Rents could increase by 20% over the next year – HomeLet

I have been a responsible landlord now for 18 years and have a modest portfolio of 8 rental properties. I currently have "fantastic" tenants in all my properties and would not wish to lose any of them, however, when the abolition of section 21 comes into law, the question is, will my tenants remain "fantastic" or will they become belligerent, knowing that in effect, I have lost control of my property. I recently had a tenant leave one of my properties (DSS), I had granted permission for her to have a dog, she had come from an agency and I had had an inventory done prior to her moving in. When she moved out, I paid for another inventory and was dismayed to find out that she had destroyed 3 carpets, had allowed her daughter to draw with wax crayoning over most of the walls in the property, had also damaged the kitchen, and had left 2 wheely bins full of dog excrement outside along with broken toys and other mess, the total cost of rectification was over £4,000, this was if I did most of the work myself to cut contractors costs (I had supplied contractors quotes), I applied to the TDS to be allowed to retain the deposit of £700, this was refused, and I was awarded £40 of the deposit only and was informed that I could not appeal this decision, this effectively cost me more than the total rent received for the entire tenancy. What is the point of taking a deposit? and the powers that be, decide in their wisdom that landlords need further sanctioning, it is completely bewildering. Now we cannot even claim tax relief on the mortgage payments of the properties we rent out, how is this not a business expense, can somebody explain this to me, please? Are there any other businesses where you cannot claim for legitimate expenses? I don't know of any myself. If anybody who reads this post is thinking of coming into the PRS, I would advise that you seriously think very hard before you do so as I know that my experiences are not uncommon (I have had far, far worse). Good luck guys.

"I applied to the TDS to be allowed to retain the deposit of £700, this was refused, and I was awarded £40 of the deposit only and was informed that I could not appeal this decision"
The TDS is a scam that applies the avoidance of betterment to the extreme as an anti landlord bias with no consideration for preservation of the property condition less fair wear and tear.
So property inspection costs are a pointless expense as TDS will never provide realistic reinstatement costs.
Any system without right of appeal will be corrupt.

Other Deposit schemes are available..

Yes, I agree. I don't take deposits anymore, I just assumed that all deposit schemes are the same, I increased how much I would normally ask for rent to cover potential damage and save that amount, so the corrupt deposit scheme designed to protect tenants has cost tenants more. The same as all the other landlord-hating schemes, past and future.

Look, as I see all this, Landlords/ladies are landlords/ladies to make a profit. If we are sanctioned and have stupid costs and rules imposed on us, we have only 2 choices, we increase the rent to make it worth it to us or we sell up, that's it.
Nobody in their right mind or a philanthropist would do otherwise. Why is it so hard for the landlord/lady haters to see this?
Maybe I should have been a politician.

Recent rises are because rent increases lag behind increased costs for landlords.

If the rate of rises in landlords’ costs eases, rent increases should ease too (in a few months’ time).

However, I fear landlords’ costs will continue to rise due to government policies.

Unless landlords are allowed to make a small profit, they will not be able to fund essential repairs and this is bad news for everyone.

Reply to the comment left by Cider Drinker at 08/05/2024 - 13:30
History shows the future. Main difference now is that politicians / government have shown that a tenancy agreement contract can be over ridden by governments legislation. Effectively making any contract nul and void.
Best of luck to future landlords . The big corporations coming will be supported by tax breaks and held in high regard. Polly will have won the battles but lost the war.

No they won't increase by 20% because renters simply can't afford it. If they do the only outcome will be more defaults and more court cases to evict (which generally means the tenants will stop paying altogether and sit tight till the bailiffs arrive as they have nothing to lose).