The Alliance Housing Policy

Following on from the onslaught against the PRS emanating from Government, Councils and other anti-landlord bodies, the Alliance has now published its housing policy.

We have stated our case at the Fair Possession Coalition summit regarding the abolition of section 21. As the curtains come down on May’s failed Premiership, there is an opportunity for the new PM to address the housing issue, not by taking cheap shots and jumping on the hate band wagon, but by listening to the real stakeholders and acting accordingly.

We call upon our fair coalition partners to join us and sign off on this declaration. No more weak protests or words. Let us all give a reason to our members for joining our respective organisations. Landlords as hard working tax payers deserve real representation.

Join the Alliance here >> https://landlordsalliance.co.uk/

Our housing policy is designed, to stimulate the market, provide much needed accommodation, while providing choice by facilitating mobility and keeping prices down by offering real choice as well as helping Benefit tenants in to homes.

We must point out that Shelter who profess to want to help benefit tenants, have refused to bond said tenants and certainly do not provide accommodation for them, unlike hard pressed Landlords.

We now outline our blueprint for progress:

– Scrap Section 24 immediately. This measure subverts normal accounting rules. It failed in Ireland and is failing here.

– Retain Section 21. The threat of abolition is already driving shortages. The Landlord who purchased the property, maintains it and pays the mortgage naturally his rights overriding those of a tenant who pays a monthly rent. That’s the reality. To pursue the abolition is to undermine property rights.

– Remove Stamp Duty on all property under £500k.

– Remove Stamp Duty on all BTL property where the property has been empty for 12 months or requires major repairs.

– Remove Stamp Duty on properties being refurbished as HMO’s or converted in to 3 or more self contained units.

– VAT on building materials at 10%.

– Housing Benefit claimants – Introduce tax breaks to encourage landlords to accept this riskier demographic with UC paid direct to the landlord from day one. Parity of treatment with respect to contractual agreements. Both landlords and tenants to abide by the terms of the contract and where tenants break the contract and leave their UC continues to be paid to the LL until expiry of the contract.

– Reset the clock on Planning. Centralise it, removing council employees from any decision making on building and planning.

– Put all legislation for rented property on a single footing, no more anomalies applying different standards to the PRS and social housing.

– One government body to oversee all housing regulation removing activists and charities who bring nothing, but negativity to the table. Ensure this new body has representatives from the legal sector as well as government and the PRS.

– Amend the housing act 2004 to ban all Council Licensing Schemes which are nothing more than revenue raising scams by bankrupt councils introduced and given an appearance of legitimacy by biased consultations.

– Introduce a national database of landlords nationwide costing £50 per landlord for 5 years.

– No landlord to obtain housing benefit payments unless registered and cleared by HMRC.

– In areas of high homelessness, scrap min room sizes to get people off the streets until these measures kick in and more rooms come to the market.

We urge the Conservative leadership contenders to adopt these measures as a matter of urgency and invite the NLA and RLA to endorse them now. Lets get the rental market moving again. Lets give investors confidence and tenants choice.

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