Baron John Bird, co-founder of the Big Issue newspaper sold by the homeless and vulnerably-housed, is suggesting that landlords give tenants a cut of capital appreciation when they sell.
In an article in the Big Issue, Bsron Bird explains that the buy to let market is dominated by what he calls “small fry” landlords with just one or two properties. He says that BTL has allowed “quite ordinary people to cash in on gaining wealth and property” but that the process has excluded the tenants who have been paying rent while the BTL properties appreciated in value.
He acknowledges that a buy to let landlord risks capital values going down rather than up, but claims: “For the last 30 years making money out of buy to lets has been like shooting fish in a barrel.”
The Baron explains that the advantages to the landlord are then multiplied: “Buy to lets have given people a property portfolio who would not ordinarily have been able to participate in this giant rip-off of the tenant. The tax relief that goes with owning property you let out, a tax bonus to encourage investment, adds to this. Your standing in the community because you own property is reflected in also having to pay less for your credit. And you’ve got something to give the kids.”
He suggests that long-standing tenants should get a share of the capital appreciation of a property when it is sold.
He cites the example of a tenant who has been in the same London property for 20 years; in that time the rent has doubled but the capital value of the property has possibly risen five-fold.
Baron Bird writes: “After 20 years, all the money that Jim paid has not increased his value in the world. Rather, the money he has paid has increased his landlord’s value; but Jim will not be getting a share of that after his three-month notice period is up. He will have to find a new home at a time when rents are increasing because of a scarcity of flats for rent.”
You can read the full article here.
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The UK is becoming an increasingly worryingly place to conduct any sort of business now.
School kids and (future) Tenants are allowed to just say they are a cat and not pay rent… cat’s don’t work and pay rent so that’s ok. Especially under Labour.
Lib Dem’s want laws to sue your employer if a customer upsets you!!
And now we need to give our profits to tenants as well. This is the most ridiculous idea I have ever heard.
Labour aren’t even here yet. That will mean loads more strikes.
I have been shopping in Tesco for 20 years. Buying petrol at BP. I want my share of the profits of that too. What a F joke this idea is.
What is the point of doing anything here???
Yep I want shares in fuel and utilities, only right! 🙄
Tenants aren't forced to stay in the property, they can go, fly away, buy their own property and do what they like with it!
I can really see social housing agreeing to that...oh hang on, I bet it wouldn't apply to THEM!
Give the tenant some of the capital appreciation? The Government already take a large piece in capital gains tax, and now it is suggested that landlords give the rest of the gains to the tenant. Sounds like a tv program “ Who’s Money is it anyway”.
Perhaps all the Banks, Supermarkets, Chain Stores, and huge property giants, should give the gains made on their properties to their employees?
Oh dear Big Issue sellers have just lost out without even realising
PS Jim doesn’t pay the rent out of his big issue earnings he gets LHA from the taxpayers so his stake in all this is nil
Add them to the list with Shelter!
Rent is paid in return for a roof over your head. If the property depreciates will the tenant share the loss? Someone must be really bored to come up with this idea. When my mechanic sells up I want a piece of it.
Money has always made money. If LLs put their money - sometimes a lot of it - into their property why shouldn’t they make money? Tenants have no skin in the game so they are not entitled to any profit (or loss!).
I can’t believe this is given page time.
😂😂💰💰 This has to be a wind up ?
AND, while we are on the subject, I shop in Tesco’s so I would like a share of their stores, buildings, products. I reckon that I should get 1% of everything they own, because I am a loyal customer and don't shop anywhere else.
It's only fair, you know.
That’s only fair if you have a Clubcard
He sounds like a nice chap, uses empathetic language towards landlords and appreciates our hard work. Sure, I'll collaborate! [Facepalm]
Are they serious??
I’m sorry but perhaps Jim wanted to rent, maybe it suited him better. Maybe Jim isn’t a kind of person to leech of other people.
Unlike the big issue utilising homeless people for free labour. Who knows.
I think this is a really great idea. I mean it’s 2023 and as a landlord I’m absolutely swimming in cash, inflation is non existent, my mortgage rate is unbelievable, supermarket food is dirt cheap, builders, electricians and plumbers are happy to work for free and we have a government that loves landlords! Things are so good that the hotel near where I live is full of poor people from persecuted countries and we have no homes to put them in! They can have mine! I love this country.
Is it 1st April already?
John Bird demonstrationg his total ignorance of BTL financing and economics.
Seems like the UK is teeming with mad commies, and here’s another showing his true colours. Looney.
I did not realise that when I risked 40k of my hard earned money into property there was going to be some idiot like this who thinks it's a Joint Venture.....!
If that is the case then I have personally invested over 200k into properties and refurbishments over time so who do I send an invoice to for all the kitchens, boilers, windows, plastering, court cases, rent voids, non payment of rent and agency fees??
If it is a JV the tenants can share the aggravation too.
Think Lord Bell. End. needs to go back to Jim (who doesn't exist) and ask him why he has rented for 20years and not got on the ladder with all the money he has wasted on rent.
I grew up in the poverty trap.
I left school at 16 and moved into a rented bedsit 3 days later.
I had a disastrous first marriage.
I was a widowed single parent with 3 young children on Income Support for several years.
Then I got a part time job (in the railway ticket office). Then I got my taxi licence and within a few weeks was working 84 hours a week.
I managed to scrape together a deposit for my first BTL which needed substantial improvement before it could be let. So in addition to working 84 hours a week and occasionally bumping into my children, I somehow managed to fit in sleeping and renovating a flat.
If I could do it so could Jim. He has chosen to do the bare minimum in life. Had he chosen to put in a bit more effort he may have "increased his value in the world".
wonder if Jim even exists
Not dissimilar to me…. Except the children as I don’t have a womb or for that matter any of the other requirements to give birth, but as you say Jim appears to like drifting through life.
Will the tenants give me money when it goes down in value?????
No apparently the wealth John Bird will though!
No No… this is a one way street 😱
I have visited the same coffee shop for years and spend thousands drinking coffee and buying tasty snacks. They run a good business, they get up very early, work hard and then clean the place and put everything away. All with a smile and a friendly attitude.
Should I ask them for a share of the profit at the end of the year?
I have been a small portfolio landlord for even longer. It is work, whatever people may think, involving physical effort, risks, time, customer service and stress.
The suggestion of enforcing the donation of even more financial shares from our businesses when we are all taxed and then taxed again (capital gains and inheritance) makes me feel that John Bird would like us to adopt communist politics and practices. Then we would all enjoy mass poverty with a super elite group of rich people - and no free enterprise.
Keep free enterprise alive and treasure it!!
Another well meaning socialist idea of spread the wealth to people who i) risked nothing ii) invested nothing iii) did nothing (to increase their wealth) iv) were happy to risk, invest and do nothing knowing they'd get nothing......
It's like the completely immoral selling of social housing at reduced value.... it enriches those who don't desire it whilst ultimately resulting in increasing social housing problems for others!
Even if, it were a good idea in principle, it would be really impossible to implement. So the rule could be rent for 20 years and you get a portion of sale.... Problems? i) Landlords will sell in 19th year ii) Landlords wouldn't sell until tenant dies or moves. So no tenant is actually ever going to benefit.
I could have just said the idea was stupid to simplify the idea.
Ha ha haha ha ha haha!!!!!!!!
He runs a charity newspaper, but obviously has a job he earns for his living through or retired and gets the tax payers money to get a pension? Why doesn’t he give a part of his earning to the charity paper he runs or people who are homeless? And also demand that as many of us suggest, every one of the companies that provide everything we need to buy for our living a cut of their profits, which means, we go out and buy whatever we want without paying anything? And the beauty of that is, we buy at any price range and still walk out spending nothing!!!! Great idea!!! Great!! Next thing we know they will want to have a landlord register and whoever is registered, will need to buy a house for every tenant they currently have to own and keep!!!!!!!!|There you go - I have saved you the time to sit and think about your next idea - so you don[t have t0 use even the little brains you might have had coming up with something!!!!!!!!!!!! I don]t know what you think of yourselves just because you are someone in a position to publish something and tearing away the livelihood of many people who are trying hard to do a job you have no clue about and your jealousy is taking over you that they are making money and you think sitting on their backs!!!!!!!
Please don’t even bother answering or reacting to this chap guys. It’s an insult engulfing with people like him. I have terminal cancer, and still, some of my tenants are dodging payments, inspite of them knowing about this, and I am still working my back off providing a roof and paying for all utilities as per the agreement. Why doesn’t this gentleman settle this for me in my state, without having go go to courts and bailiff for what is rightfully mine instead of faffing around some idiotic ideas
And does he know, that when some student tenants really struggle , and I know that they are good people, I not only waive their payments for when they can, sometimes months or years, but also help pay their living costs or fees to enable them to continue their studies?
This whole thing going on in the UK with the landlords, I am sick and tired of the political game being played during election time, unsettling a whole industry because of some rogue landlords, which is quite possible in other professions too, and there are more than enough bad tenants to compensate for, but the political abuse of landlords and their properties as if the government owns not only the landlords but their properties too - I haven’t seen anything more illegal and unfair anywhere else - and that too just for the sake of a few votes that they have on tenants and not on landlords. ‘That’s tge cheapest and the most pathetic politicians I have seen ever.
If we react, we need to bombard this and make it viral, for everyone in the world to hear. Otherwise we will become a laughing joke, as they know we can only crib and wine, a bunch of idiots who moan while they have the power to stamp all over us!!!!!!!!!
Sorry to hear about your condition Sheila, puts it all into perspective when listening to idiots like this. As Landlords yes we all have helped tenants who we know have some of lifes ups and downs but are good people.
They are not the problem, its the complete wastrels in society who want a free ride throughout life and this commie fkr wants us to sponsor them....
I similar to Jo grew up on the estate with sod all, yet made a point of improving my worth and self worth to moving onwards, upwards and providing for my family. Working 70 hours a week and then weekends on properties. Missed a huge chunk of my 3 girls growing up and cost me my marriage.
I am not moaning about it or bleating to the press, I am getting on with it and making it work, my value financially is irrelevant but my personal value and being a good landlord is something I do put a great deal of value on.
So Sheila, I can tell you are also getting on with it and I sincerely wish you well and hope the tenants being a pain a removed soon.
No! No! No! How many times need it be stated for him to understand?
I literally can’t get off the floor laughing! I really have head it all now!! 😂
I lost interest in this post at the words "have been able to participate in this giant rip-off of the tenant." what a stupid article not bothered with the rest, love the comments though weird reading comments when not read the whole article lol
Ah yes… just think of all those ‘tax bonuses to encourage investment’. Not to mention the ‘tax relief that goes with owning property’! As for sharing it with the tenant (instead of CGT, is that??!!). You’ve got to hand it to him, no one can accuse John Bird of not knowing anything about property tax, eh!
Am I missing something? Tell me about all these tax bonuses and reliefs, I can't find them.
As with all these lefty lunatics - the question remains:
How much of your wealth have you given to these causes, not mine, not the tax payers, how much of yours!?
The answer is always the same. They are addicted to the fake virtue of being generous with other peoples money.
I'm so grateful to The Baron for highlighting the glaring inequities between landlords and tenants.
I must have been blind these past few years to the chasm betwixt both.
How bloody selfish of me to take on three jobs in order to cover my mortgage payments in the late eighties, early nineties. I obviously knew that property values would increase thereafter and, clearly need to share my good fortune with my tenants. What I should have done, of course, is give at least 10% of my salary away in those days - reduced the rent by 50% and volunteered to go shopping for them - obviously contributing to the costs at the same time.
Thank God I've finally seen the light ! It goes without saying that I'm now disinheriting my family and leaving all to my new family of tenants.
I only hope Sir Keir appreciates my sacrifice and will, one day, pat me on the head !!
Love it, great post.
I'm so grateful to The Baron for highlighting the glaring inequities between landlords and tenants.
I must have been blind these past few years to the chasm betwixt both.
How bloody selfish of me to take on three jobs in order to cover my mortgage payments in the late eighties, early nineties. I obviously knew that property values would increase thereafter and, clearly need to share my good fortune with my tenants. What I should have done, of course, is give at least 10% of my salary away in those days - reduced the rent by 50% and volunteered to go shopping for them - obviously contributing to the costs at the same time.
Thank God I've finally seen the light ! It goes without saying that I'm now disinheriting my family and leaving all to my new family of tenants.
I only hope Sir Keir appreciates my sacrifice and will, one day, pat me on the head !!
Baron Bird is worth around 5 Million. Perhaps he would like to share that with the homeless bfore telling 'Small Fry' landlords what to do
Dont forget the £300 a day he gets for going to the House of Lords
I won't even go into the tax issues mentioned but just to say the tenants haven't put down the large deposit for the mortgage or had any of the risk, maintenance etc etc. So if the property's value goes down in a slump then the tenants will have to fork out more for this too. ha ha ha.
Extra stamp duty, income tax on rental income, income tax on mortgage costs, VAT on fees and repairs, Capital Gains Tax on inflation. "tax relief that goes with owning property you let out, a tax bonus to encourage investment", Christ I have obviously missed something, how do I claim this tax bonus?
Why give money direct to a tenant who can afford to pay rent, better keep things as they are and pay the money to the government who provide good quality housing to those that can't afford to house themselves... oh hang on a sec.
"buy to let market is dominated by what he calls “small fry” landlords with just one or two properties. He says that BTL has allowed “quite ordinary people to cash in on gaining wealth and property” . Yes ordinary hard working people who have had the foresight to look after their own future and not expected life to dump everything on a plate for them.
I really think that 'quite ordinary people ' should know their place !
I wonder what The Baron would feel about one of his Big Issue sellers suddenly doing well in life and becoming a disgusting, money grabbing, self interested capitalist ? Perhaps he could invest in a mirror and contemplate ?
Ask tenant to put share in the initial deposit and going forward share in maintenance and tax payments . Also would be nice if tenant also pay a percentage of mortgage on top of rent. I will be more than happy to share Capital gains .
Also next time I book a hotel I will ask them to give me a share in there profit too
Don't forget the tenants will also have to pay a share of the GGT.
Well said!
Now isn't this interesting. Here we can see the crux of the problem. Us ordinary people are not entitled to make too good an income. We're apparently above our station and have elevated ourselves. Of course this does not apply to a developer or Ltd company. No just us commoners whom want to leave something for our children.
It beggars belief that this person has the audacity to put this in print.
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!
The merit behind his story I do not object to actually. I do think that a long term tenant whose been consistent in paying the rent and looked after my property does deserve recognition. For one I don't increase rents and I always ensure that everything is in very good working order.
However all I can say to this little small minded Bird is go flap your wings to the Government, ask them to proportion some of the CGT that they take off us unworthy Landlords and ask them to give some money to the tenant when I sell a house. Just to warn you, don't be surprised when they tell you to grow up!
So following the warped communist ideology of this retarded bozo we could demand all tenants pay a significant share of every repair & improvement for the property they have stolen a share of! Karl Marx would be proud of him!
S.24 is a rent cap many landlords can’t meet their commitments especially with the high interest rates, how do you share a debt.
Nearly every thing you suggested for My Bird could equally be applied to Mr Gove.
Thank you Peter. That’s exactly pinning it - we want our dignity and self worth and don’t want a penny of free money from anyone. As you mention, my husband and I worked so hard to get to where we are, and missed so much with the children - we didn’t go on holidays as summers were so busy with the houses, and we put in all our money into refurbing properties - not because a lot of these jealous people think we are just investing back, which is true as it is a business and you want to improve the quality of the property as you buy run down properties and do them up which is the investment, but also for providing the best for the tenants above what any legalities are, and more than fit for habitation.
We put all our money into the houses, time into the work, and paid for our children’s education, because we did not want to avail any funding from schools that should cater for students that need them, for which we had to make enormous sacrifices. We couldn’t make trips to India where our family is, as we couldn’t afford the cost of travelling, and missed out time with our families, while, a lot of these so called tenants, don’t pay their rents but go on lavish holidays with the money and dare to say they don’t have the money to pay their rent - and see who gets all the support and who gets the bad media attack!!!
Our sacrifices paid off with our children - they studied very well and came to the top level at their chosen sport - all because of their hard work and our hard effort - they learnt hard work and self worth seeing us working hard for it!! We are grateful for that!! But professionally, this injustice is just eating me and I cannot accept this in any way!!!
So we don’t get anything back from it, it is our retirement fund, and we work hard, take all the risks financially and give up so much to get there, instead of sitting in rental property with no respect whatsoever for someone’s property and misusing it, and having all this support. On the other hand, we are expected to give them our hard earned property, which we are paying mortgage and interest for it and maintenance costs and other costs that the government and the council keep adding day after day, and wait to see if they will pay what they need to pay, and what bomb is going to be dropped on to us every minute. They went Bisarc with all this rent reform, treating us completely unfairly compared to other tradesmen and businesses, and now anyone of any status thinks they can think in their spare time and come up with more ridiculous ideas, and politicians will fuel the fire for their own interests.
Sheila, oh so true. Berserk is a Viking word, and very appropriate. Unfortunately parliament and a lot of institutions seem to be full of communists, a type of religion, and expecting serious rewards. Watching GB news l am shocked at the illogical statements the left make. The left have women spouting diatribe which is very anti woman, it's quite incredible
I don't know how they can have a straight face.
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