My campaign against Labour’s housing policies

I am taking part in several discussions there. Very little about merit, most posts are displaying an amount of hatred not seen anywhere else plus lots of expletives - of course towards LLs.
Tenants and others commenting there are extremely firm labour supporters, completely immune to any arguments no matter how factual.
Still I think it is worth taking part, even if one tenant becomes more aware of the dangers.

The HMO sector is already heavily regulated, however there is a serious lack of enforcement so rentals owned by the bad/rouge landlords just don’t get sorted, so tenants see no improvements should they be unfortunate enough to rent one.

Decent landlords will eventually exit the market as trying to jump through more badly thought out and implemented legislation will sadly be just too difficult to achieve. Or feel they no longer want to be political pawns and blamed heavily for the housing crisis.

Should labour get into power I sinserly hope they get on with building some social housing quickly, otherwise fear the crisis is only going to get a lot worse!

Jennifer, it would be good if you could post a bit about who you are and your background?

Yes, I have also been on the page and there are a lot of trolls trying to colonise it. It would be good if others could help to combat their arguments and support Jennifer.

You have to be willing to be insulted though. In a short space of time I was told to 'p**s off,' 'f**k off,' and that I was a 'heartless parasite'...

Can you please explain to me which document & page in Labour's Manifesto & Funding document I can find the background to what is written in the commentary in the link provided to Labour's Housing Policy re - annual tax bills levied on the value of your house - government tax inspectors to snoop around your home and garden to precisely evaluate the worth of your home so they know exactly how much they can tax you - tax those who save and work harder to improve their home to be punished by a ‘progressive property tax’ every year - would charge for even small fixtures to your own home that improve its value.
And where Labour's undisclosed plans are to be found about how much more they will charge higher-valued homes?

Reply to the comment left by Hardworking Landlord at 27/11/2019 - 11:53
Hello there
I am a homeowner and accidental landlord (one property). In a professional capacity I have worked with various housing clients over the years (mostly, but not execlusively, housing associations).
On a personal level I am concerned by the direction of housing policy. For me, the issue is supply. We need more of it. That will lead to more affordable homes both to rent and buy, as well as improve standards.
I find Labour's housing policies really worrying. Rent caps, for a start, are economically illiterate and counter productive.
While not in the manifesto, Labour has spoken exstensively about forcing landlords to sell to tenants at state-set prices. If they get in, there is a reasonable chance they would bring this in. For me, this is confiscation and a fundamental attack on private property.
I think it's important to take a stand against these egregious policies and defent our right to rent, buy and own!

Reply to the comment left by Laura Delow at 27/11/2019 - 12:24
Hi Laura
Independent economists - including the IFS - have widely agreed that the spending committments in Labour's manifesto cannot be met by the taxes they have outlined and that in addition to more borrowing, higher tax revenue would be necessary.
But where will it come from? I think it's legitimate to look at the kind of things the Labour Party and Labour leadership have talked about in the past to get a sense of what they'd do.
Homes tax, garden tax, mansion tax, essentially taxes on property are all things which have been discussed and advocated by Labour.
It's also worth, looking at the taxes they have announced (such as the second home tax) to see where there tax policy might lead.
lastly, property is easy to tax. You can't hide it. You can't move it. With investment drying up and a significant amount of capital flight, don't be surprised if property is in the firing line for significant taxation under a Corbyn-led government.

Reply to the comment left by Dr Rosalind Beck at 27/11/2019 - 12:13
Dear Rosalind - thank you for your support, it is greatly appreciated. But please don't worry about the trolls. They are best ignored. Let's focus on getting our message out!
Jennifer

Reply to the comment left by paul robinson at 27/11/2019 - 11:22
I agree that supply is a real issue. We need more homes for rent and for sale. Along with rooting out of bad landords, greater choice will also improve standards.
Jennifer

Reply to the comment left by Jennifer at 29/11/2019 - 13:20
Eeeek! Financial armageddon!