rent holiday, I'm gonna' seriously consider selling your home. Some of u will know I'm only keeping the houses for you as it is your home & I respect that.
Please don't exploit the Coronavirus for financial gain and put everyone's else's home in jeapordy.
If you've genuinely lost your job, ring me & we'll get u on the benefits u entitled to.
If u not earning enough, u claim benefits. If u getting too much to claim benefits, the Govt are saying u r earning enough to pay your rent, so u don't need benefits. It's either one or the other.
We're not a large financial institution, so not able to bear the hardship, that would be inevitable result of rental holidays, so please look towards Govt support, as it is them and Councils that resulted in the below costs.
Slooky
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Sign Up15:10 PM, 29th September 2023, About A year ago
Reply to the comment left by JamesB at 29/09/2023 - 10:37So familiar. My husband is 70 and only went from 7 day week to a 6 day week about 2 years ago! Regards contractors it wouldn't be so bad if they were skilled and knew what they were doing. We just had an insurance claim for a broken shower screen which involved replacing the whole unit, shower tray, wall panels enclosure and the shower valve. Quoted just under 8K (because it was replacing quality kit because it was an awkward room). Labour cost about 4K. Bathroom fitters used by a local "smart" bathroom and kitchen shop. On their third attempt we still thought the job was bad, involved independent surveyors and eventually got our money back and my husband ended up doing the job himself. It took a very long time but it was done properly.
We have been landlords for over 25 years and have always been generous with low rents because I struggled when I was younger. But I have taught myself over the last 3 years to be hard nosed about putting the rent up. I'm not sure why people keep complaining about the wage/rent ratio because I have noticed that wages are relatively so much higher than they were and my tenants earn more than we do. Even with increased rents they have a lot of disposable income. They all have better cars than us and certainly seem to live better than us. Ordering deliveroo etc is a common daily occurrence in our building and yet we can't afford food deliveries (unless it's a supermarket shop🙂). So, yes my attitude is so very much different now.
Pobinr
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Sign Up17:07 PM, 29th September 2023, About A year ago
The Dim libs. Probably the most pro unlimited immigration party of all.
Legal net migration 606k last year = 5000 new homes needed every week.
Most people arriving in the UK seek rental accommodation.
So around 4000 more rental properties are needed every week. Presumably this many or even more if the DimLibs ever gain power.
So they'd overburden rental properties even more & at the same time expect higher standards 🤔🙄
They dont live in the real world.
Hardworking Landlord
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Sign Up8:33 AM, 30th September 2023, About A year ago
Lovely!
Carchester
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Sign Up10:26 AM, 30th September 2023, About A year ago
This tail gateing chancer will not be around after the next election. Even Labour do not want anyhing to do with him.
DrT
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Sign Up8:52 AM, 1st October 2023, About A year ago
Rent smoothing in line with BoE rate. So for the last 10yrs when the rate has been average 1%, this would mean our rent increases would be less than half of inflation. However, any repair or replacement would be at the inflation rate of over 2%. This results in a declining investment, not even factoring in a B2L rate of usually BoE +1%. Conclusion, poor investment look elsewhere. We are property investors, the word being investor. No other investment market is this heavily regulated/capped/taxed they are just allowed to respond to market rates. They need encourage the PRS to evolve naturally like any emerging market. These new policies are destroying it.
Deb
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Sign Up10:50 AM, 2nd October 2023, About A year ago
If it's anything like the Rent Smart Wales scheme then it will be a farce. Good, law abiding landlords will pay and do the online course to get their licence. Dodgy landlords will get someone else to do it for them (no way of checking who actually does the online test) or just won't bother. It's a useless money making scam! Most tenants I've met don't have a clue about it and don't even know or care if a landlord is registered and licenced. All they want is somewhere to live which is becoming more and more difficult for them to find due to this sort of nonsense.