The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) has responded to the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) report released earlier this week.
As reported on Landlord Today, the report says extra tax breaks should be offered to landlords who sign up for a national accreditation scheme to raise standards in the private rented sector.
The RLA agrees that incentives as well effective enforcement are needed to improve the private rented sector.
RLA Chairman Alan Ward appeared on BBC Breakfast News on Saturday (30 August) to comment on the report.
The report highlights that private landlords currently receive tax allowances for repairs and maintenance, but there is no incentive to carry out work above the minimum standard – and that standard is not being enforced effectively.
The CIH states that these financial incentives could take the form of new additional funds for landlords who sign up for a recognised accreditation scheme, or could be diverted to more robust enforcement systems for those who do not comply.
RLA chairman Alan Ward explained that the RLA has consistently campaigned for landlords to be able to treat any improvement needed to bring a property up to standard as an ‘allowable expense’, instead of deducting it from their capital gains tax liability.
He emphasised the problems faced by councils, but called for better prosecution of criminal landlords. He said that the majority of decent and honest landlords should be allowed to “self-regulate” – as proposed by the RLA’s co-regulation policy. He also called for a single accreditation standard which would allow landlords to register once, and be recognised by all local authorities, rather than be licensed separately.
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