One-in-10 landlords set to quit - agent’s gloomy forecast

1 In 10 ? I would have thought the number would be much higher, at the present time I'm sitting tight, as much as I would have liked to continue buying I shan't be doing so, if I were leveraged I would be selling to reduce debt, I may well be selling if and when EPC C comes in

Don't leave it too late to sell, Andrew. The Big Seven mortgage lenders have been tightening up new lending on houses and flats that are not EPC Grade C or higher for quite some time. Have you spoken to a first time buyer recently and asked them about the hurdles that the lenders now set for new borrowers? Bank and Building Societies do not wish to co-invest their capital (for 25 years )in energy wasteful, high running costs buildings - that's what EPC Grade D and lower properties are. Have you asked your local domestic Energy Assessor to produce a draft 'as is' EPC for your units using the latest Government software and then asked him to produce a draft predicted EPC showing you the cheapest pathway to just get up to EPC Grade C by one point? That's what I've been doing now for several years with both my domestical and commercial rentals. And it's what all the other landlords I know have been doing. If you don't sell now you will probably only have true Cash Buyers left who can purchase your units. I urge you to sell them as soon as possible.

Quote from the Brent branch of the London Renters' Union:

"There is no significant "exodus". This is one of the many untruth peddled by landlords & the landlord lobby, the vast majority of whom are making big profits & an unacceptable number who mistreat tenants."

So there you have it. We are not leaving & we have a 'Landlord lobby'!

Until the Govt & the tenant groups understand the problem in the PRS they have no chance of solving it. Things are just going to get SO much worse!

It's very hard to predict the general housing situation. As private Landlord's leave some slack will be taken up, it would seem, by the corporate world, pension funds, Lloyds and now possibly John Lewis and Tesco!
Most of what is happening currently affects Landlords with mortgages!
Renters will probably want these new cheap to run square boxes which will be built to a cost. First time and second time buyers will want a nice looking property in a good location with character, in the main.
It is the current Landlord's whom invested for the long term, whom are mortgaged, that will feel some pain as they adapt to these new circumstances and the same for home owners when their fixed deals end.
So far I have been able to sell when my properties have become empty, i doubt that will continue as I feel the pinch and become dis-incentivised to remain a Landlord.
Therefore, there is potential for things to get worse but this is such a huge market that as always there will be some winners and losers.

Last summer I was fully intending to buy multiple properties through a limited company structure. I remortgaged some of my personally held properties to fund the deposits. Anyway the market changed dramatically, a mortgage broker monumentally stuffed up a mortgage application for one new property, so I finished up paying cash for it, which used the deposit money for 2 others. I've still not spent some of the money I raised and right now there's nothing attractive to buy.
So I currently have the option of using that money to either buy something, fully pay off one of my smaller personally held ones, improve multiple existing properties or go on a big holiday and buy a racehorse or sports car.
Right now I'm keeping every option open. I've got 2 mortgages coming off fixes at the end of April so have reserved but not committed to a new 5 year fix at 4.24% on both. My inclination is to fully pay off one of those mortgages purely because it will give me more options for another remortgage later in the year. Why do so many lenders object to more than 10 mortgaged properties? This week's theory is to consolidate as much borrowing as possible on the properties with the biggest CGT liability. The ones I am least likely to ever sell. By the end of the year I may have consolidated down to 9 mortgages if all goes to plan. That would have the benefit of having several unencumbered properties, any of which could be sold without having to factor in mortgage early redemption penalties.
That would then leave enough to replace some kitchens and boilers and probably some roofing and double glazing. As I'll be in the 60% tax bracket due to Section 24 for the upcoming tax year it seems like a good time to do some hefty spending on fully deductible repairs and replacements.
I don't want a racehorse and a sports car would be completely impractical. A cruise is a nice idea for 2024. I quite fancy the Great Lakes.

Where do these Stupid people get their statistics from.
I’m down to 4 now from an original 12.
I will never ever rent another of my remaining properties again.
Should they become void they will be sold straight away.
I used to just sell of one a year for CGT Allowance reasons.
But now that the Government are cutting into that I’d rather sell and take any hit.

For them to say it is only 1 in 10 landlords that plan to exit is the sector is the biggest load of bull I’ve ever heard.
It’s actually more like 60% of all PRS LLs that are selling up and of all of them properties that are being sold only 1 in 8 are being sold to Landlords.
This simply means that the PRS Lettings are going down at a rapid rate and the Government and Councils are doing nothing whatsoever to stop this. In fact they seem to want the PRS LLs out of the game and that is just what they are going to get.
But what do they do when they have crowds of families every morning queuing up at there offices looking for family homes?
They have nothing to offer them so it will be down the B&B and Cheap Hotel Routes.
We will very quickly run out of them
The Government and Councils had it easy with PRS LLs sorting out the housing needs of a large proportion of the rental sector.
As a country we already spend in excess of £6 Million each and every day putting up the boat people in cheap hotels.
This is nothing in comparison to what it will be when the PRS LLs pull out.
We have propped the Government and Councils up for years and years. They have no housing stock and are not building any so that to me equates to a massive juggernaut of an issue coming there way very very soon.
But They Know Best.

Businesses who service the lettings market are trying to be optimistic in order to prevent their backers pulling out.

If my main one wasn’t owned by a limited company I’d have sold up years ago

One in 10 landlords set to quit says Agents gloomy forecast.
OK as if the reason wasn’t known.
The Permanent Eviction Ban that would explain it / Removal of Section 21.
The root cause of the shortage / Homelessnesses and the misfortunate Tenants Sky high unaffordable Rents, (fairer renting haha).
Well done Housing Secretary Mr Michael Gove you shouldn’t be in charge of a hen house.

Ah yes an Ombudsman just what we need as they say up North a Peeler.
His brief has 8 brand new subjects, see them for yourself one of which is to find out information about the industry, no problem we can tell him or her a brand new person on the job that apparently knows nothing as he/she is to find out all this stuff. We can save them time it’s a well established Business.