Tenants want the next government to control rent rises

Tenants want the next government to control rent rises

0:02 AM, 24th June 2024, About 4 months ago 19

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Tenants in the private rented sector (PRS) want the next government to focus on controlling the pace of rent rises, a survey has found.

The research from Zoopla and Ipsos says this demand is closely followed by the need for increased home construction and enhanced rights and protections for renters.

While all political parties agree on the need for rental reforms, specific measures to manage rent inflation are missing from manifestos.

Rent inflation for new lets currently stands at 6.6% but is projected to fall below earnings growth in 2024.

The survey also found that just a quarter of voters believe that political parties pay attention to housing.

Managing the pace of rental growth

Zoopla’s executive director, Richard Donnell, said: “Renters want more focus on their priorities including raising housing benefit levels and managing the pace of rental growth, while also improving rights and protections.

“Rent reforms are on the agenda for all parties but managing rental inflation is best achieved by growing supply through new home building as measures to control rents can reduce new investment.”

He adds: “British voters have high expectations from a new Government on housing. The overarching response is ‘build more homes, but other things matter too’.”

Encourage new home construction

Despite scepticism about the government’s ability to encourage new home construction, half of voters (50%) disagree with the notion that there isn’t much governments can do.

A significant proportion (21%) strongly believes that governments can positively impact home-building rates.

The main political party manifestos consistently target 300,000 or more homes annually in England, a goal not achieved for over four decades.

In 2023, net additions to housing supply fell 65,000 homes short of this target.

Reducing homelessness and rough sleeping

Mr Donnell said: “People’s experiences and priorities vary based on their position in the market.

“It is clear voters are well aware of the pressures on the housing market with reducing homelessness and rough sleeping and doing more to reduce empty and under-utilised homes in the top three priorities.”

He added: “Building more homes has the potential to start addressing many of the priorities identified in our survey with Ipsos.

“We have been getting closer to the 300,000 homes a year level but breaking through will require need a big political push to deliver the homes the nation needs across all housing tenures.”

How to pay for affordable housing

Public opinion diverges on how to pay for affordable housing with 41% supporting more government borrowing for this purpose.

Only 26% are willing to accept higher taxes – suggesting the funding of building new homes will be a challenge.

Beyond rent control and home building, voters also expressed concerns about homelessness and rough sleeping (41%).

And 39% want to see fewer empty homes.


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Gromit

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7:56 AM, 24th June 2024, About 4 months ago

Tenants want rent controls - no s**t Sherlock!

I'd like a 200ft super yacht.,...................

Cider Drinker

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8:19 AM, 24th June 2024, About 4 months ago

The best way to minimise rent rises would be to reduce the landlords’ costs and to incentivise them to charge reasonable through the tax system.

Imposing simple rent controls may be a vote winner but the unintended consequences are bad news for tenants.

Paddy O'Dawes

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9:11 AM, 24th June 2024, About 4 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Cider Drinker at 24/06/2024 - 08:19
Stop talking sense. Reciprocal legislation where both sides benefit is not in the vocabulary of modern politics. People want to scream soundbites and apportion blame rather than seek the realistic chance of a solution.

JamesB

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9:50 AM, 24th June 2024, About 4 months ago

How did the survey go?:
Would you like your rent to:
a) be able to be increased to extortionately high levels on an unscrupulous landlord's whim*
b) be controlled so that you never have to pay more, ever, whatever happens to landlords costs or inflation, for as long as you choose to keep living in their house?
*I hope I got the typical terminology about right there

Beaver

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10:04 AM, 24th June 2024, About 4 months ago

Reply to the comment left by JamesB at 24/06/2024 - 09:50
What this post says is:

“...managing rental inflation is best achieved by growing supply through new home building as measures to control rents can reduce new investment.”

It's true that measures to control rents can reduce new investment but none of the parties can build its way out of the problem.

fairwood789

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15:53 PM, 24th June 2024, About 4 months ago

Tenants may want rent controls, but Landlords, probably, want BTL mortgage rate controls, no 3%, 4% or 6%, second property Land Tax or Capital Gains Tax when rolling over a property to buy a better new home for residents..

Councils, probably, want new build rental home costs to be no more that the cost of funding the borrowing and maintenance costs'

Buyers want new and second hand homes to cost much less, but new legislation.

Guess who is going to get what?

Beaver

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16:48 PM, 24th June 2024, About 4 months ago

Under the Scottish system of sealed bids for houses buyers are used to being outbid by purchasers who really want to buy and are prepared to put in the highest offer for a house. The SNP rent-control experiment has demonstrated that rent controls put rents up. Tenants in England are now offering more than the advertised rent to secure a property; at the moment tenants are driving up rents for new rentals.

Presumably if rent controls were to come in and a landlord was to advertise a property for a given rent that was within whatever guidelines had been set under the 'rent controls' that landlord couldn't be prosecuted for taking the offer of the tenant who offered the highest rent.

Cider Drinker

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19:43 PM, 24th June 2024, About 4 months ago

There ought to be a fair rent range.

It could consider the value of the property and the typical mortgage rate such that one costing £300k has a ‘starting point’ that is twice that of one costing £150k.

Then, add on likely maintenance costs based on things like floor area, number of bathrooms, included appliances and such like.

Don’t forget things like Selective Licensing. Assume all landlords are higher rate taxpayers for S24.

Add on insurances and let’s not forget risk.

Risks such as a non-paying tenant or one that damages the property, (virtually impossible to avoid) void periods and the inevitable changes to legislation.

Then there’s Letting Agent fees, accountant fees, SDLT and so on.

I’m sure a ‘reasonable rent range’ could be calculated that would act as a guide.

Cider Drinker

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19:45 PM, 24th June 2024, About 4 months ago

One more thing, according to the LHA that my tenants receive, rents have risen by less than 11% since 2020 (or 2019 when data for the previous rates was gathered).

So, why do people think rents have risen by more than inflation?

Andrew57

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20:24 PM, 24th June 2024, About 4 months ago

I want the government to control rent rises but I bet my tenants don't. Haven't raised my rents for years, but if the government get involved they would look at nearer market value.

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