The mini-Budget was always billed as a tax-cutting, growth-generating affair - and so it proved - but Labour has criticised it for failing to include a national rent freeze.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan, citing research by campaigning charity Shelter, took to Twitter to say: “This is exactly why we need a rent freeze. Important new research from Shelter shows that half a million people are either behind on their rent or struggling to pay it. Today’s budget was an opportunity for the Govt to help out London’s renters: they chose not to.”
Meanwhile at the Labour Party annual conference - which opened in Liverpool over the weekend - a motion from Corbynist group Momentum also calls for a rent cap.
It concerns the cost of living crisis and would commit Labour to campaign for: “immediately placing energy, water and public transport into public ownership; a minimum wage of £15 per hour; an end to zero-hour contracts; repeal of all anti-trade union legislation; investment in green energy and retrofitting homes; creating millions of well-paid, unionised green jobs within publicly-owned entities; and control of domestic rent to 30% of local income.”
A pressure group within the Labour Party - Labour Tenants United - retweeted a Twitter comment after the Budget, using the hashtag #ClassWar, “A stamp duty cut for buy-to-let landlords, but no rent freeze for tenants - and housing benefit has been cut in real terms”.
Elsewhere in its Twitter feed the Labour Tenants United has retweeted a demand that Labour Mayor for Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, should demand rent controls.
Shortly after the Budget on Friday Generation Rent - les by former Labour peer Bsroness Alicia Kennedy - tweeted: “A rent freeze is needed and it's needed now to give renters the security they deserve this coming winter. With the cost of living continuing to become more expensive the government has to act to make sure renters don't suffer.
“We have been calling for a rent freeze, the end of Section 21 and a ban on rent arrears evictions for months now. The government need to step up and implement these measures this winter to protect renters.”
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So at what point to BTL landlords get cheaper stampduty/SDLT as I’ve never benefitted from a cheaper rate.
“give renters the security they deserve this coming winter.” says Kennedy. Why do they deserve this? What have they done to deserve this? That private citizens should give them money. My tenants deserve a punch in the face as far as I’m concerned with all the trouble they have caused me. They are not from the U.K. come here and live on benefits that they haven’t paid in for and do not deserve.
Fair enough, I Weill offer them the security they want. Act in a tenant like manor, pay your rent, keep the property in good condition and I won’t evict. Don’t do that then I will evict, the issue of security lies with the tenants
Totally Leon. But proving tenant like manner etc is the difficult or impossible part for landlords.
The Stamp Duty cut applies more to tenants than landlords. Tenants will save thousands and be able to buy sooner. Landlords still have to pay the 3% surcharge on the whole purchase price.
With the rise in interest rates it's questionable if BTL is viable in some parts of the country as market rents are too low to cover the mortgage payments so landlords won't be buying anyway.
Why should renters get help when all the owner-occupiers are suffering increasing mortgage rate rises month on month?
Great point!
Landlords have had it good for a very long time taking in profits with little investment. Now the tide is turning. I’m all for fairness for both landlord AND tenant not just landlord alone.
Paul Haynes, interesting point, be interested in how you justify this comment though!
Paul, hands up I have had it good as a long term (over 30 yrs) un mortgaged landlord, little investment I would question, yes in todays money many of my properties were bought for peanuts, but it wasn't peanuts at the time, also the investment was hard work and my time, today at 69 I have a comfortable life style without money worries, I still work, just finished an up grade, repair and full decoration on a house, 5 hour days, 6 days a week, 10 weeks, now relet and rent up by £150 a month. Had a 1 bed bungalow come empty today, fully painted out in lock down, now going to do it all over again, everything yellow, seems they must of been smoking, I do agree though there should be fairness to both landlord and tenant, profit is not a dirty word when it's been worked for
I am one (of many) landlord(s) who has always kept my rentson the low side as I believe in keeping them affordable for good long term tenants. A hitherto successful formula. All this talk of a rent freeze has even me thinking it is time for a round of significant rises before my right to cover my own financial commitments is arbitrarily taken away. How has that helped my tenants?
And Baroness Alicia Kennedy saying that Section 21 should be abolished this winter is making me consider whether I should serve that notice now and sell the houses sooner, rather than later.
Ellie, I’ve done a S21 already for the reasons you state. Others have done the same. Especially with eviction bans announced at the whim of politicans.
Let us face the hard truth…. If Labour get in, in 2024… we are all doomed 😬😬
I have supported my tenants over the last 3 years by not putting up rents. But the minute there is a rent freeze, they would all go up significantly to market value. Then who would be the losers? The tenants.
The London Mayor that is destroying London bringing it to a standstill with nonsense 20mph taking twice as long to get any where and get home, moving lines out in the road, blocking off dozens of roads he hasn’t a clue, now extending to M25 driving people up the wall. He now sees fit to cite Anti-Private landlord Shelters data who supplied no Housing (they should know hmm) to knock us landlords, that’s 2 dysfunctional outside organisations nothing to do with Private Housing poking their noses in, can they not run their own business.
THE WHITE PAPER I think Mr Gove must have thought he was writing Policy for the EU when he wrote this, he seems to have included Article 7. Giving themselves provision to remove Landlords rights over their heads without question, leaving landlords with no say whatsoever over their own Private Freehold Property.
So the London mayor is quoting research from an activist group as fact, and another activist group that’s part of Labour claims a universal (and negligible) tax cut to be a landlord tax cut - and doesn’t even have the shred of common sense needed to understand that if you want cheaper rents then you need to reduce costs for landlords.
None of this would be a problem if we had proper journalists that would be prepared to point out these moronic contradictions - but sadly they are just as bad and are happy to report this drivel unchallenged.
Well a rent freeze might be fair if inflation was zero and interest rates were frozen. But back in the real world, totally unrealistic.
Alright for these out of touch politicians who claim everything as expenses and look forward to a gold plated pension no matter how useless they are to pontificate about things they have no real experience of
Like actual work
That last paragraph:
“We have been calling for a rent freeze, the end of Section 21 and a ban on rent arrears evictions for months now. The government need to step up and implement these measures this winter to protect renters.”
So they expect tenants to not pay the rent and not be evicted, crazy!
I've never raised the rent for an incumbent tenant (except once to help them manage arrears) and its not something that is particularly on my mind, although I am worried about energy costs and inflation as are we all. I'm in the middle politically and the current lot are way too right wing for my liking. However, this headline is panicking me into thinking I really should raise all my rents as soon as possible. I'm sure that's not the intention but it's the de facto effect and I'm sure I'm not the only person thinking this.
I have a really good tenant who looks after the property really well and has always paid the rent on time. The rent has stayed the same for 6 years. Now the mortgage has come to the end of the fixed period and has gone up £150 per month, I will have to put the rent up now.
Well Starmer has to appear as understanding of the average person.Even though he has zilch empathy or understanding of the real world. Like most of 'em. Our tenants have total security and our support. Providing they pay their rent on time and look after the property. But Don't Pay and You Can't Stay ! Simples.
Well Starmer has to appear as understanding of the average person.Even though he has zilch empathy or understanding of the real world. Like most of 'em. Our tenants have total security and our support. Providing they pay their rent on time and look after the property. But Don't Pay and You Can't Stay ! Simples.
I take one look at what sits on the Labour front bench and think no thanks. Who is there out there for any sensible person to vote for? Let’s face it this country is finished unless quickly we see some real leadership instead of personal gainers and point scorer’s desperate to win the poison chalice that’s running this burning wreck of a country.
David Lammy the shadow justice secretary who got his degree in the post and was fined five grand during an election campaign, what a shower
Paul Hayes... Yes, there should be balance but where is the idea its in unbalanced. Large repair service charge bills have wiped out years of profit. While struggling to pay sucj bills, I have still had to pay for internal repairs.. I can't tell my tenants to fix the boiler as there rent is less than expenditure.. To buy my first few properties I worked long hours and saved hard.. I rarely increase rents for good paying tenants but inflation now means I must (altho' I will be doing something by lessvtham inflation).. A rent freeze that penalises landlords who haven't increased rents for years when inflation is roaring, is hardly "fair balance".. Some of my. Mortgages are not fixed and my fixed are coming to an end. Is bankrupting landlords lime fair balance? Is it sensible if one wants there to be accommodation to let? I have sold one property and will sell the rest when the tenants leave.. I won't evict paying tenants but I hope they all leave soon... Shelter and Gen Rent are thick or evil...
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