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Worried Landlord

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977 Profile Views

About Me

Have been a landlord since 2011. Mainly single lets, but had 2 HMOs for a few years.

my expertise in the industry

Have been a landlord since 2011, also renovated a number of properties.

Worried's Recent Activity

I'll pass on watching it live, will be bad enough if it gets on the news, no doubt whatever is passed won't be radical enough for the pressure groups. It will be too late before they realise that what they want is incompatible with a lettings business, and there will be nothing left to rent. Hey ho. Heard someone on the radio talking about unfair section 21 evictions, yeah right, we mean old landlords just like a change of tenants every couple of years, for no reason at all, we like wasting our own time and money.

From: Worried Landlord 24 April 2024 16:29 PM

Fair points, but also interest rates likely to start dropping later this year, which could offset these issues, also surely some pent up demand from people who were almost ready to buy before interest rates shot up? I have one coming empty this week so will see how it goes. Could easily rent it again but prefer to sell.

From: Worried Landlord 22 April 2024 09:57 AM

Yes that sums it up, sadly

From: Worried Landlord 19 April 2024 08:59 AM

Great points as usual :)

From: Worried Landlord 19 April 2024 08:57 AM

Agree mortgages have gone up over 100% so a 10% increase in rent is modest. There are those who think tenants should not be paying landlord's mortgage, but if they don't then the property is not viable as a rental and has to be sold (or swapped to airbnb if the mortgage allows).

From: Worried Landlord 18 April 2024 09:00 AM

I guess businesses may go bust, or online only, but people still need somewhere to live.

From: Worried Landlord 17 April 2024 09:26 AM

There is a different mindset these days. People want everything and they want it now. When moving house they want all new stuff, the idea of getting furniture or curtains second hand horrifies them. They also want the new car, the holidays, the sky tv, new mobile phone etc etc. I put it down partly to media and advertising, makes people think everyone else has a perfect life and everything they want.

From: Worried Landlord 17 April 2024 09:11 AM

Agree this sort of thing is totally unacceptable and the fines should be much higher. If you can't afford the repairs then you should sell the property.

From: Worried Landlord 10 April 2024 08:40 AM

Unfortunately they need to find more ways to tax people not less. They have allowed worklessness to flourish which is something you'd expect from a Labour Govt. The apparent increase in people who supposedly can't work due to disability can't be real, especially when work has been shown by proper academic research to be generally good for mental health. Not sure how they can get out of this mess other than massively cutting benefits.

From: Worried Landlord 10 April 2024 08:38 AM

"only one in 20 saying they had any intention to sell any existing properties." Seems very unlikely! And I thought people were moving back to cities after the pandemic? Surely any Landlords who are buying will only be looking for cheaper properties where the yield is worthwhile? They won't be buying nice properties in the countryside!

From: Worried Landlord 08 April 2024 07:51 AM

I noticed quite a few "sharers" enquired last year when I had a 2 bed place for rent. I did wonder what would happen when one of them decided they could not afford the rent or bills. No doubt it would be extra hassle for landlords. I have found that tenant's problems soon become landlord's problems, and yet tenants consider it none of our business. Hey ho.

From: Worried Landlord 05 April 2024 10:07 AM

There has been a petition running about standing charges, how unfair the calculation is etc, especially for those who use less energy, would be better to look at that.

From: Worried Landlord 27 March 2024 07:43 AM

Probably a combination of thousands of small terraced houses built for workers in industrialised areas and post war council house building. Those are the properties we have in this country, so I guess people have to live in them or we can knock them down? Locally an old council estate with semi detached houses with large gardens was bulldozed and terraced houses build instead. Also last report I saw said there is not enough housing for single people, longest council waiting lists are for single people, so maybe we need more smaller properties or shared properties??

From: Worried Landlord 25 March 2024 10:22 AM

Sold one last year before this came in, so it will be interesting to see what's actually changed in a few weeks, when I put the next one on the market!! I guess the forms will have changed to include anything that was missing, also the forms only came into use once an offer was accepted, so presumably there will be a new form to be completed at an earlier stage. More paperwork, how joyous.

From: Worried Landlord 25 March 2024 09:41 AM

Have to say, you do get people asking to be allowed to rent property that is too small for their family, for various reasons. I always politely decline these requests, but I can see how some landlords might think they are doing someone a favour. Not that I condone overcrowding or unsuitable or poorly maintained properties.

From: Worried Landlord 25 March 2024 09:36 AM

Interesting, I wonder whether these decisions are based on proper research.

From: Worried Landlord 25 March 2024 09:33 AM

Always happy to attend free training, but this is a bit too far to travel :)

From: Worried Landlord 25 March 2024 09:31 AM

If you want people to pay the right amount of tax - given that it's often not a simple calculation - then you have to be helpful! Close the help lines if you like, but then don't be surprised when less tax is paid and people say they could not understand what they were supposed to pay.

From: Worried Landlord 21 March 2024 08:22 AM

Absolutely no excuse for this, if you think you can do a better job than individual landlords then you need to make sure you know what you are doing!! I am sick of letting agents telling landlords they can do a better job, when clearly many of them can't.

From: Worried Landlord 18 March 2024 08:46 AM

Technically they are un-viable from next April. I guess its 12 months to sell up or do something different. Welcome/welcome back to the tedious world of being a landlord offering long term lets and getting screwed left right and centre.

From: Worried Landlord 18 March 2024 08:41 AM

So not really a tax give away for landlords was it, despite what certain groups said.

From: Worried Landlord 18 March 2024 08:39 AM

What a total shambles. I remain to be convinced that increasing mortgage interest rates actually reduces inflation. Inflation seems more likely to be linked to global events not UK interest rates.

From: Worried Landlord 18 March 2024 08:37 AM

There will be a tidal wave of all the people currently under 40 who don't want to work since the pandemic, but it's a good few years off yet. They may get along on benefits for now, but where are they going to live in the long term when the PRS has died?

From: Worried Landlord 16 March 2024 10:05 AM

I agree it's another scary thought, but as landlords we have to stay calm in the face of all this nonsense. There are lots of stupid ideas around, and if any of them get anywhere near the statute book then so many landlords will sell up that it will be a crisis of such scale that they will have to backtrack. It will make the current "housing crisis" look like a minor inconvenience. There is already a steady stream of landlords selling up, and they can't even house those people, so opening the floodgates is not going to make any political party look very good.

From: Worried Landlord 14 March 2024 09:48 AM

All these increases in living costs (especially mortgages) are very worrying to most home owners, landlords and tenants alike. Those who don't have mortgages are probably still concerned about higher cost of utilities, food etc. All in all it's a total shambles, and more should have been done to run the economy in a better way to protect citizens.

From: Worried Landlord 14 March 2024 09:34 AM

That would be the end of the PRS.

From: Worried Landlord 14 March 2024 09:26 AM

I think I'd be giving that a miss, thanks all the same.

From: Worried Landlord 14 March 2024 09:25 AM

Surely This can't be right? I thought most BTL were 2 year fixes, so most have already come to an end and landlords already paying 100% more. I know some smarter people went for 5 year fixes but surely not 80%?

From: Worried Landlord 14 March 2024 09:23 AM

What paperwork are they talking about?

From: Worried Landlord 14 March 2024 09:20 AM

Bad idea to tell landlords what (nightmares) to expect in the next 12 months, surely that just encourages them to sell up or increase rents? PS I was wondering where it is - Uttlesford is a local government district in Essex, England. Its council is based in the town of Saffron Walden. The district also includes the town of Great Dunmow and numerous villages, including Stansted Mountfitchet, Takeley, Elsenham, Thaxted, and Newport.

From: Worried Landlord 13 March 2024 09:02 AM

Well that may be what's happening in London. However in the South West there is no let up in demand just yet. Rents still going up, if not already in line with market rates.

From: Worried Landlord 13 March 2024 09:01 AM

How about they get this mess sorted out, and set and example, before they come after private landlords?

From: Worried Landlord 13 March 2024 08:57 AM

Good point! I guess they like it because its cheap, but then there is no money for maintenance etc.

From: Worried Landlord 13 March 2024 08:56 AM

"However, there will be plenty of larger-scale, professional landlords that will instead look to purchase more BTL properties. This should, over time, provide useful ballast to the private rental sector." Not sure about this, I don't think they will be providing the sort of properties that my tenants want to live in. The sort of properties that get 100 enquiries in 3 days.

From: Worried Landlord 12 March 2024 09:44 AM

Well yes if you try to sell one now, it will probably be more difficult. If it was previously a family let or HMO, might be better to swap it back?

From: Worried Landlord 08 March 2024 09:38 AM

Well I would imagine the financial loss from selling with tenants would be much greater than the small gain in CGT at 24% rather than 28%, so still much better to sell with vacant possession.

From: Worried Landlord 08 March 2024 09:31 AM

Well they would, wouldn't they? More business for them!!

From: Worried Landlord 08 March 2024 09:28 AM

Agree, but where do they think people are going to live? I had 100 enquiries in 3 days last time I advertised a 2 bed house. Would have been more, but openrent paused the advert as they think that's enough enquiries to find a tenant!!

From: Worried Landlord 07 March 2024 10:06 AM

Wasn't expecting anything for landlords from the budget. Any reduction in CGT is welcome, but as the annual exempt amount has been cut from £12300 to £6000 and then £3000 then it's just taking with one hand and giving back with another. The only worthwhile give away would have been removal of the unfair S24 taxation. Landlords unless also in work will not benefit from changes to NI. Will have to keep putting rents up thanks to interest rates having put mortgages up by over 100%.

From: Worried Landlord 07 March 2024 10:01 AM

Well certainly a kick in the teeth to those with holiday lets although I'd agree in Cornwall there are too many. Would have preferred long term lets to be given the same tax benefits as holiday lets, but there we are. Definitely can't see any give aways. Even CGT, they just cut the annual exempt amount from £12,300 to £6000 then £3000, so they take with one hand and give with another??

From: Worried Landlord 07 March 2024 09:55 AM

Certainly would!! Actually it would make things a lot better for the genuine hard working tenants, by filtering out those who don't keep to their side of a tenancy agreement.

From: Worried Landlord 02 March 2024 22:00 PM

I would think as and when the national scheme comes in it will become more and more difficult to justify additional local schemes, and sooner or later someone will make a legal challenge.

From: Worried Landlord 01 March 2024 10:02 AM

Surely it's just called turnover? Unless the landlord is selling then those vacant properties are rented to different tenants. Hopefully tenants who pay the rent, don't trash the place, and are pleasant to deal with. So no overall increase in homelessness, just a fair process of renting to those who deserve a nice place to live?

From: Worried Landlord 01 March 2024 09:36 AM

Problem is, it involves saving and most younger people these days just want to spend all their income on holidays, cars, phones etc etc. The old fashioned concept of saving up for something seems to have died with the availability of credit cards.

From: Worried Landlord 01 March 2024 09:33 AM

Well some of them might inherit some wealth in due course, but at the minute this can all be eaten up by nursing home fees, so you have to hope your relative never goes into a home sadly.

From: Worried Landlord 01 March 2024 09:30 AM

Probably a lot more than 3 tiers in reality. House prices for a similar type and size of property can vary widely even within a city or a county. Mainly due to location, access to schools, employment, shops, railway station, main roads etc etc. Thats why you need to do your research and speak to experienced local estate agents.

From: Worried Landlord 01 March 2024 09:28 AM

Well I've issued S21 recently with a view to selling, so I will find out how normal the market is locally!!

From: Worried Landlord 29 February 2024 09:26 AM

Hmm I think they will find, if they ask actual landlords, that they don't want speedy (and ill considered) action, they want politicians to start listening and realising the damage they are doing!!

From: Worried Landlord 29 February 2024 09:14 AM

Totally agree, time to cancel my membership I think!

From: Worried Landlord 29 February 2024 09:12 AM

Problem is, homelessness will just increase until something is done about the root causes ie immigration, lack of housing being built, and all the policies driving landlords to sell up. Having a chat about it isn't going to do a lot.

From: Worried Landlord 23 February 2024 09:07 AM

Interesting. How do they know who landlords in their area are, to approach them in the first place? As far as I know I am not on any list of landlords as I don't have any HMOs or other properties that require a licence. That said all mine are fine so I'd have no problem completing a form and it's less intrusive than the landlord register being proposed. Also a member of 2 local landlords associations so they could promote their scheme via those.

From: Worried Landlord 23 February 2024 08:44 AM

Yes it would be interesting to have more info. This may be down to landlords selling off shabby properties, but equally there may be other reasons as you say, its generally quicker if you need the money out asap.

From: Worried Landlord 22 February 2024 09:14 AM

Its been said before, but I'll say it again. To those who want rent controls - be careful what you wish for. Rent controls will not benefit tenants. Most rents will just go up to the maximum allowed, and stay there. Yes there might be a minority with rents that are too high, but rents will increase for the vast majority. Same as the deposits to be max 5 weeks rent rule, now all my deposits are 5 weeks rent, might have been less before.

From: Worried Landlord 22 February 2024 09:10 AM

Agree, all mine going up 10% again this year due to 100% increase in mortgage interest

From: Worried Landlord 20 February 2024 09:40 AM

Yes indeed you could not make it up. Same applies to rent controls - be careful what you wish for.

From: Worried Landlord 20 February 2024 09:35 AM

You are quite right, people have unrealistic expectations. They think if they are on benefits or low pay they should still have everything that someone who worked hard at school and college and got a well paid job can afford.

From: Worried Landlord 19 February 2024 09:48 AM

If you want to sell in the current market, then best to rice realistically in the first place, and don't just choose the estate agent that suggests the highest asking price. We all know this.

From: Worried Landlord 19 February 2024 09:41 AM

Hmm, I thought there would be an expensive solution to the problem, hey ho!

From: Worried Landlord 17 February 2024 11:13 AM

Seems a bit odd, but I guess they don't want to set a precedent for turning other holiday homes into permanent homes, perhaps as many are not constructed to the same standard?

From: Worried Landlord 16 February 2024 08:59 AM

Well the next article suggest they should start with their own / outsourced social housing. And when they have sorted that out then maybe cast the net wider.

From: Worried Landlord 16 February 2024 08:55 AM

"Thirty-six per cent of all landlord possession claims were social landlord claims and 31 per cent were private landlord claims". So what were the other 33% ??

From: Worried Landlord 14 February 2024 09:54 AM

To avoid this nonsense. Just make sure there is a valid gas safety certificate before the tenant moves in, and at all times thereafter. Although I'd agree landlords should still be able to get their property back even if there are errors with paperwork. A friend of mine struggled to get rid of tenants who weren't paying the rent because the EPC had expired (they got help from shelter). Yes she should have noticed, but it was a genuine oversight, nothing had changed in the house, so it did not occur to her that a new EPC would be required regardless.

From: Worried Landlord 14 February 2024 09:51 AM

He just thinks it a vote winner, or more likely that the failure to implement this is a vote loser. He doesn't give a stuff about tenants or landlords other than as voters.

From: Worried Landlord 13 February 2024 16:42 PM

I appreciate my local council has a very difficult job, however whenever I meet them at local events they just want to persuade me to house problem tenants. As I am always up to date with all relevant legislation and guidance they don't have anything new to tell me. Its more the case that I have problems with them eg waiting over a year for them to address a bramble patch on their land which is impinging on one of my properties.

From: Worried Landlord 13 February 2024 08:52 AM

I am in favour of action being taken against those who run illegal or substandard properties. But I don't believe this should be funded by the landlords who provide a good standard of accommodation.

From: Worried Landlord 13 February 2024 08:47 AM

Moving bad tenants around does not solve the problem. Nobody wants them in their property or next door, so where are they going to live?

From: Worried Landlord 13 February 2024 08:43 AM

I still don't believe that raising interest rates is having any effect on inflation. The high rate of inflation is caused by other factors. We are suffering this pain for nothing.

From: Worried Landlord 12 February 2024 09:24 AM

Also agree, the place will usually be rented to someone else, unless its being sold.

From: Worried Landlord 09 February 2024 09:12 AM

They will certainly be getting a rent increase but 100% of this will go towards increased mortgage interest. There won't be any left over for anything else!

From: Worried Landlord 09 February 2024 09:10 AM

I would think most landlords would sell before it got to this stage. Unless they can't sell because there is a tenant unwilling to move. I wonder how many of these still had a tenant and the lender had to process the eviction.

From: Worried Landlord 09 February 2024 09:07 AM

Yes makes you wonder. The days of 25% deposit are gone so they will be putting a lot more cash into the deal.

From: Worried Landlord 08 February 2024 09:34 AM

Yes but they should have gone up gradually, so people could adjust to it, like they said they would....

From: Worried Landlord 07 February 2024 17:33 PM

Very poor from the housing association (the so called professionals, unlike us amateurs) but really? never eaten off the floor in my life, nor have any of my tenants, but we've all eaten meals off a tray on our lap, surely if they went to the trouble of buying and cooking xmas dinner they'd have thought of that?

From: Worried Landlord 07 February 2024 17:28 PM

Are you a tenant farmer then? As that's all this article is about

From: Worried Landlord 07 February 2024 09:12 AM

Yes you are quite right, but in some ways its better if the tenants think they need to be out on that date, as it motivates them to move on.

From: Worried Landlord 02 February 2024 17:31 PM

You are quite right on all points. A developer locally has just resubmitted an application with zero "affordable housing" as they say it's not worthwhile. Have to agree nobody wants to buy an expensive new build next to what often become problems. The only answer is to build more social housing and surely cheaper in the long run than housing in hotels.

From: Worried Landlord 02 February 2024 09:14 AM

Surely the answer then is to provide more "affordable social housing"? Hardly the fault of landlords who are just covering their costs. Also I'd suggest the "ineffectual landlords" letting out "poor quality housing" are more commonly found in the social housing sector.

From: Worried Landlord 01 February 2024 08:51 AM

Yeah fine, but where are they going to go? We don't want them! Someone has to house them unfortunately.

From: Worried Landlord 31 January 2024 12:27 PM

Sadly this could be a taste of what's to come in England when Labour get in.

From: Worried Landlord 30 January 2024 08:12 AM

Maybe 52% of their clients, but they haven't surveyed all landlords, so there is no way they can make these claims. Their clients will not be typical of all landlords, for a start many don't have a mortgage. They are just trying to generate confidence and thus more business for themselves.

From: Worried Landlord 30 January 2024 08:07 AM

How ridiculous. Either you need the place back to sell it, or you have the sort of tenants described above, in which case they need to go, and be replaced with tenants who will look after the place and pay the rent. There are plenty of them looking for a new place. Either way it's no business of Torbay Council. Councils could get together and lobby the Govt to make things less hostile for landlords, also they could look at their own anti-landlord schemes.

From: Worried Landlord 29 January 2024 09:18 AM

If you happen to buy or inherit a property with solar panels then all well and good, but nobody is going to put them on a rental. I thought long and hard about putting them on my own house, its very expensive and the payback is approx 15 years. Tenants are struggling to find any decent property to rent, so they don't have the luxury of being fussy about this sort of thing. They want to know, how much is the rent and deposit, when can they move in, is it a long term let, do you accept benefits, can they have pets, can they redecorate? That's about it.

From: Worried Landlord 26 January 2024 09:13 AM

Well the time to sell is governed by when you can get the keys back! You might plan to sell in Feb but if the property is tenanted you can't be sure when tenants will vacate, and there is really no point trying to sell tenanted property. Best to wait until tenants have gone. I'm about to issue S21 to one of mine, but I have no idea how long until they will actually move out.

From: Worried Landlord 25 January 2024 09:19 AM

Totally agree. Just visited a property with a friend to look at its rental potential. It's been in her family for many years and has a number of faults which would have to be repaired before rental.

From: Worried Landlord 24 January 2024 08:23 AM

Anyone who has slogged their way through a PhD as a postgraduate can use the title Dr. The PhD could be in any subject. It is confusing that the same term is used as applies to a medical Dr, which is normally a 5 year undergraduate programme.

From: Worried Landlord 24 January 2024 08:21 AM

It's all based on a stereotype of a hard working couple or family and their rent being higher than a mortgage would be. It's not a plan for sharers and it doesn't take into account that rent covers maintenance costs. I recently had some roof work done at over £5000, and my tenants were very glad they did not own the house, and only paying £800 pcm rent.

From: Worried Landlord 23 January 2024 20:23 PM

Agree, its the completely wrong thing at the wrong time. If it was a buyer's market then there might be some scope to put pressure on landlords, but right now any pressure on landlords just leads to more properties being sold out of the rental sector.

From: Worried Landlord 23 January 2024 08:39 AM

Agree, it's not putting me off, giving notice to the next one next week, to sell over the spring / summer. Still pulling out my deposit and any capital gain (less CGT). That will tide me over for a while, until interest rates start to come down a bit. Shame for the family who will have to find a new place on a higher rent, but they haven't been my best tenants, so hey ho.

From: Worried Landlord 23 January 2024 08:32 AM

Yes record increase in all mine, over 10%. Also record increase in mortgage interest, over 100%. There will be another record increase this year. Sorry about that, but the alternative is sell the properties. They were all below market rent before all this.

From: Worried Landlord 18 January 2024 08:46 AM

Tenants do whatever they like, regardless of what we advise them to do, eg not putting wet wipes down the toilet and blocking the drains. As most tenants are younger than their landlord, surely they should be educating us on how to save the planet for them and their children ?? Yeah right.

From: Worried Landlord 13 January 2024 16:25 PM

If the engineer can't gain access because tenants are out at the arranged time, or refuse access, then you document this and write to the tenants reminding them this is a legal requirement. You then give 24 hours notice and go in anyway. If engineer doesn't tell you then you document that and send a different engineer and tell gas safe that the engineer is unreliable. Likewise with prepayment meters, I had that problem and the tenants told lies that the meter was broken (it wasn't). I explained to them it was a legal requirement, eventually they put some money on the meter. I gave them S21 anyway as they were a pain in other ways as well including rent arrears, being rude and unhelpful, and damage to the property.

From: Worried Landlord 12 January 2024 09:35 AM

Surely it's private landlords who are at the mercy of the government and increasingly tenants who can stop paying rent and sit in the property for months, and then trash it. Yes you can take them to court but I'm still waiting on ex tenants to pay what they owe after 6 years.

From: Worried Landlord 10 January 2024 08:31 AM

Rent controls are surely the final nail in the coffin. Unless they come with controls on costs especially interest rates then clearly nobody can run a business in this way, where you are not allowed by law to cover your costs.

From: Worried Landlord 10 January 2024 08:09 AM

Reply to Lee - we don't all use agents and some of us are well aware of the situation. In Nov I had over 100 applicants for my 2 bed property in 3 days. Then openrent paused the advert, so there would have been many more I am sure. As you say, a lot of applicants were from overseas, now wanting to bring their family over. This has definitely changed since 2020.

From: Worried Landlord 10 January 2024 08:05 AM

Surely its always been the norm to expect buyers to have some element of deposit (other than a mad period before the 2008 crash when there were 100% mortgages being offered). Even if property prices are generally rising it's quite possible for an individual property to fall in value for various reasons. So its not totally unreasonable to ask buyers to put some cash into the purchase.

From: Worried Landlord 09 January 2024 08:35 AM

What is needed is the right balance of types of properties - main homes / second homes / airbnb / holiday homes. The best way to achieve this would involve having the right tax incentives / disincentives. Individual lenders taking this sort of stance isn't really going to help the wider picture. Lenders should not be dictating housing policy.

From: Worried Landlord 09 January 2024 08:29 AM

This article was more about rents than EPCs. and states "an increasing number of landlords are having to reduce their advertised rent". If your rents are reasonable in the context of local rates then I think this is unlikely. I have seen some properties locally advertised for excessive rents, which probably would need to be reduced before anyone locally could afford them.

From: Worried Landlord 09 January 2024 08:11 AM

Very easy - Scrap Section 24. Scrap the extra SDLT. Scrap CGT. Allow landlords to offset £30 an hour for their time spent on running their rental business against tax.

From: Worried Landlord 05 January 2024 08:52 AM

I do an annual check of all my properties every January. As required by insurance. That's in addition to attending promptly for any reported issues at any time of the year. My tenants are generally helpful but they don't really see the need for it. I can't see the need for someone else to start inspecting my properties, but if they wish to do so then I think they will be wasting their time. Any tenant that was to request such a thing from local authority without first notifying me that there is a perceived problem would soon become an ex-tenant.

From: Worried Landlord 05 January 2024 08:44 AM

Surely it's higher interest rates and harsh lending criteria that are the main barrier to buying a property? Higher rents are in theory an incentive to buy rather than rent. I agree higher rents make it more difficult to save up a deposit, but size of deposit is down to lender requirements and affordability calculations.

From: Worried Landlord 03 January 2024 09:38 AM

You are quite right and it beggars belief that they can't see what they are doing to the PRS.

From: Worried Landlord 02 January 2024 09:07 AM

These figures seem very low? If I had only 4 people interested in my rentals I'd be very worried.

From: Worried Landlord 30 December 2023 10:02 AM

It's only available to people taking a lodger in their own home, it doesn't apply to rental properties.

From: Worried Landlord 28 December 2023 09:36 AM

Good point, and for struggling home owners taking in a lodger could be a good option and maybe better than selling their home and downsizing. Doesn't help tenants though as we don't want them subletting.

From: Worried Landlord 28 December 2023 09:34 AM

I'd agree its tedious getting a mortgage, but doesn't necessarily take a long time. I had a mortgage offer within 2 weeks recently, the searches weren't even back, so doesn't cause any delay. I avoid cash buyers as they always expect a massive discount. Generally happy to wait for a mortgage to be approved as the conveyancing process is rarely quicker than the mortgage offer. The only exception was about 18 months ago I agreed the sale of a tenanted property to a newbie investor, took him 6 months to get a mortgage offer. So I will not be selling any properties with tenants in future, it will be S21 all round. Hey ho.

From: Worried Landlord 28 December 2023 09:29 AM

Lucky I would say, as tenants who appear "upper end" can turn out to be not so good.

From: Worried Landlord 23 December 2023 09:40 AM

It's your tenants who are being unreasonable, so don't feel guilty. They will be lucky to find anything comparable, they clearly have no idea what has happened in the last few years. Not a great time to sell, so I'd rent for another year or 2 at market rate. I'd say the majority of tenants are aware that rents have gone up. I put mine up over 10% last year and they all accepted the increase.

From: Worried Landlord 23 December 2023 09:39 AM

Yes mine also going up another 10% this year, due to section 21 and interest rates. Sorry about that but it's still only a fraction of the costs I have had to absorb. I am banking on interest rates coming down but if they don't it's sell sell sell.

From: Worried Landlord 21 December 2023 08:39 AM

Totally agree, I prefer faults to be reported and repaired. As usual Generation rent are talking rubbish.

From: Worried Landlord 21 December 2023 08:37 AM

Well there is surely some pent up demand from people who have put things off due to all the bad news. People in jobs have had some decent pay increases. So sooner or later things will pick up. No thanks to the Bank of England or the Govt mind you.

From: Worried Landlord 20 December 2023 10:18 AM

It's already a rate of 100 enquiries in 3 days per property (at which point openrent pause your advert) so would be even more enquiries if advert not paused...

From: Worried Landlord 20 December 2023 10:07 AM

Yes total nightmare and another reason to steer clear of flats.

From: Worried Landlord 20 December 2023 10:05 AM

They will just switch it off or seal it up. They don't like anything that they think causes a draught or uses electricity.

From: Worried Landlord 20 December 2023 10:03 AM

Sadly with the current system there will be groups of people who are deemed to risky by most private landlords. These are surely the people who need some sort of social housing? Successive governments have failed to address the issues which have caused massive housing shortages across the board. A while back I had nice tenants who decided to move to an area where there was mainly social housing (it's all run by a housing association locally) to be close to an elderly relative. They told me they were shocked to be asked lots of searching questions including whether they had any drug or alcohol problems! Clearly the housing association didn't want any problem tenants, which made me wonder who is supposed to house them?

From: Worried Landlord 18 December 2023 09:28 AM

Well they could definitely buy more flats than houses, as they are generally cheaper locally. Especially ex council and ex MOD properties (I sold one a couple of years back). Basic ex 2-3 bed council house now circa £180K locally. However they are talking about buying new builds as (supposedly) better insulated etc, not sure they will get much for their money there, unless the developers get desperate and sell at huge discount.

From: Worried Landlord 16 December 2023 10:11 AM

What is needed is something that immediately persuades landlords to stop selling up and encourages new entrants. So the only sensible suggestion for fast impact is number 5. Number 2 and 3 would help in the long term. Number 4 (clarity) will never happen as successive politicians will mess about with the PRS. Number 1 baffles me. Properties are quite rentable even if not as well insulated as they could be.

From: Worried Landlord 16 December 2023 10:02 AM

It will be a miracle if this scheme is a success.

From: Worried Landlord 15 December 2023 09:09 AM

"rents are still projected to rise by close to four per cent at the headline level over the next year." Where do they get that figure from? Mine will have to go up by a lot more than that as the last of my fixed rates end early next year. I find it hard to believe that most landlords have already increased their rents to cover all the increased costs.

From: Worried Landlord 15 December 2023 08:45 AM

You are all quite right. It's a drop in the ocean and if the properties aren't exempt form right to buy then potentially they will lose them all in due course. Not sure what properties they think they are buying, as house building has stalled. The most inexpensive properties locally are of course ex council houses which they sold off. Makes you wonder. Also I agree this publicity will just make the queue longer.

From: Worried Landlord 15 December 2023 08:40 AM

Actually we are just correcting another inaccurate headline from the Shelter propaganda organisation.

From: Worried Landlord 14 December 2023 09:53 AM

Totally agree. Homelessness has many causes. High rents are also caused by many underlying factors. It is completely untrue to say that high rents cause homelessness, you need to identify the cause of the high rents to get to the true cause.

From: Worried Landlord 14 December 2023 09:49 AM

Oh God, here we go again. Let's shift the goal posts to keep everyone on their toes. and spending their money.

From: Worried Landlord 14 December 2023 09:46 AM

The only people who might know how high rents will have to rise to cover costs are landlords.

From: Worried Landlord 13 December 2023 18:52 PM

Viewed a property recently that was being marketed by Strike. As a buyer I found them poor, and just wanting to sell me mortgage services. I asked the seller and she said they were dreadful and only interested in selling her financial products. Also property clearly valued too high, and so has been on the market for months.

From: Worried Landlord 13 December 2023 18:48 PM

I bought most of my properties prior to S24 being announced, and on discussion with accountants was advised not to move them to a limited company, because I'd have to pay stamp duty and capital gains, so would probably not be worth it. Basically you would be selling the properties to the company. Since then I have seen various people stating this can be done without paying those taxes, but I remain sceptical. Now looks like it's coming home to roost. I don't agree with Section 24, but I don't agree with tax evasion either. Taxes do pay for the NHS and other public services, although clearly too much being spent on benefits for the work shy.

From: Worried Landlord 12 December 2023 08:25 AM

I think it's already arrived, and looks like 100 enquiries per property in 2-3 days of advertising!! Also councils wanting to buy properties (like the ones they sold off and are still selling off) because its too expensive to house people in hotels.

From: Worried Landlord 07 December 2023 12:28 PM

Except Its not "us lot", it's the rogues. They don't follow standards, rules and regulations and they don't bother to read up on current issues for their CPD. So you are insulting the wrong people.

From: Worried Landlord 07 December 2023 09:38 AM

I agree this is a potential problem. Also you might need to sell the property and these are the sort of tenants who probably won't want to move.

From: Worried Landlord 07 December 2023 09:25 AM

Well you can already sign up for free with land registry for alerts (up to 10 properties). Not sure about companies house but might look into that.

From: Worried Landlord 07 December 2023 09:19 AM

One of the reasons I got rid of my HMO's. Had to manage them myself as local agents were not interested and ended up round there all the time sorting out breakages, cleaning, recycling, squabbles between tenants etc etc. Regularly took their bottles to the bottle bank. No thanks.

From: Worried Landlord 07 December 2023 09:12 AM

From: Worried Landlord 06 December 2023 08:18 AM

Nobody is forcing tenants to do anything. If they want to offer more, then that's up to them. I just rented one of mine, and I had offers over the asking rent, but I didn't take them. It was rented to someone who is paying exactly what was advertised. I have my own criteria and a bit more rent doesn't sway me to choose unsuitable people.

From: Worried Landlord 06 December 2023 08:17 AM

Thanks for this it's helpful to see it set out clearly. Trying to explain to tenants why rents have to go up is quite difficult.

From: Worried Landlord 05 December 2023 08:56 AM

By flexibility perhaps they mean tenants want to do whatever they like in your property ie have pets, "redecorate", make holes in the walls, never clean the oven, mess up the flooring, mess up the garden etc etc?

From: Worried Landlord 05 December 2023 08:45 AM

Same here, mine went up 10% last year and it will be the same this year. It will all go towards increased mortgage interest. I gave them 6 months notice last year and will do the same again, so if they want to move they can. Also they have time to find better paid job or more hours or whatever to increase household income. So far they have all been OK with it except one household where they are working less hours, so section 21 soon for them I am afraid.

From: Worried Landlord 05 December 2023 08:39 AM

You are quite right as usual.

From: Worried Landlord 05 December 2023 08:36 AM

As usual you have hot the nail on the head. Years ago people were advised to have 6 months living costs in savings in case of losing their job etc. These days if people have any spare money they just spend it, and they run up credit to the max as well.

From: Worried Landlord 05 December 2023 08:34 AM

Since most properties these days have double glazing then I doubt they are draughty. In fact many are arguably too well sealed, which leads to condensation and mould when tenants don't heat or ventilate properly. If they really want all these perfect insulated homes then they need to build them or buy up old council stock and retro fit. Oh hang on, that's why they sold them off, too expensive to maintain, let the PRS do that.

From: Worried Landlord 05 December 2023 08:30 AM

From: Worried Landlord 05 December 2023 08:25 AM

So, Tenants value location, flexibility and direct landlord relationships. I just had 100 enquiries in 3 days. I did over 20 viewings as I do try to be fair. Some said I was the only actual landlord they had met, which was interesting. I don't know what they mean by flexibility, presumably they want a landlord who is willing to accept rent arrears? Hey ho.

From: Worried Landlord 05 December 2023 08:24 AM

There is nothing for BTL interest only mortgages. If you have a repayment mortgage then your lender is supposed to be helpful and offer you a longer repayment term or to switch to interest only for a while. Obviously the full amount still needs to be repaid eventually.

From: Worried Landlord 04 December 2023 09:37 AM

So, are tenants prepared to pay more for energy efficiency? I think not.

From: Worried Landlord 01 December 2023 18:42 PM

Yes they mostly are. Some can afford to be a bit more fussy if there are 2 people working, no pets, no kids. But that's about it.

From: Worried Landlord 01 December 2023 17:59 PM

Surely there is a significant difference between renting a property and buying it, in terms of the information needed? I already provide a lot of info including room sizes, but often prospective tenants don't bother to read it, judging by the questions they ask. They just look at the heading and the photos. Surely internet speed depends on which provider and package you choose? I notice the NRLA says you should give out the EPC and your GDPR policy notice at all viewings, never had a tenant interested in either of those. They want to know: when can they move in, is it a long let, how much is the deposit and rent, can they have pets, can they redecorate, can they make holes in the walls (put pictures up). They have never asked about the construction of the building. What they should perhaps ask to see is the tenancy agreement, to see whether or not they can comply with it!

From: Worried Landlord 01 December 2023 09:25 AM

Problem is, there aren't that many "cheaper areas". Unless you relocate up North!! Yes you can downsize to a smaller property or a flat. Flats are definitely cheaper locally. I have a tenant who is looking for a cheaper place but smaller places are being advertised for the same rent as the 3 bed house they currently occupy. Hey ho!

From: Worried Landlord 30 November 2023 09:18 AM

Totally agree, its a nightmare. We knew rates would have to start going up at some point, but it was always said this would be gradual so as not to crash the economy. The only reason it hasn't is because most people were on fixed rate deals, but as those are coming to an end it's really painful. Those who took a 5 year fix (mainly home owners) have been protected so far, but most BTL deals were 2 years. I don't believe its had any effect on inflation, as that problem was caused by other factors including brexit and war in Ukraine.

From: Worried Landlord 28 November 2023 08:45 AM

Yes I agree, mine will be going up again. Mortgages now approx 300pcm more than they were 12-18 months ago, and I can't absorb all of that increase.

From: Worried Landlord 28 November 2023 08:38 AM

Yes a bizarre headline! I guess it affects people on lower incomes proportionately more, but also people in larger and/or less energy efficient homes. So both renters and home owners surely.

From: Worried Landlord 24 November 2023 08:12 AM

No idea but I'm guessing it will be the spuriously higher figure created by S24 tax ie your total income before mortgage payments are deducted.

From: Worried Landlord 24 November 2023 08:07 AM

Would be interesting to see the data on which this claim is based. You'd need to do some proper research to come to this conclusion.

From: Worried Landlord 22 November 2023 08:11 AM

I wonder what their definition of a portfolio landlord is?

From: Worried Landlord 17 November 2023 07:59 AM

This is getting ridiculous. Unless they were there when the property was purchased, then its down to the occupier, who will have caused the infestation, probably by going on holiday and bringing them back. So how come that problem is immediately passed to the landlord? Surely the same as if their pet brings fleas into the property, the tenant will have to pay for the problem to be rectified.

From: Worried Landlord 16 November 2023 08:21 AM

Yep. I just advertised a place, partly as an experiment, taking care not to say anything potentially discriminatory. I got 100 enquiries in 3 days, and openrent paused my advert. I did over 20 viewings, taking care to be fair, but there were less than 10 potentially suitable tenants. Big waste of everyone's time really.

From: Worried Landlord 15 November 2023 19:20 PM

Presumably this might slow down the progress of the RRB a bit, which is therefore good news! Looks like they are rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic (again).

From: Worried Landlord 13 November 2023 15:57 PM

I haven't given notice to anyone (yet) but I am quite prepared to do so. Any property that comes vacant is either sold or rented to people who don't want it long term. This leaves the ones who wanted it long term very upset. I tell them they will be lucky to find a landlord who can guarantee long term, due to all the attacks on landlords. Its all a bit sad.

From: Worried Landlord 13 November 2023 08:42 AM

Yes I noticed that!! Only one comment and it's blocked already. Oh dear!!

From: Worried Landlord 07 November 2023 08:08 AM

Yes the council will send recording equipment and if proven will send a notice to the offending household. They also contact the landlord to let them know. If the complaint continues then they expect the landlord to give notice to the noisy tenants. I know this because it happened to my tenants due to their stupid dog barking all the time, and its just another reason why I prefer no pets.

From: Worried Landlord 07 November 2023 07:34 AM

As things stand any extra occupants are there without permission, not on the tenancy agreement, not passed right to rent checks, and so it would be a breach of the tenancy and grounds to give notice. If I had a tenant who wanted to sub let I'd say find a smaller place if you have so much spare room.

From: Worried Landlord 07 November 2023 07:25 AM

If this is right wing thinking we are all doomed.

From: Worried Landlord 06 November 2023 10:58 AM

Surely you have to look at the reasons for the high rents? So annoying when they come out with this rubbish. They employ graduates who should have some research / reasoning skills. I despair.

From: Worried Landlord 06 November 2023 08:36 AM

Yep. I had 100 enquiries in 3 days. openrent paused the advert. People are desperate. Perhaps the ONS should be measuring that!! Desperation levels among tenants or number of applicants per property perhaps.

From: Worried Landlord 06 November 2023 08:32 AM

No reason, other than to increase the treasury's coffers. Even if it's seen as an investment you don't pay tax when buying said investments, only CGT when you sell.

From: Worried Landlord 06 November 2023 08:30 AM

A glimmer of good news in an otherwise gloomy outlook for landlords (and tenants)

From: Worried Landlord 03 November 2023 07:24 AM

They are kind of missing the point. It's not the cost, its the fact that there is a massive gap between supply and demand. I just advertised a 2 bed property at a reasonable price and I got 100 enquiries in 3 days. Obviously not all suitable, but plenty are, and lots of of people saying they are desperate and they will take anything even if not suitable. Unlike an agent I will take the time to find the right people who are best suited to the property. Quite a few say their landlord is selling. Sad that nobody in the Govt is listening to the chaos they have created.

From: Worried Landlord 03 November 2023 06:58 AM

If I have gone to the expense of paying an electrician to do the EICR test then I think that should be more than enough. I think problems are more likely to arise where tenant has tampered with the installation, as they do, last year one had disconnected the wired smoke alarms.

From: Worried Landlord 02 November 2023 09:34 AM

Surely its none of their business and they should keep their nose out. All they have done is make things much worse for long term tenants.

From: Worried Landlord 30 October 2023 08:03 AM

And thus also stamping out the opportunity for homes for needy tenants.

From: Worried Landlord 19 October 2023 08:12 AM

It is very annoying when tenants leave a load of rubbish behind, but unfortunately we just have to accept this up as one of the many costs of being a landlord, and either take it to the tip ourselves or pay a registered waste carrier. There is no excuse for fly tipping.

From: Worried Landlord 19 October 2023 08:11 AM

No problem with everyone paying fair tax. Problem is it's not fair and they pick off the easy targets. I vote for putting more effort into the big corporations that seem able to get away with not paying their fair share.

From: Worried Landlord 18 October 2023 09:17 AM

Yes that's always been my strategy too. Have mostly had good tenants but with one exception, a young couple with young children, rent arrears and trashed the place, never again.

From: Worried Landlord 18 October 2023 09:12 AM

As usual you have explained the true situation very eloquently. 👍

From: Worried Landlord 17 October 2023 09:02 AM

Not slowing in the south west where there is massive undersupply. Too many people want to move here plus too many short lets. Nightmare for tenants.

From: Worried Landlord 13 October 2023 08:52 AM

Not for me but I would think there is plenty of scope for converting commercial premises into residential. Given the massive shortage of homes and the oversupply of empty commercial premises. Someone just needs to make it easy to do it.

From: Worried Landlord 13 October 2023 08:49 AM

Agree these figures seem really low. Maybe the people they asked didn't represent a typical mix of landlords. Simply business insurance?

From: Worried Landlord 12 October 2023 09:17 AM

Yes indeed there is little hope for tenants or landlords just now.

From: Worried Landlord 11 October 2023 08:10 AM

Looks like they wanted the landlord to sell the properties to another landlord, but unfortunately it's usually better to sell vacant properties. Hey ho.

From: Worried Landlord 11 October 2023 08:09 AM

I have bought and sold this year. Everything finds it's price depending on local market conditions. It's always the seller's prerogative not to sell if they don't need to and to wait until things improve. I would say there is massive variation between regions and even within regions as to how much prices are falling.

From: Worried Landlord 10 October 2023 19:40 PM

I can't speak for greedy landlords, only the vast majority I know who are not greedy. For those landlords you will find it is very stressful having to deal with tenants and all the unfair taxation and regulations, on top of horrendous increases in mortgage interest. That's why they are selling up and rents are increasing so fast. I've never heard of any greedy landlords pleading anything, I would think they just keep quiet.

From: Worried Landlord 10 October 2023 09:32 AM

Of course they are!! More wear and tear on the property, more damage, more cleaning, more repairs, etc etc. On top of the obvious costs of pet ownership, vet bills, pet food.

From: Worried Landlord 10 October 2023 08:50 AM

Totally agree!! I complete a survey from a landlords association every few months and they always ask, is there anything else they should look into, and I always say, the stress of being a landlord and having to deal with all this stuff!!

From: Worried Landlord 10 October 2023 08:30 AM

Yes I agree it's all one sided.

From: Worried Landlord 03 October 2023 09:01 AM

Yes might be true, but nobody's going to buy to let in Scotland are they? Scotland is a lovely place but the rules and regulations are far too anti-landlord.

From: Worried Landlord 30 September 2023 10:25 AM

House prices are too high, but an even worse problem is interest rates and S24.

From: Worried Landlord 29 September 2023 17:34 PM

My mortgage guy tells me that BTL (with mortgage) has died for now. He still has people making enquiries, but when they discover they have to put a lot more than 25% into the deal to meet lender calculations they soon give up. So only for cash buyers. BTL lenders aren't going to be meeting their targets for new business.

From: Worried Landlord 29 September 2023 07:45 AM

Well, tenants might want all sorts of things in their dreams, but back in the real world they are struggling to find any property they can afford anywhere near the place they want to live. It might be a buyer's market for property sales, but not for rentals, due to the relentless attacks on landlords via taxation and other current and forthcoming rules and regulations. In particular why do tenants want an attic? as it will only be full of insulation and so they will not be able to put anything up there.

From: Worried Landlord 28 September 2023 08:22 AM

Surely the typical (working) tenant has most likely had a few pay rises since 2020 as well? And the typical landlord has had a massive increase in costs. So that needs to be factored in to the equation. Landlords are definitely worse off since 2020 but are tenants? Who knows?

From: Worried Landlord 18 September 2023 08:22 AM

It's not the property price that matters if you are getting a mortgage, its the monthly interest payment compared to the rent.

From: Worried Landlord 18 September 2023 08:19 AM

I doubt it. I prefer older tenants and they are all fine, they will only be distraught when I have to give them notice and sell their home either due to interest rates or so called RRB.

From: Worried Landlord 18 September 2023 08:14 AM

Oh dear, how sad, never mind

From: Worried Landlord 15 September 2023 08:35 AM

Sounds good in theory but is there a catch? Other than them running out of money.

From: Worried Landlord 13 September 2023 07:51 AM

Even if they did, they wouldn't want to pay full market value.

From: Worried Landlord 13 September 2023 07:46 AM

From: Worried Landlord 08 September 2023 17:24 PM

On the other hand. People need somewhere to live and the population of this country is not going down. If some properties are affected by these issues (if this is even an accurate analysis) that would be unfortunate, but surely would make all the millions of properties that aren't even more expensive as there will be less choice. Supply and demand.

From: Worried Landlord 05 September 2023 08:13 AM

The longer the better for this load of rubbish. It will only make a bad situation even worse for tenants.

From: Worried Landlord 30 August 2023 08:42 AM

Can't read it but nice to know someone is making the effort to balance the argument, just wish the NRLA would do a bit more.

From: Worried Landlord 29 August 2023 08:07 AM

Looks like it. Really not helping the situation at all.

From: Worried Landlord 29 August 2023 08:02 AM

Seems a bit like re-arranging the deck chairs on the titanic. The PRS sector is in meltdown and they want to fiddle around with these issues. Focus on the real problems, section 24 taxation, removal of section 21, rent arrears, court delays etc etc. Make the PRS attractive enough for people to invest or at least not sell up.

From: Worried Landlord 25 August 2023 08:37 AM

Yes and I can't see how this could possibly work. Who would own the property and who would be managing it? Who does all the repairs? What happens when there are rent arrears?

From: Worried Landlord 24 August 2023 09:09 AM

I sold one as tenanted last year. Never again, next time tenants will be given notice to move out first. Sorry about that, but it's not worth the extra hassle and lower offers. Also it took a year for buyer to get his act together.

From: Worried Landlord 24 August 2023 09:00 AM

That's if you are even allowed to run a business at all. Most tenancy agreements state residential use only.

From: Worried Landlord 22 August 2023 08:05 AM

Sorry but many properties have covenants restricting their use for business purposes. End of.

From: Worried Landlord 22 August 2023 07:50 AM

A statement of the blindingly obvious. Unless a property happens to become vacant just before the peak of the market (which only becomes obvious after the event) then inevitably the property will be sold before or after the peak.

From: Worried Landlord 14 August 2023 08:28 AM

What's the point in promoting a survey but not providing any information on how to access it?

From: Worried Landlord 07 August 2023 09:33 AM

Because there is a time lag due to only increasing rents once a year? Mine go up next month as I gave my tenants 6 months notice of an increase of just over 10%. As things stand they will get another increase above 10% next year due to mortgage interest having gone up so much so quickly.

From: Worried Landlord 04 August 2023 08:56 AM

Disappointed that any business would take this stance. As we have said repeatedly, no landlord gives notice to good tenants for no reason. Either they are selling up or there are other issues and currently section 21 is often the best way forwards for tenants as well as landlord. ie they don't have section 8 non payment of rent on their record. This rhetoric of section 21 being mean old landlords evicting people for no good reason is just nonsense.

From: Worried Landlord 20 July 2023 06:54 AM

Having just read the RICS document, it's clearly a minefield even for appropriately trained persons. Looks like you could spend a lot of money and not achieve the desired effect or indeed cause other problems. Also there is no mention of educating occupants on the issue of condensation / black mould.

From: Worried Landlord 20 July 2023 06:50 AM

First prize for stating the obvious.

From: Worried Landlord 18 July 2023 07:42 AM

So when a consultation results in differing views, what happens then?

From: Worried Landlord 14 July 2023 08:28 AM

You couldn't make it up. More like failing council can't manage its own services but likes to pass blame to others.

From: Worried Landlord 14 July 2023 08:25 AM

Glad to hear the tenants from hell have gone but I thought they had up to 28 days to remove their property or you can charge them for disposal?

From: Worried Landlord 14 July 2023 08:16 AM

I gave my tenants 6 months notice of a 10% increase this year, and will be doing the same next year. If the mortgages are still unaffordable after than then I will be selling up. I have explained that to my tenants in a 2 page letter, and advised them I will support them to move if they need to. So far they are all staying put.

From: Worried Landlord 14 July 2023 08:12 AM

Thanks a lot Bank of England. Maybe ask yourselves why raising interest rates isn't having the desired effect on inflation, just hitting hard working people with mortgages and giving a few extra pennies to those with savings.

From: Worried Landlord 13 July 2023 06:41 AM

Some good news then, the more delay the better! Even better if it dies a death or gets watered down.

From: Worried Landlord 12 July 2023 08:08 AM

No surprise that smaller cheaper properties are popular. I have some tenants in 3 bed houses with either no kids or just one, but so far they are resisting moving to a 2 bed as its no cheaper. However that may change as I am having to increase my rents by over 10% a year due to mortgage interest.

From: Worried Landlord 11 July 2023 08:27 AM

All that will happen is benefit claimants will have false hope, as landlords won't be able to discourage them from applying, but they will inevitably fail affordability testing. For clarity I now state in adverts that applicants will need to demonstrate they can afford the rent, and that the calculation used is 30 times the monthly rent. So at £1000 pcm rent the household income needs to be at least £30,000. This is also the figure letting agents use locally.

From: Worried Landlord 11 July 2023 08:22 AM

Mine are all C already so mortgage interest is a much bigger problem for me and my tenants. Yes I know rates had to go up at some point, but it was always stated that this would be slow and gradual so as not to cause a crisis. If it had been then rents could have been gradually increased to keep pace.

From: Worried Landlord 10 July 2023 07:54 AM

Well a glimmer of hope for anyone wanting to live in these areas. Lets see how it looks in 12 months.

From: Worried Landlord 10 July 2023 07:51 AM

Never heard of Landbay so presumably a small player, and maybe they cater for a select type of landlord. Even so if 41% of their clients intend to buy this year that still leaves 59% who might be planning to sell.

From: Worried Landlord 05 July 2023 08:46 AM

Gove tells us what we already know, while stabbing us in the back.

From: Worried Landlord 04 July 2023 09:00 AM

To be honest I have found it annoying to see 3 bed houses being sold as FTB properties. I thought well whose buying 1 and 2 bed houses and flats? Other than landlords. When I was FTB it was a studio flat.

From: Worried Landlord 03 July 2023 08:51 AM

I've never bought anything at auction but on occasions I have noted the guide price of a local property and then seen it sell for a lot more. In my view a lot more than I would have paid. Perhaps those days are gone.

From: Worried Landlord 03 July 2023 08:48 AM

Well you cant blame them for trying as no doubt they have a big problem. But unfortunately until things improve for landlords (unlikely just now) there will be so many good tenants to choose from that you'd be unwise to take this option. Also I do feel there would be more lazy people getting a job if there were more incentive (I know some personally including ex tenants and not assuming all benefit claimants could work, but there are certainly some who could and can't be bothered.)

From: Worried Landlord 03 July 2023 08:30 AM

I just wonder, if councils all did their job properly, whether there would be far fewer of the type of landlords that give the rest of us a bad name? Then maybe we would all have a better reputation and there would be less anti landlord sentiment and regulations flying around. Who knows?

From: Worried Landlord 30 June 2023 06:54 AM

Would be better for us if prices were rising as we are mainly selling now!!

From: Worried Landlord 28 June 2023 08:11 AM

I know we have all been brainwashed into the "pay off your mortgage asap". However even if you have kids to leave your assets to, they are most likely going to be retired themselves before you pop your clogs. As long as interest rates are low then if you keep the mortgage you are simply keeping a financial buffer at a cheaper rate than unsecured loans and credit cards. The mortgage gets paid off on sale of property after your demise. I don't see what this has to do with rental demand though.

From: Worried Landlord 28 June 2023 08:08 AM

Actually that's a really good idea!

From: Worried Landlord 28 June 2023 07:59 AM

Surely these figures must be a massive under-estimate? In holiday hot spots such as Padstow there are surely more than 120.5 per 1000. Some streets it's at least 50% not 1.2%. I know its an average but even so, seems very low and if true then surely no need for more regulation?

From: Worried Landlord 27 June 2023 07:19 AM

Even better, how about an app that always pays their rent in full and on time?

From: Worried Landlord 22 June 2023 08:32 AM

Depends whether you want to pay off the loan, and whether you have kids to leave your assets to. If not then interest only seems a much better option

From: Worried Landlord 22 June 2023 08:25 AM

Kind of wanted to read other peoples comments first. I do think tenants are commonly not truthful about things like smoking and pets but you can understand they are desperate, we just have to be one step ahead.

From: Worried Landlord 21 June 2023 17:37 PM

Yes more air time on the BBC today about tenants being scammed. Nothing about landlords being scammed by dishonest tenants.

From: Worried Landlord 21 June 2023 17:33 PM

With reference to the article on renters lying, This is the second time in as many days that I haven't been able to see the comments, what is going on?? It just says "Comments have been disabled for this article and all previous comments are no longer being shown." Whose leaving the comments that are causing this??

From: Worried Landlord 21 June 2023 09:20 AM

Happy to curb my rent rises, just as soon as there is a massive reduction in mortgage interest, unfair S24 taxation etc.

From: Worried Landlord 20 June 2023 07:31 AM

Maybe the unsold properties were over priced? Cash buyers are in a good position now and can just as easily pick up a bargain through estate agent without the time pressure of an auction.

From: Worried Landlord 20 June 2023 07:29 AM

Sounds like the voice of reason. I think we can expect more landlords to exit or resort to desperate measures. I didn't get to read the comments on the article yesterday that have been removed, what were people saying I wonder?

From: Worried Landlord 20 June 2023 07:17 AM

I think this is the least of our worries !!!

From: Worried Landlord 19 June 2023 13:59 PM

As usual you are quite right and yet again we see the PRS is surely headed for disaster for tenants.

From: Worried Landlord 15 June 2023 09:03 AM

I was going to say the same, how do they know and where did they get their data from?

From: Worried Landlord 15 June 2023 09:01 AM

Support from a council ??

From: Worried Landlord 13 June 2023 13:26 PM

I have told my tenants that their rent increase is either covering mortgage interest or higher taxation of landlords.

From: Worried Landlord 13 June 2023 13:24 PM

Well with current rules as soon as it gets to 2 months rent owed you issue section 8 and Section 21 (in case section 8 fails). Not sure what we will be doing if the renters rights bill gets through.

From: Worried Landlord 06 June 2023 08:05 AM

To be fair most of the problems arise from government policy not local authorities. So relatively little that they can do other than not join in the anti-landlord rhetoric and maybe be more helpful with ASB issues. And maybe deal more effectively with the rogue landlords that give the rest of us a bad name. Having said that I sold one of my rentals because it adjoined council land which was a monstrous bramble patch, got fed up with cutting back their brambles.

From: Worried Landlord 06 June 2023 07:12 AM

They need to ask themselves why so many properties have been swapped over to short term letting. The solution is fairer taxation for landlords renting long term to families etc

From: Worried Landlord 06 June 2023 06:46 AM

Simply correlates with big rises in mortgage interest payments.

From: Worried Landlord 06 June 2023 06:44 AM

Well perhaps if it was easier to get people out this would not be necessary. No landlord evicts good tenants who are paying the rent and looking after the place.

From: Worried Landlord 06 June 2023 06:42 AM

Well we can't increase the deposit beyond the max 5 weeks rent (which rarely covers pet damage) so that leaves higher rent to cover the increased wear and tear. Simple as that. Maybe advertise the "with pets" rent then possibly offer a lower rent to people without pets on the basis that it would revert to the higher level if they get any pets?

From: Worried Landlord 01 June 2023 07:55 AM

I would have thought if you want people to do something they might not want to do (paying tax included) then you need to make it easy!!

From: Worried Landlord 26 May 2023 07:46 AM

The day the state can seize private property (other than proceeds of crime) is the day the country collapses as there will be no point in working hard and owning anything. Yes its annoying to see properties sat empty but there is always a reason for this situation. There may be some capital gain in London but most places there is little value in letting a place sit empty, it needs to be sold or let to cover the costs of insurance, repairs and other bills.

From: Worried Landlord 24 May 2023 07:48 AM

Mass exodus of landlords means more problems for tenants. Those properties might stay as rentals if they are lucky, but more likely sold to owner occupiers. Those buyers may well not be current renters but living at home or in shared houses, so no property gets freed up there. Or might just end up as short term lets.

From: Worried Landlord 19 May 2023 08:35 AM

Correct on all points. Pity the Govt are not listening to common sense.

From: Worried Landlord 17 May 2023 06:24 AM

I agree with you. Makes no sense to me.

From: Worried Landlord 11 May 2023 08:32 AM

What about all the people who want to escape their mortgage? Very difficult for them to find a rental property!!

From: Worried Landlord 10 May 2023 07:29 AM

Any postponement of this load of nonsense is good news.

From: Worried Landlord 09 May 2023 20:25 PM

Its headline grabbing idiots like this that give us all a bad name unfortunately.

From: Worried Landlord 04 May 2023 07:39 AM

Oh dear how sad never mind

From: Worried Landlord 03 May 2023 07:53 AM

Good news because I for one am selling

From: Worried Landlord 03 May 2023 07:50 AM

You are quite right people don't think this through. Same people who compare a mortgage with rent, forgetting that rent includes all maintenance costs and buildings insurance. Yes if you have a repayment mortgage you are paying off a bit of the capital each months and in 25 years you will have an asset you own. But you've also paid thousands in interest, and if you split with partner any time you still probably won't have enough to each buy a property.

From: Worried Landlord 25 April 2023 07:30 AM

Could have been helpful, but some items are landlord responsibility and some are tenants, unless the property is empty. I guess we could give notice every year, tenants move out, we do all the cleaning and then re-let? Might be an idea but not too handy for any tenants who want to stay more than 12 months.

From: Worried Landlord 24 April 2023 08:40 AM

Attractive to tenants maybe, but surely not to landlords other than for students and short term lets?

From: Worried Landlord 21 April 2023 06:24 AM

Complaints about property condition I understand, always best to get it fixed asap unless its purely cosmetic and best done when the place is next empty. Complaints about how previous complaints are being handled, by letting agents presumably? Complaints about ASB - presumably about neighbours? Not sure landlord can do much about that other than advise tenants how to complain to council / police?

From: Worried Landlord 20 April 2023 06:59 AM

If you are going to rent property then best to keep yourself up to date with everything, and join a landlords association. I found when I had an agent I was managing the properties and the agent as well, so it was more work not less.

From: Worried Landlord 19 April 2023 08:00 AM

Yes you are quite right, just seems a bit late as might be difficult to apply it retrospectively.

From: Worried Landlord 14 April 2023 11:16 AM

Surrey Heath (NW Surrey) According to the British Election Study, it was the most right-wing seat in the UK as of 2014. 70% of homes were detached or semi-detached at the 2011 census. The detached percentage (45.2%) was at that time the second highest in the South East, behind the New Forest. The area is well connected to London Heathrow Airport, IT, telecommunications and logistics centres of the M3 and M4 corridors, and to the military towns of Aldershot and Sandhurst. Farnborough, with its civil, private aviation base with certain military uses, is also nearby, as is Blackbushe Airport. Workless claimants, registered jobseekers, were in November 2012 significantly lower than the national average of 3.8%, at 1.7% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian.

From: Worried Landlord 13 April 2023 10:07 AM

I have heard that one in 2 sales currently falling through instead of the usual one in 3. I guess that's why estate agents are keen to find reliable buyers in the first place and ask for more proof of funds, mortgage etc. As the whole process takes so long a lot can go wrong, and of course people who are inexperienced don't know that a so called survey is just a risk management exercise and will point out everything that could be wrong with the property.

From: Worried Landlord 13 April 2023 10:04 AM

Deeper analysis required which can be found online on land registry web site Comparing house price indices in the UK. This article is based only on nationwide mortgages agreed (something like 12% of the total) and doesn't include cash sales or oddly BTL. The true figure will only be visible from land registry in due course.

From: Worried Landlord 13 April 2023 09:58 AM

Cut as in cut the interest rate not cut them out? If so then it's some good news in a sea of bad news.

From: Worried Landlord 13 April 2023 09:51 AM

Surely it won't be retrospective, in which case I'd call it shutting the stable door after the horse has long since bolted!!

From: Worried Landlord 13 April 2023 09:48 AM

I can see how this might look appealing to those who think all landlords are rich and greedy. And in the very short term it will help tenants, for about as long as it takes for their home to be sold. Then they will have a bigger problem than thinking their rent is too high, ie nowhere to live.

From: Worried Landlord 06 April 2023 09:14 AM

Landlords aged 18 to 24? Most likely inherited a property then and would feel more empathy with tenants in same age bracket than other landlords. They will learn as soon as they get the ones that tell a good sob story but then don't pay the rent and don't look after the property.

From: Worried Landlord 05 April 2023 08:58 AM

Already signed it but not holding my breath. Either the govt is too stupid to realise what damage they are doing or they just don't care.

From: Worried Landlord 05 April 2023 08:53 AM

Perhaps they could tell lenders to reduce interest rates. Also they could reduce taxation of landlords. Then maybe rents could come down a bit!!

From: Worried Landlord 03 April 2023 09:32 AM

And Tax and mortgage interest please

From: Worried Landlord 03 April 2023 09:31 AM

Well it's stressful for landlords and neighbours. Problem is it's not easy for landlords to take action. And all that happens is the problem eventually gets moved to a new landlord and different neighbours.

From: Worried Landlord 30 March 2023 08:24 AM

Nobody wants tenants who trash property and cause a nuisance to neighbours (and landlord) its too stressful. Problem is the problem eventually just gets moved to a different property elsewhere. Maybe a big estate is needed where they can all live next door to each other. Oh hang on...

From: Worried Landlord 27 March 2023 08:00 AM

Yes and whose heard of Benham and Reeves? you'd need a much wider survey to get a likely figure.

From: Worried Landlord 24 March 2023 08:41 AM

Totally agree, they need to read it before they decide to rent a property not after.

From: Worried Landlord 24 March 2023 08:40 AM

TO be fair zoopla and rightmove can in theory monitor asking prices and sold prices and pick up some trends but it will be very variable depending on local factors. However this will always be a few months behind. If want to buy or sell now and if you can find a decent estate agent they will be able to let you know how things are looking locally.

From: Worried Landlord 24 March 2023 08:39 AM

Surely in the current market tenants will consider anything within their budget even if its not ideal. Will be interesting to see how BTR fares if the tide ever changes. Also I am not sure what % of rental properties are BTR in the first place.

From: Worried Landlord 23 March 2023 07:55 AM

Well its not the first time the Govt has shot itself in the foot and no doubt wont be the last. Good to see it spelled out so clearly and the view of the Institute of Fiscal Studies.

From: Worried Landlord 23 March 2023 07:48 AM

Well I guess she would say that wouldn't she, if she wants to keep her job! Doesn't make it true. Also its an easier job if "everything is OK as it is" and you don't have to engage in difficult negotiations with the chancellor and others more senior to yourself to get things changed.

From: Worried Landlord 23 March 2023 07:45 AM

Well it would be some good news for once if they held off.

From: Worried Landlord 21 March 2023 07:42 AM

Yes and no doubt there will be a lot more of it when S21 disappears.

From: Worried Landlord 21 March 2023 07:41 AM

So, of all the experts saying it isn't going to be a problem, how many of them actually own any rental properties? It's easy to be glib about things that aren't actually going to affect you personally. I'm guessing most of those telling us to calm down are letting agents and others who will lose business when we all sell up.

From: Worried Landlord 20 March 2023 08:14 AM

Fair comment. It's certainly a lot more difficult than it was 10 years ago!

From: Worried Landlord 20 March 2023 07:22 AM

That's interesting and surprising. At least it gives you the change to rent the vacant rooms on a higher rent if you want to. What area of the country are your properties located Jo?

From: Worried Landlord 16 March 2023 08:53 AM

Yes you are quite right, this is a very sad state of affairs. The millions can't all be genuinely unable to work, especially in recent times where there have been millions of job vacancies. I expect we all know people who could work but can't be bothered.

From: Worried Landlord 16 March 2023 08:50 AM

Well it's annoying that lenders stress tests are now so high. At only 75% LTV it's never going to be the lender's money at risk. If people have to buy with cash then there will be far fewer BTL properties available to rent going forwards.

From: Worried Landlord 16 March 2023 08:45 AM

Wow didn't know you can't control the heating, so glad I got rid of my HMOs. Tenants were always fiddling with the heating controls and then saying the boiler wasn't working or some nonsense, and it was just that they had messed it up and switched it off.

From: Worried Landlord 16 March 2023 08:42 AM

Surely it makes sense to implement the cheapest options first? Maybe light bulbs and loft insulation. If that doesn't do the trick then look at what else you can do for the least cost (and greatest benefit to the score)?

From: Worried Landlord 16 March 2023 08:40 AM

It was never going to work. For most landlords by the time you go to court you have tried every other avenue, given the tenants plenty of chances, and you are at the end of your tether. This scheme seems to assume landlords give notice at the drop of a hat, and can easily be persuaded to keep the tenants on, even though they have become very difficult tor deal with, rude and uncommunicative. It's not just the money, it's the fact that you are sick to death of dealing with people who have no intention of changing their behaviour or paying the rent.

From: Worried Landlord 16 March 2023 08:34 AM

I am sure for some if they can find a good agent it makes the difference between keeping the property and selling up. Problem is agents want 10-20% of the gross rent, not the net profit. There is a big difference!! I used a couple of agents when I started out and soon realised it was a waste of time and money and might as well do it properly myself.

From: Worried Landlord 10 March 2023 10:11 AM

As usual you have set out all the issues clearly and logically, I just wish you were housing minister :)

From: Worried Landlord 10 March 2023 10:04 AM

Without seeing the survey it's hard to draw anything much from this. Designing research (surveys or whatever) isn't as easy as people think, which is presumably why it's taught at university level. Poorly designed research can easily lead to the wrong conclusions. I expect respondents were asked to rank issues from greatest challenge to least. So saying rent payments are a challenge could mean anything from "of all the things that could go wrong, potential non payment of rent is the one I am most concerned about" to "none of my tenants pay the rent on time" to "I am currently engaged in court action over rent arrears" and so on. The answer you get depends on the wording of the question you ask.

From: Worried Landlord 10 March 2023 10:00 AM

Seems a good idea in theory. Although its not so easy to get a trades person to do anything just now so they can probably name their price. Certainly think loft insulation and other insulation materials could be a lot cheaper.

From: Worried Landlord 10 March 2023 09:36 AM

I would encourage tenants to report faults. The genuine faults can be fixed and the sooner the better to prevent damage to the property. Problems with damp due to poor ventilation, drying washing indoors etc then landlord can provide advice which if ignored then it's time to find new tenants. So there is no need to escalate to a complaint. Either the problem gets fixed or the tenants need to move on. Does mean some tenants will never sustain a tenancy unless they learn how to live in a property without causing black mould to appear, which was never there before they moved in.

From: Worried Landlord 07 March 2023 07:36 AM

Still a bit too high for my liking and I can't see how it's helping to reduce inflation.

From: Worried Landlord 07 March 2023 07:30 AM

Often when forms aren't filled in properly it's because the form is over complicated. If you want people to provide information then you have to make it clear and simple.

From: Worried Landlord 07 March 2023 07:28 AM

The only reason for void periods locally is where there are repairs needed because tenants (and their pets) have caused damage. There are always tenants wanting to move in ASAP. So voids are purely a measure of how well tenants look after properties, and whether its immediately rentable when they leave, not rental demand.

From: Worried Landlord 06 March 2023 09:12 AM

Oh really? 10 years is bad enough for something of such limited usefulness to anyone. I mainly use them when buying to see the size of the property, which is rarely included in estate agent details.

From: Worried Landlord 06 March 2023 09:09 AM

Agree It's really unfair when lenders now decide its too risky (for them) when at 75% LTV or less it's only ever been your money at risk. I am finding the smug people with no mortgages bit irritating just now. For most normal people the only way to get into BTL beyond maybe the first property has been with mortgages, which have been freely available. Without this there would be far fewer rental properties in the PRS and where would all those people be living?

From: Worried Landlord 06 March 2023 08:54 AM

Interesting, where do they get this data from I wonder? How do you know whether a sale was to a cash buyer or not? Locally no bargains coming through yet, other than for derelict buildings which would always be cash only and suitable for builder /developer only.

From: Worried Landlord 04 March 2023 08:46 AM

Yes its highly ironic that the properties being run by so called professionals are in no better state than those run by people like us who apparently don't have a clue.

From: Worried Landlord 03 March 2023 09:21 AM

I am very surprised but so far nothing seems to be dropping locally. Although I guess 1.1% would not be noticeable. I am meeting my estate agent next week to look at selling a property and I am also viewing a property to buy, so it will be interesting to see what's happening from personal experience.

From: Worried Landlord 02 March 2023 09:18 AM

This seems like a totally hysterical response. Its a big leap from the legal case which seems totally correct ie if there is a rent to rent agreement then whoever is receiving the rent should have applied for the licence and any other compliance, to assuming all landlords will operate their so called "criminal blueprint" ie creating a company with no assets, renting their property to that company, and the company renting out each room. TBH I had never heard of this so called criminal blueprint.

From: Worried Landlord 02 March 2023 09:13 AM

I'll do it for £950K. Bargain!!

From: Worried Landlord 01 March 2023 21:21 PM

From local news today: "Cornwall councillors have called for more to be done to bring council houses up to a decent standard after it was revealed Cornwall has some of the worst council housing in the country. Cornwall Council owns around 10,300 homes which are managed by its own company Cornwall Housing Limited. However, many of the homes are said to be in a poor state and one council officer admitted today that Cornwall has some of the worst housing stock in the country. Mike Owen, landlord services manager for Cornwall Council, laid bare the state of council homes in Cornwall at a meeting of the council’s economic growth and development overview and scrutiny committee yesterday." But let's look at HMOs instead...

From: Worried Landlord 01 March 2023 21:20 PM

Well good to hear mortgages are going to get cheaper. In terms of comparing renting to buying, it depends whether you are taking a short or long term view. As they say, if you buy you have all the up front costs plus all the maintenance costs (including expensive things like new boiler and roof repairs) plus the risk that your property could go down in value and the risk that interest rates can suddenly go up by several hundred pounds per month. If you rent then your costs are more predictable and you don't have maintenance costs. Also you can up and leave at 4 weeks notice if you feel like it. However you will never own the property and you can't just do whatever you want. So for some people renting is the better option.

From: Worried Landlord 01 March 2023 08:24 AM

Well what a load of rubbish, to look at any commercial transaction from just one parties point of view is shoddy research to say the least. How about looking at if from the landlord's point of view, then they would see why things are in the mess they are!!

From: Worried Landlord 28 February 2023 17:08 PM

Sorry but I just don't believe these figures "the median annual income of landlords before their income from rent is taken into account at £55,415." Also what about all the landlords that are artificially being pushed into higher rate tax by S24.

From: Worried Landlord 24 February 2023 10:17 AM

I am in broad agreement with the objectives of this organisation (see below) but I am concerned that they can't see that their current proposals to make the PRS less attractive would make things worse not better for tenants!! Just have to hope Mr Gove will ignore them. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation is an independent social change organisation working to solve UK poverty. About us: At JRF and Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust (JRHT), we share two overarching outcomes: Everyone has a decent home in a good place. Everyone has good living standards and prospects. Through research, policy, collaboration and practical solutions, JRF aims to inspire action and change that will create a prosperous UK without poverty, where: More people want to solve poverty, understand it and take action. More people find a route out of poverty through work. More people find a route out of poverty through a better system of social security. More people live in a decent, affordable home.

From: Worried Landlord 24 February 2023 10:09 AM

You are quite right there would never be enough. And I agree everyone wants everything funded, where do they think the money comes from?

From: Worried Landlord 21 February 2023 10:12 AM

Add of course failure of said local authority to build enough affordable homes. My friend lives in this area in an affordable part ownership leasehold property and is having a total nightmare.

From: Worried Landlord 21 February 2023 08:28 AM

Problem is we are only seeing sold prices up to end of November, which would have been sales agreed before 22 september. Asking prices may bear no resemblance. There will be some that sell at asking price or above (for the right sort of property) if the price is right, but the rest will just sit on the market unsold and then reduced or taken off the market.

From: Worried Landlord 20 February 2023 10:14 AM

Agree, mine took nearly a year! It took 6 months for the buyer to get a mortgage offer. Then he changed his mind about taking it tenanted. Never selling with tenants in place again. Even unprotecting the deposit was a right pain! I paid it across correctly to buyers scheme but then I had to get a number from buyer to give to mydeposits (even though it was still protected with them, just under new landlord) before they would action the change. Buyer was completely confused by the whole process and had just thought I could hand the money over to him.

From: Worried Landlord 18 February 2023 10:27 AM

?? If I had only 19 renters interested these days I would wonder what was going wrong.

From: Worried Landlord 17 February 2023 10:28 AM

All the more reason S24 needs to be scrapped

From: Worried Landlord 16 February 2023 11:03 AM

Anyone know what Multifamily is? As in how does it differ from a block of flats?

From: Worried Landlord 15 February 2023 18:45 PM

Only ever had one and got rid of it last year. My least favourite property.

From: Worried Landlord 15 February 2023 18:42 PM

Agree l there are lots of things that can ruin your retirement!! Like not thinking ahead, not contributing to a pension or equivalent, not getting a job etc etc.

From: Worried Landlord 15 February 2023 10:45 AM

Looks like its been going a while already

From: Worried Landlord 13 February 2023 13:37 PM

Just had a look at this site and under the acceptable use policy it states: "It is important that any review or comment you make about any agency, landord's or tenant's behaviour is accurate, proportionate and justified. Submitting a false or misleading review risks exposing you to legal action for defamation and may be a criminal offence under the Data Protection Act 1998." Would be interesting to know whether any legal cases have yet followed.

From: Worried Landlord 13 February 2023 10:01 AM

They are surely having a laugh. My local landlords association used to have a black list of bad tenants but they stopped due to "data protection" apparently there was a risk tenants could sue. Surely this must apply to landlords as well. In any case there is such a massive shortage of rental properties that tenants are surely taking properties in the full knowledge that the landlords may not be great and faults may not get fixed very quickly (as per social housing)

From: Worried Landlord 13 February 2023 09:41 AM

Surely they need to think about what leads to a S21 notice being issued. No landlord evicts a good tenant for no reason. Will either be rent arrears or other tenant issue or landlord has decided to get rid of the property for any of the reasons Jo mentions. Getting rid of S21 will make no difference. The only things that will reduce the number of tenants needing to find a new home will be things that make BTL more attractive to investors.

From: Worried Landlord 13 February 2023 09:34 AM

I didn't say it was part of the government scheme, I said it was a shared ownership scheme, which it clearly is if you don't own 100%. Someone else owns part of the property.

From: Worried Landlord 08 February 2023 09:09 AM

Agreed, I am sure there are plenty of people who could buy but choose not to. There was a mortgage advisor on the TV the other morning who kept saying that buying is better than renting. I know they would say that, but as we know if you rent you don't have any maintenance costs and you can easily move house if need be.

From: Worried Landlord 07 February 2023 09:14 AM

So a shared ownership scheme. Good luck with that. I'd agree the current mortgage lending system could be improved mind you, with all the risk currently on the borrower.

From: Worried Landlord 07 February 2023 09:10 AM

You are right, lenders requirements seem extreme now and I am also having to put rents up more than I would have.

From: Worried Landlord 03 February 2023 08:56 AM

To be fair it looks like good advice on the whole. As usual there will be those who follow all the guidance, and those who just ignore it.

From: Worried Landlord 03 February 2023 08:20 AM

Surely number 1 should be educate your residents? Then if there is a problem, first rule out tenant behaviour. Was the property damp before they moved in?

From: Worried Landlord 03 February 2023 08:16 AM

Fresh advice?? No, just the very old advice that anyone with a mortgage needs to shop around for the best deal, which is unlikely to be current lender's SVR.

From: Worried Landlord 03 February 2023 08:09 AM

Really don't see how this is helping to bring down inflation. It's causing inflation in rents for my tenants!

From: Worried Landlord 02 February 2023 16:33 PM

You are right the figures they give for inflation are only based on certain items in their calculations. All depends what you are buying. If you have to get your roof repaired then you have to pay whatever it costs. For general groceries you can choose budget options. If you have to pay a mortgage, it's just gone up by more than 100%. Hey ho.

From: Worried Landlord 02 February 2023 11:38 AM

Wow a sensible MP. I bet he stays on the back benches. Likewise I've already sold 8 properties, only got 8 left.

From: Worried Landlord 01 February 2023 09:56 AM

Well to some extent the PRS is controlled by Govt, with all the rules and regulations and unfair taxation. The property rental "service" was controlled by councils when there were plenty of council houses, but the govt policy was to allow them to be sold off. I can't see a way out of the mess they have created other than to make the PRS more attractive to investors, which might increase supply.

From: Worried Landlord 31 January 2023 09:39 AM

Good news for anyone who will be coming off a fixed rate deal, and their tenants of course.

From: Worried Landlord 31 January 2023 09:21 AM

Sellers remain in a very strong position? I don't think so.

From: Worried Landlord 31 January 2023 09:18 AM

Its interesting what you say, and makes you think something is badly wrong with the system,

From: Worried Landlord 30 January 2023 18:08 PM

Yes I know I can tell them to go away, but its still annoying!! I can understand it on scruffy properties needing a lot of work, and in a buyers market, but they still do it on properties that only need minor works.

From: Worried Landlord 30 January 2023 11:39 AM

Yes I agree the market has slowed / ground to a halt and buyers are expecting prices to be lower than last year. I'm not currently selling but when I do I always sell at a reasonable price (not usually to an investor) and I do find those very low offers from investors to be insulting. Eg property worth £150K sells for say £144K as needs a bit of work, offers of £130K from investors.

From: Worried Landlord 30 January 2023 10:28 AM

Well that's all fine, if they do all that there will be pretty much no PRS. They will then need to find a few hundred thousand properties and some mugs to manage them. Good luck with that.

From: Worried Landlord 28 January 2023 18:20 PM

Well for many of us our rents have still to catch up with current market rates. Interestingly I have been in touch with 3 landlords associations this week, and they are all saying not to increase rents by more than 3-5% this year in case people can't afford it. I have said I am really sorry but it's going to be at least 10% this year. Tenants can say its not fair, but then it's surely not fair that lenders can increase interest rates overnight by several percent?

From: Worried Landlord 27 January 2023 09:01 AM

So, over 50% of landlords think that letting property is no longer as worthwhile investment.

From: Worried Landlord 27 January 2023 08:57 AM

Hmm never heard of them, and the main lenders are more interested in stress testing at silly rates. Hoping in a minute they will have to start lending again as surely they have targets to meet.

From: Worried Landlord 26 January 2023 09:49 AM

What a load of rubbish. So landlords aren't buying properties for people to live in?? We just keep them empty for a laugh?? Yes some foreign investors might do that. Scrap SDLT except for foreign investors.

From: Worried Landlord 25 January 2023 15:14 PM

I sold one last year as tenanted, for various reasons, I won't be doing that again.

From: Worried Landlord 24 January 2023 17:31 PM

Well that may be true, but don't forget agents are still competing for instructions and so they will give sellers an over inflated figure. I have a friend selling locally and she has had 3 agents round, quoting what seem like high figures, in my view she is being persuaded to put it on the market for more than its worth.

From: Worried Landlord 24 January 2023 09:44 AM

How can they possibly know whether a landlord can afford this without raising rents?? They want us to spend out on repairs and compliance, but they don't care whether it's affordable or not. What other business is just told to absorb additional costs?

From: Worried Landlord 23 January 2023 09:28 AM

You are right the south west generally seems to attract a lot of people who want the "lifestyle" but don't want to work, then complain about low pay, can't find a cheap place to live etc etc

From: Worried Landlord 20 January 2023 17:14 PM

I think the rule is that if legally married or civil partners you can't claim to have separate main homes, but anyone else can.

From: Worried Landlord 20 January 2023 17:12 PM

Have to say, of all the many annoyances, this is the worst. Damp and mould caused by condensation is caused by lack of ventilation and occupant lifestyle. Leaks are a completely separate problem which needs to be investigated and repaired.

From: Worried Landlord 20 January 2023 09:30 AM

Yes no doubt there will be some of that. However there is no law that says anyone has to stay at their primary residence every day of the year, and indeed if they are working away then many people can't. As far as I know there is no way of a neighbour knowing whether a property is someone's primary residence or not.

From: Worried Landlord 19 January 2023 18:33 PM

There is a big problem in tourist hot spots across the country, but I am not sure this is the best way to address it. More like they want to be seen to be doing something, and no doubt it would raise some money, although it may have unintended consequences. I'd agree there must be better solutions than this. There are properties only available for locals in Cornwall, but only a small number every year, so called section 106.

From: Worried Landlord 19 January 2023 18:30 PM

Problem is even if 100,000 sign they will still trot out the same nonsense in response. They rely on the fact that non landlords won't understand the problem and just assume landlords are being greedy. With interest rates going up it won't be long before a landlord with zero income will still have to pay tax, then maybe there will be a legal challenge at some point, as clearly unfair and unethical to tax only some landlords in this way.

From: Worried Landlord 19 January 2023 17:25 PM

May I say, excellent post. It's sad that we have to put up with this nonsense, and it is difficult to explain to tenants.

From: Worried Landlord 19 January 2023 10:29 AM

What total rubbish from the govt. It's clearly totally unfair to tax landlords who own properties in their own name differently from a limited company and all other businesses. Also it pushes people unfairly into a higher rate tax bracket which has wider implications. Finally its unfair on tenants whose landlords have mortgages, because they will have to pay more rent.

From: Worried Landlord 19 January 2023 09:32 AM

I dare say they would like to do this, but not sure they will be able. With the majority of rental properties being mortgaged, I don't think the sitting tenants situation can happen again, as surely the lender needs to be able to repossess and sell if need be?

From: Worried Landlord 18 January 2023 11:06 AM

This is a really good point and also helps to explain why there is more condensation in rental properties, because there are more people per square metre breathing washing / cooking / showering / drying washing indoors.

From: Worried Landlord 18 January 2023 11:04 AM

While its frustrating being a landlord with all the rubbish we have to put up with, I really would not wish to be a tenant just now. Nightmare. I am going to have to put all my rents up by at least £100 per property per month this year. My tenants are going to be shocked, but I am going to give them 6 months notice of the rent increase, so they can try to move somewhere cheaper if they need to. I have had no vacancies since May 2020 and that was a couple who relocated away from the region. As the article says they may be staying put because the rent is relatively low.

From: Worried Landlord 18 January 2023 09:46 AM

Also prefer older tenants, but not too keen on paying for alterations, especially if they don't add value to the property and may need to be reversed before the house is sold. However there should be no need as it's so hard for anyone to find a rental property, may seem harsh but I'd expect tenants to pay for it themselves if they wanted it that much. Only issue then would be whether it would be done to a good standard and whether it would be easy to take out before the house is sold. Bearing in mind properties more likely to be sold to younger people who may have kids and thus prefer a bath to a wet room for example.

From: Worried Landlord 18 January 2023 09:38 AM

Silly article. If you sell too quick you most likely sell too cheap, especially just now when nobody is buying. My estate agent has said don't bother putting anything on the market until at least March. I'd never sell at auction although you can be lucky and get some sucker pay too much in the heat of the moment.

From: Worried Landlord 18 January 2023 09:32 AM

Well I am sure both landlords and tenants would be happier if rents could be lower, but sadly they can't due to all the increased costs.

From: Worried Landlord 17 January 2023 09:43 AM

Just had a load of reduced stock come through on my rightmove alerts, one or 2 agents have realised they have to drop asking prices if they want to sell anything.

From: Worried Landlord 17 January 2023 09:22 AM

Totally agree, there is no barge pole long enough. You'd have to be mad. As for doing all the repairs, they don't even maintain their own properties.

From: Worried Landlord 17 January 2023 09:19 AM

Problem is tenants always call it "damp" and they are convinced it's somehow coming in through the walls. They don't accept its condensation caused by the people living in the house.

From: Worried Landlord 16 January 2023 09:38 AM

Asking prices might be up, but only because estate agents are desperate for business, so talking things up. Very few properties listed since end of September are showing as sold. Problem is you can only see sold prices on land registry about 3 months after the event, so there is a time lag which causes unrealistic expectations.

From: Worried Landlord 16 January 2023 09:17 AM

Yeah right. Recently contacted all my tenants (8 properties) as I need to do annual visit for buildings insurance, also an opportunity for them to point out any issues that they haven't mentioned before. So far only 2 have responded after 4 days. Yet when they want something fixed they expect a response within the hour. It's all very one sided I am afraid!!

From: Worried Landlord 14 January 2023 10:29 AM

Yes you are right there.

From: Worried Landlord 13 January 2023 10:23 AM

If the main problem is shortage of properties and high rents then the answer is surely to increase the number of rental properties? The proposed legislation will have the opposite effect. Hey ho.

From: Worried Landlord 13 January 2023 10:20 AM

When there are less first time buyers then its usually investors who keep the housing market going. Would not wish to be starting out now.

From: Worried Landlord 13 January 2023 10:14 AM

I would think things are tough for estate agents right now. For Letting agents, any advert will generate a large response, but takes a bit of work to find the best tenants. With cost of living presumably they have had to change their criteria?

From: Worried Landlord 12 January 2023 11:40 AM

I guess we can infer these are some of the reasons why tenants may have rent arrears or struggle to pay the rent. At least they have pointed out mortgages are increasing as well.

From: Worried Landlord 12 January 2023 10:50 AM

I'd agree there will be increased demand as people can't afford to buy, and rents will go up, but not yields for any one with mortgages.

From: Worried Landlord 12 January 2023 10:09 AM

Agree lenders already over cautious and it's impossible to release equity. I looked at changing lenders for one and they wanted me to put money in because rent too low for their calculations!! LTV was less than 50%. Hoping as you say they will have money to lend soon due to having targets to meet!!

From: Worried Landlord 12 January 2023 10:01 AM

They are having a laugh. BTL finance is already severely restricted due to stress testing at 8%. So for a modest property of say £150,000 on 75% LTV the rent would need to be over £1000 pcm. Remortgaging is possible with product transfer, but you will be lucky to release any equity now. This all leads to either higher rents or selling the property if you need some cash. Not good outcomes for tenants either way.

From: Worried Landlord 12 January 2023 09:51 AM

Asking prices are still too high locally. You can understand for property listed a while ago but new instructions still at peak pricing. Problem is people look at recent sold prices, but those would be sales agreed 3-6 months ago.

From: Worried Landlord 11 January 2023 09:45 AM

Agree CGT is just a tax grab but for landlords it's less of a worry than a lot of other things just now!! Just remortgaged one of mine, going to have to put rents up at least 10% this year.

From: Worried Landlord 10 January 2023 10:16 AM

Totally agree. Got rid of mine last year. For same square footage of property it only broke even after 7 years, whereas equivalent house has gained about 40% in value.

From: Worried Landlord 09 January 2023 10:09 AM

Strangely not yet reflected in asking prices locally, but only a matter of time I would think.

From: Worried Landlord 09 January 2023 10:07 AM

I am wondering, with public transport in chaos, more people will probably have cars not less.

From: Worried Landlord 05 January 2023 09:54 AM

I would think this might appeal to some, and others will apply out of desperation. How many will reliably pay the rent is another question. Would not appeal to the kind of tenants I rent to as they want a traditional house their own garden space. I had one "maisonette" which was identical to some of my other properties except there was no allocated garden, and it was much less popular and attracted a different type of tenant (hence I have sold it).

From: Worried Landlord 05 January 2023 09:53 AM

This is indeed another pressure on the rental market. There are commonly applicants in this situation and often they want a 2 or 3 bed house so the kids can stay over on a regular basis. They will struggle to find anywhere, and I find its usually best to rent to 2 adults both working so they can more likely cover rent and bills.

From: Worried Landlord 05 January 2023 09:41 AM

Would not touch with a barge pole

From: Worried Landlord 31 December 2022 09:35 AM

Surely the PRS in Scotland is going to die pretty soon, unless this nonsense is scrapped?

From: Worried Landlord 30 December 2022 08:36 AM

A shocking scandal. Those who installed the cladding should be made to rectify the problem. So sorry for all those unlucky people caught up in it. I have only ever had 2 leasehold properties (not high rise), never again. Paying out for repairs on something you don't even own makes no sense.

From: Worried Landlord 30 December 2022 08:33 AM

So in practice what would happen if you signed a tenancy agreement with tenant A and then tenant B failed to move out? What come back does Tenant A have?

From: Worried Landlord 29 December 2022 10:26 AM

I don't use letting agents any more, but to be fair if they were to advertise a property below current market rent they would be inundated especially with the "desperate". So can't blame them for advising at a higher figure to try and weed out those who can't afford it. Strangely just seen a property in the same road as one of mine being advertised too cheap (same rent as mine actually) they are going to be swamped.

From: Worried Landlord 29 December 2022 09:56 AM

Yes I agree. Anyone wanting to buy a property who doesn't already have a mortgage deal agreed before 23 Sept is going to find it's a lot more expensive than they thought. Also there will be an estimated 100,000 people per month coming off fixed term deals. Add in energy costs and the govt subsidy ending in March, doesn't look too good to me.

From: Worried Landlord 28 December 2022 09:49 AM

Good idea but I'm guessing any recruits to this job would be "off sick with stress" within 2 weeks.

From: Worried Landlord 23 December 2022 17:20 PM

Have signed and also sent the link to all my tenants, That way at least it raises their awareness of the issue, and why their rents will have to go up.

From: Worried Landlord 23 December 2022 17:17 PM

Yes true but if the same issue keeps on coming back again and again then it may just have an effect. It's clearly going to appear even more unfair with rising interest rates, some people's mortgages interest will be higher than the rents, but they will still have to pay tax, so that can't be right!!

From: Worried Landlord 23 December 2022 17:06 PM

Yes indeed 80% are generally unsuitable for all the obvious reasons, I generally do about 10 viewings and always plenty to choose from. I have found you can't stop them all enquiring and I guess they get lucky every so often. I have some ex tenants who just moved house yet again, I am amazed they found anywhere as they now have dogs and CCJs but they are good blaggers (liars and thieves actually) so good luck to new landlord!!

From: Worried Landlord 23 December 2022 09:35 AM

Fortunately I am a long way from London but if I only had 15 enquiries per advert I would wonder what had gone wrong. More like 60 in a few days round here.

From: Worried Landlord 23 December 2022 09:18 AM

No previous experience required?? Maybe the only way to recruit these days, but makes you wonder. Surely some training in standards and regulations is needed and some common sense. Could at least say "training will be provided"!! I think they will find it's not as easy dealing with tenants and landlords as they think.

From: Worried Landlord 23 December 2022 09:15 AM

No they haven't, as at this morning.

From: Worried Landlord 22 December 2022 08:57 AM

The biggest cost is and has always been the mortgage interest payments, for the majority of landlords who have mortgages. So to write an article about rental profits which doesn't include mortgage interest costs seems bizarre.

From: Worried Landlord 22 December 2022 08:54 AM

Agree it's very difficult to find anyone willing to do any jobs. We have always done jobs ourselves if we can, but getting too old for it now. It would help if tenants were a bit more understanding, but as they never have the problem of trying to find a tradesman, they don't appreciate the problem. Another reason to sell up unfortunately.

From: Worried Landlord 22 December 2022 08:52 AM

"28.9 per cent of participants said they were able to paying their utility bills on a regular basis". Presumably this is a typo??

From: Worried Landlord 22 December 2022 08:38 AM

Most people are probably going to wait and see. That in itself has an effect by disrupting the steady flow of property transactions. There will be some who need to sell sooner for whatever reason, and they will have to accept the best offer they can get. If there were plenty of rental properties then more people could wait it out more easily, but as there aren't, that creates another pressure. Interesting times I guess.

From: Worried Landlord 21 December 2022 20:28 PM

At last someone who is being realistic! Estate agents locally still marketing at pre Sept 23 prices so nothing selling.

From: Worried Landlord 21 December 2022 10:07 AM

If I had a tenant who had only £25 rent increase in 8 years and then had the nerve to suggest this I am afraid they would be looking for a new place. They will then find they need to pay at least £200 a month more, and they will regret trying it on.

From: Worried Landlord 21 December 2022 10:03 AM

You are right, nobody thanked those landlords who froze rents or offered flexibility on rent arrears. Baroness not very bright if she can't see that all this nonsense just makes things worse as landlords decide to sell up.

From: Worried Landlord 21 December 2022 10:00 AM

Yes Jo normally its inflation plus 1%, but they have capped it at 7% this year. But this implies inflation plus 1% is fair, just not affordable for their tenants this year.

From: Worried Landlord 21 December 2022 09:57 AM

Yes agree the way to control us greedy landlords in a free market is to have competition, so build those houses, rent them cheap, and by then we will all be retired, job done.

From: Worried Landlord 21 December 2022 09:55 AM

Yes agree mortgage interest rates are the biggest problem for many (on top of all the other problems) will have to sell up if they don't settle below 5%. I don't believe my tenants or indeed most other tenants locally could afford the rent increase that would be needed to cover interest rates above 5%. And before anyone says you should have thought of that, we have been told for the last few years that if and when interest rates went up it would happen very gradually so as not to crash the economy and cause mass repossessions.

From: Worried Landlord 21 December 2022 09:53 AM

Firstly, only half? What are the other 50% of landlords thinking? Secondly, mine all had less than £50 this year, which was less than 5% But next year it will have to be at least 10% due to mortgage interest increases. Or I can just sell up. Whatever.

From: Worried Landlord 21 December 2022 09:48 AM

11007 now. just signed

From: Worried Landlord 21 December 2022 09:46 AM

Simon you will find that the S24 pushes people into higher rate when in fact they are not. They look at your whole rental income and any other income first. Then decide what tax band. Then you get only 20% relief on mortgage interest. So many people who were basic rate taxpayers in the old rules now pay tax at higher rate, totally unfair. It's only those who were already higher rate taxpayers, in that case I agree, it makes no difference.

From: Worried Landlord 21 December 2022 09:43 AM

I agree there should be free software or some easy to use interface on HMRC where the figures can be entered. Are the figures quoted for gross income (ie total rental income before any allowable expenses) or after we have taken off expenses and mortgage interest?

From: Worried Landlord 20 December 2022 09:48 AM

Why would anyone do this? If you are that desperate for money surely stay home instead of going away? I know it's a free country but I assume the STAA has contributed to the problem of too many short term lets in holiday areas.

From: Worried Landlord 20 December 2022 09:45 AM

Hmm will be interesting to see "what next". Hope it won't be yet more bad news for landlords and tenants.

From: Worried Landlord 20 December 2022 09:38 AM

YESSSS!!! Some good news at last!!

From: Worried Landlord 19 December 2022 16:12 PM

Apparently "Each year a sample of addresses is drawn at random from a list of private addresses held by the Royal Mail. Householders at those addresses are invited to take part in the survey and will receive an initial letter from our contractor NatCen Social Research." I guess some will be more motivated to participate than others, and all the usual limitations of such research methods would apply. It's easy to access the full report and quite interesting.

From: Worried Landlord 19 December 2022 10:05 AM

So if tenants can't be evicted, and then stop paying the rent (if they didn't already have rent arrears already). How will the majority of landlords (who have mortgages to pay) be able to pay the mortgage if there is no rent coming in?

From: Worried Landlord 19 December 2022 09:35 AM

"We’re likely to see a slowdown in transaction activity from mortgaged buyers over the next few months". Understatement of the year. Pretty much the only transactions that are proceeding are those with mortgage offers agreed prior to 23 Sept (where lender hasn't withdrawn the offer). So max another 3 months before the last of those deals expire, then we will see the true state of things.

From: Worried Landlord 16 December 2022 09:05 AM

I do feel this is inappropriate for landlords. Maybe OK for limited companies but not ordinary people using spreadsheets. We aren't allowed to pay ourselves or get any NI credits either so it's all unfair.

From: Worried Landlord 16 December 2022 08:59 AM

Hmmm not looking very good is it? If only there was a political party with the right policies to sort out this mess. Well sadly there isn't, and its probably too late anyway for at least a generation.

From: Worried Landlord 16 December 2022 08:56 AM

"Or you may be a first-time landlord and benefit from extra support our team can give with setting up the tenancy and handling all the paperwork." Nice try, but I predict any first time landlord that takes this up will soon regret it.

From: Worried Landlord 16 December 2022 08:53 AM

Yes will have to do that, but there is a time lag due to only doing annual increases. Mine were all increased in Sept and I notified my tenants in June. Next year I am going to tell them in March that there will be a much bigger increase in September, so they have time to make other plans if need be, either increase their income or find a cheaper place (if they can).

From: Worried Landlord 15 December 2022 15:43 PM

I wonder how bad things have to get before these policy makers will wake up and realise what they have done. By then it will be too late and it will take years to build the rental housing stock back up again, it it's even possible.

From: Worried Landlord 15 December 2022 12:21 PM

Yes I have found tenant problems quickly become landlord problems. That's why its best to find out what their problems are before they move in.

From: Worried Landlord 15 December 2022 12:17 PM

Oh great thanks a lot

From: Worried Landlord 15 December 2022 12:15 PM

The whole outfit needs an overhaul and a change of approach. Getting rid of current "leadership" would normally be the first step.

From: Worried Landlord 15 December 2022 09:31 AM

Well we can start by telling all our tenants. This is why your rent has to go up, and why you will struggle to find another place. I have tenants who looked into moving a while back (due to not getting on with neighbour). I was happy for them to go, but they soon realised they would not be able to find anything similar unless they paid a lot more rent, plus most places don't accept dogs any more!!

From: Worried Landlord 15 December 2022 09:24 AM

I find it hard to believe that any properties are now selling above asking price. I guess anyone who had a mortgage offer prior to 23rd Sept is likely to see things through, which will support sold prices for a few weeks/months but once all those deals expire then things will change drastically. My mortgage guy says he is doing 100% remortgages just now, nobody is buying or moving house.

From: Worried Landlord 14 December 2022 09:05 AM

Property prices are always very variable across different areas, and so I would expect some types of properties in more attractive locations to hold their prices better. Rightmove only deal in asking prices which of course are not always the same as actual sale prices. Looking at the alerts that come through daily from rightmove, over the last couple of months approx 70% of alerts locally are reduced property (so 30% new instructions) and it only triggers an alert if asking price reduced by more than 4%. I think we are still in line for 10% correction on average as being suggested by others.

From: Worried Landlord 14 December 2022 08:56 AM

There still seem to be too many older people rattling round in larger houses where they don't use several rooms, so not heating them and just getting cold and damp. You see these properties come onto the market once they have gone into a home or died. Surely it makes sense to move to a smaller more energy efficient property? I do realise it can be very hard to persuade elderly parents to do anything sensible. The cost of moving is small compared to the funds that could be freed up and the future savings on utility bills.

From: Worried Landlord 14 December 2022 08:48 AM

"amongst those who are privately renting some 15 per cent believe they risk eviction this winter." So basically a total guess, based on what a sample of tenants thought. Why would tenants think this unless they have rent arrears or already causing problems? So the actual figure could be a lot more, or could be less. In any case I'd suggest a much bigger problem for the less well off is energy bills and food prices not rent increases!! Surely they can't expect landlords to reduce rent to compensate for food and energy prices?

From: Worried Landlord 13 December 2022 09:30 AM

Rents have to go down because the average tenant cannot afford current market rents! Would be surprised that voids would be, up as new tenants are normally desperate to get in asap. This either means tenants aren't giving enough notice, maybe abandoning the property due to non payment of rent, or there are a lot of repairs to be done because tenants have been there longer and caused more damage?

From: Worried Landlord 13 December 2022 09:23 AM

Seems more likely that things will continue to drop until at least 2024 if not beyond. Might be good if you are looking to buy.

From: Worried Landlord 13 December 2022 09:19 AM

A sad state of affairs. We all know what has caused this mess, and the solutions. Just a shame the policy makers can't seem to see it!!

From: Worried Landlord 12 December 2022 10:03 AM

Err... no thank you!!

From: Worried Landlord 10 December 2022 17:10 PM

Never heard of New Open Property Group but they are quite right. Just need some common sense to prevail but that seems unlikely as this all comes under so called "levelling up".

From: Worried Landlord 09 December 2022 09:38 AM

Agree these properties should have to meet all the standards required for other rental properties.

From: Worried Landlord 09 December 2022 09:34 AM

I have no problem with genuine faults being fixed, but this should apply to social landlords as well. Are the fines actually for disrepair or some failure of paperwork?

From: Worried Landlord 09 December 2022 09:31 AM

Well it's hardly started has it? Things will get worse and worse over the next 12 months as people come off fixed rate deals at the rate of 100,000 per month. Let's see how it's looking in 12 months time. "Lenders are here to help" you are having a laugh.

From: Worried Landlord 08 December 2022 09:18 AM

Sad that the BBC is jumping on this anti-landlord bandwagon. Surely in the interests of balance they should also do a programme on landlords and the problems they face? Why they give notice to tenants, the sort of problems tenants cause etc etc. Or maybe not, might just give tenants more ideas.

From: Worried Landlord 05 December 2022 08:54 AM

Why doesn't he just speak to John Lewis as per the next article?

From: Worried Landlord 05 December 2022 08:49 AM

Best of luck to them. Seems there is always need for accommodation in London and if this helps to fill a very big gap then well and good.

From: Worried Landlord 05 December 2022 08:48 AM

Mortgage interest rates need for BTL to come back down nearer to base rate or there will be a lot more landlords selling up and a lot more homeless people.

From: Worried Landlord 30 November 2022 09:45 AM

Landlords more likely to be selling, but we don't want to flood the market with an excess of similar properties. I met with my estate agent last week (yes found one who is willing to have a sensible conversation) and those of us with ex council houses in reasonable areas can expect to sell to the usual first time buyers but also people who need to move to a property of same sort of size but free up some cash / reduce mortgage. Lots of 2/3 bed new builds etc have been selling for silly money round here.

From: Worried Landlord 30 November 2022 09:43 AM

I wonder how many rental properties would be eligible for this? I would think the majority are on mains gas and/or EPC C and above by now?

From: Worried Landlord 29 November 2022 09:07 AM

I am sure this is not uncommon, next they will be saying their bills are too high and they can't afford the rent.

From: Worried Landlord 29 November 2022 09:03 AM

It was hardly a financial perk, when rental income and expenses were treated the same as all other businesses!! It was simpler and fairer. The current S24 tax regime is completely unfair and has indeed led to rising rents.

From: Worried Landlord 29 November 2022 08:59 AM

If they really care deeply about the lives of renters then they both need to change tack and start supporting polices which will improve the supply of rental properties and encourage investment in the sector. ie the opposite of what they are currently doing.

From: Worried Landlord 29 November 2022 08:53 AM

Not had to find new tenants for 2 and a half years as they are all staying put! Will be interesting to see what sort of applicants next time, and will then decide whether a guarantor is needed. However this would rule out a lot of potentially good tenants. We rented for over a year while buying and selling property and would not have been able to provide a guarantor despite being easily able to cover the rent.

From: Worried Landlord 28 November 2022 09:13 AM

I'm sure your children will have more choice and less competition in the next year or 2, hope they find what they are looking for :)

From: Worried Landlord 28 November 2022 09:08 AM

I agree, once people stop panicking you'd expect things to stabilise, as long as lenders start to offer fairer deals and mortgage interest rates don't keep going up. Surely no need to be asking 3-4% above base rate. However I'd expect an ongoing shortage of rental properties and I don't expect to see rents going down any time soon.

From: Worried Landlord 28 November 2022 09:05 AM

So now you need us we are "generous landlords" and not greedy any more?? Hilarious!!

From: Worried Landlord 28 November 2022 09:00 AM

Answering my own question. Apparently the other areas in line for a "cash handout" are Derbyshire Dales, Eden, Liverpool and Ryedale.

From: Worried Landlord 27 November 2022 09:35 AM

Such a shame that "shelter" spout this nonsense instead of doing something useful. No landlord gives notice to good tenants. There is simply a shortage of rental properties, caused mainly by various Govt policies and taxation regimes, and demonising landlords only makes the problem worse. Why can't they see this?

From: Worried Landlord 25 November 2022 09:04 AM

Would like to see the full list of 7 areas, not just the 3 mentioned but can't find it anywhere? I did have properties in Cornwall but sold them already (they were never airbnb, always family lets). If this is going to be the model for the rest of us in due course, as per white paper, it would be useful to see how it works.

From: Worried Landlord 24 November 2022 09:22 AM

Rising rents caused largely by various Govt policies over the last few decades?

From: Worried Landlord 24 November 2022 09:16 AM

You are right, a lot of people will be up a creek without a paddle in the next couple of years, if not longer. It's all very sad and as we know the Govt could act to improve things, but instead they are making it worse.

From: Worried Landlord 24 November 2022 09:11 AM

Assuming that so called 'rogue landlords' have a flagrant disregard for rules and regulations (let alone basic concern for the welfare of others). As a piece of research it would certainly be interesting to see how that group compared with landlords as a whole on all demographic factors.

From: Worried Landlord 23 November 2022 16:55 PM

I guess if someone has been found guilty in court (whether landlord or tenant) then that's public information and can be published. However that would only ever be the tip of the iceberg. We'd all like to be warned about tenants who don't pay rent and damage property etc but often it doesn't go to court because the landlord doesn't want to waste more time and money on chasing them.

From: Worried Landlord 23 November 2022 09:35 AM

I think if you are a student or you have a job then you can probably afford at least a room in a shared house, as long as you don't overspend on everything else. Problem is these days there are lots of expensive things that many people want to have, cars, holidays, designer clothes, nights out, take aways, mobile phones, subscription TV etc etc. Life is about choices.

From: Worried Landlord 23 November 2022 09:18 AM

Yes we had one, but it fell foul of data protection, apparently tenants could sue.

From: Worried Landlord 23 November 2022 09:13 AM

So glad I got rid of my HMO's. My tolerance for this sort of nonsense is rock bottom. I admire all of you that stick with it, as you clearly provide much needed homes for so many that would otherwise have to stay living with parents or be homeless. And students of course.

From: Worried Landlord 22 November 2022 16:20 PM

I can see the reasoning, that HMO's generate a lot more rubbish etc, but we do still have a property based system, with all its flaws. So if a property has more than one occupant that doesn't increase the council tax payable. They tried an occupancy based system called community charge (so called poll tax) which didn't work out too well. You can't really mix the 2 systems.

From: Worried Landlord 22 November 2022 09:06 AM

Any improvement in supply of rental properties will only be temporary, while selling doesn't look so appealing for a while.

From: Worried Landlord 22 November 2022 08:58 AM

Interesting to see this is what they advise tenants to do. If I had the sort of bad relationship with tenants whereby they would even consider this, then they would be ex-tenants at the first opportunity.

From: Worried Landlord 22 November 2022 08:54 AM

I suggest councils get their own house in order before turning on landlords!! Whenever you see these cases in the press it's always council / housing association (most of which are former council properties by another name). Not saying all landlords are perfect, and bearing in mind most cases of mould are due to tenant lifestyle.

From: Worried Landlord 22 November 2022 08:44 AM

SDLT and CGT are nothing compared to the hikes in mortgage interest rates. There will be people losing their homes every day now, until lenders are forced to bring rates down to say 1-2% above base rate. Those home owners will be downsizing or trying to find a rental property.

From: Worried Landlord 18 November 2022 08:51 AM

A fair summary of what has gone on and a sad state of affairs especially for anyone who is looking for a rental home. Which will shortly include people who can no longer get an affordable mortgage. My mortgage guy says people are facing an extra £300-£600 in mortgage interest per month. On top of all the other cost of living increases. How long until the govt wake up and realise what they are doing?

From: Worried Landlord 17 November 2022 08:25 AM

First there is no such thing as being "under stress". You can be stressed, or under pressure. Having seen my mortgage man yesterday it's clear that the people most under pressure in the next few months will be anyone with a mortgage coming out of a fixed rate. Second when you issue a S21 notice the whole point is that you need the tenants gone, for whatever reason. So obviously you are asking them to leave. You can call that forcing them out if you like, but then you could also say that whenever tenants decide to leave with only 4 weeks notice this forces landlords into a tedious and stressful process of having to find a new tenant or sell the property ASAP.

From: Worried Landlord 15 November 2022 09:11 AM

This may be the shape of things to come, as BTL landlords leave the sector due to all the reasons we discuss on these pages. And not just for students. Sooner or later (probably too late) someone will wake up and realise what they have done is made things worse for tenants, not better.

From: Worried Landlord 15 November 2022 09:01 AM

I had a meeting with my mortgage guy today he says nobody is buying just now (with mortgage) so a bit different to what estate agents are saying!! He has dozens of remortgages per week and so lots of very unhappy people, I wonder how long before that filters up to the Govt.

From: Worried Landlord 14 November 2022 18:40 PM

She has no idea at all, we already pay more tax because of section 24 which artificially pushes us into higher rate tax.

From: Worried Landlord 13 November 2022 18:31 PM

13th Nov, Shadow Chancellor has just said BTL landlords pay less tax than working people!!!

From: Worried Landlord 13 November 2022 09:53 AM

My accountant says they are more likely to investigate those who leave it to the last minute

From: Worried Landlord 11 November 2022 18:19 PM

My least favourite job!! Prefer unblocking drains to loft insulation!! Maybe they should be offering to do free loft insulation again?

From: Worried Landlord 11 November 2022 18:09 PM

Yes I totally agree, just can't understand how they can get away with it. I have ex-tenants who went onto benefits then reluctantly turned up for a job every few weeks, didn't last more than a day (attitude problem) but benefits weren't stopped.

From: Worried Landlord 11 November 2022 10:06 AM

Something seems to be going horribly wrong. When there is a shortage of jobs it's perhaps understandable that some people will struggle, but in the last 12 months when so many employers can't recruit enough staff, why are there people loafing around? Yes some are skilled jobs, but plenty of employers needing cleaners etc with on job training.

From: Worried Landlord 11 November 2022 09:47 AM

Yes we will need to put rents of significantly in the next 2 years due to interest rates and threat of rent caps. Really sad for my tenants, but the alternative is to sell up.

From: Worried Landlord 11 November 2022 09:03 AM

There may well be a correlation between being a tenant and poorer mental health. However as any psychologist will tell you, this does not prove cause and effect. There are many possible reasons for poor mental health, and it may be the poor mental health that causes an inability to get a job and buy a house in many cases. You could also say that being a landlord may cause stress, anxiety and depression. Surely all that can be said with any certainty is that people who struggle financially (for whatever reason) are less likely to own their own home (and therefore will be renters). Kind of obvious, but there we are. Do we then blame mortgage lenders? I'd also suggest there are many reasons why people have no savings, and it's not generally because all their money goes on essential spending.

From: Worried Landlord 11 November 2022 08:52 AM

Just for clarity, there is no equivalence between general inflation and mortgage interest rates. If inflation goes up 10% then goods cost 10% more on average, so if your monthly spending was £1000 you'd pay an extra £100 per month. You can decide to buy less or buy cheaper stuff. If you have a mortgage of say £200,000 and interest rates go up by 10% then it would be crippling. On interest only basis if you were paying 3% that's £500 per month. At 13% that would be £2166. That's not a 10% increase on £500 which would be only £50. I think tenants are maybe expecting a 10% increase on their rent but this wouldn't even cover a 1% increase in mortgage interest rates. 1% on £100,000 interest only is £83 per month so unless the rent is already £830 then a 10% increase does not cover it.

From: Worried Landlord 10 November 2022 09:08 AM

And if only we could pay ourselves for all the time we spend. So by definition we are amateurs, as we are not allowed to pay ourselves!!

From: Worried Landlord 08 November 2022 22:27 PM

Like everything in life there are some landlords who will be 100% spot on with everything, and some who don't have a clue. Would be interesting to see a parallel survey of social housing and how perfect everything is in that world!! Also if it's about support then true, there isn't much, unless you join a landlords association. Keeping up to date isn't easy unless you make a big effort to research everything. As Jo says even if you want to make improvements it's very difficult to find reliable contractors. Just tried to find a carpenter locally for a small job, either they don't get back to you, or too busy. So as we all know it's not as easy as people think, and even using a letting agent doesn't necessarily help much in my experience!

From: Worried Landlord 08 November 2022 09:35 AM

Well the £400 off energy bills will help tenants (and I guess furlough kept some people paying rent in the pandemic) but very unlikely they will do anything directly for landlords. Too much to hope for. What might happen is more empty properties might get rented as people need the income?

From: Worried Landlord 07 November 2022 09:13 AM

There do seem to be a lot of new builds going up everywhere, and I'd imagine they will be much less easy to sell now, and some might well get rented out. I guess some schemes were delayed due to covid and other factors. Also I think there may be a few abandoned building sites (as per 2008) once things get worse next year.

From: Worried Landlord 07 November 2022 09:06 AM

Well yes tax is over complicated, but surely the simpler solution would be to tax what I call normal single let BTL in the same was as any other business, and get rid of S24? In reality they are just looking for ways to get as much out of us as they can.

From: Worried Landlord 07 November 2022 09:00 AM

Yes probably not a good time to get into BTL due to interest rates and stress testing. So even more reason to sell properties once vacant rather than tenanted. I sold a tenanted one last year and it was painful and took nearly a year. So in future will have to give notice, just feel sad for good tenants who will struggle to find a new place, and will have to downsize unless they can find another £250 pcm.

From: Worried Landlord 07 November 2022 08:53 AM

Interesting. I have noticed locally there are more one bed flats to rent than anything else, maybe because some tenants have moved back home or into shared houses? Still very few 2 or 3 bed houses and those that come up are £250 pcm more than my tenants are paying! Can't see rents coming down any time soon.

From: Worried Landlord 07 November 2022 08:49 AM

Yep. Can't see how increasing mortgages helps anything. Inflation is surely mainly due to global issues, not people spending too much here!! When rents go up tenants won't be able to afford anything, it's very depressing.

From: Worried Landlord 03 November 2022 18:15 PM

Agree it should be scrapped or at least linked to inflation so only real gains are taxed. Govt aren't going to listen to some web site mind you. They have a black hole (that they created) to fill so they are searching for easy targets.

From: Worried Landlord 03 November 2022 08:49 AM

I think slower capital appreciation is the least of our woes!! Clearly not written by anyone who understands the scale of the challenges facing landlords. Not seeing any price reductions in property asking prices locally yet, but as existing mortgage offers expire over next few months I am sure a correction is coming. I have a friend who was about to sell a property but has decided to rent it instead thinking prices had already dropped, just based on news media.

From: Worried Landlord 02 November 2022 11:21 AM

I agree, EPC will give a guide but probably more to do with tenant lifestyle. We haven't put our heating on yet but I hear people saying they are freezing, I guess if you sit around at home all day...

From: Worried Landlord 02 November 2022 10:45 AM

Oh dear, new builds even more expensive, and not enough houses being built. Surely this will keep house prices up, whether we like it or not. Also for mortgaged properties rents will have to rise.

From: Worried Landlord 01 November 2022 08:33 AM

I agree, take as long as you like, maybe in the meantime the penny will drop. Never heard of Fisher German so not sure how much they know about anything?

From: Worried Landlord 01 November 2022 08:20 AM

Well at least he didn't mention rent caps or eviction bans. I thought LK was hinting that rents have gone up too much.

From: Worried Landlord 30 October 2022 09:52 AM

Gove will do whatever he thinks makes him look good. So depressing that he is back.

From: Worried Landlord 26 October 2022 09:17 AM

I think it means where one or 2 people are living in a property with more than 2 bedrooms. I don't think it means HMO's, as that's quite an efficient way of housing people. I thought they had been trying this with social housing for years? You would think some people might want to move to a smaller more energy efficient home anyway. Not sure how they would do it for PRS or for owner occupiers. I have noticed locally there are relatively more 1 bed flats to rent at present.

From: Worried Landlord 26 October 2022 09:16 AM

I thought he handed out a bit too much during the pandemic, which has massively increased Govt debt. But maybe he will have learned from that. Either way, probably the best option for now. I expect some property prices will drop in some areas, but in many places they are ridiculously high now compared with local incomes.

From: Worried Landlord 25 October 2022 09:35 AM

These figures are either incorrect or include short term rentals. In the South West there were plenty of rental properties and rooms 10 years ago, and good tenants were able to be choosy, especially with HMO's. But today there is an acute shortage, and anyone looking to move will be in competition with dozens of other applicants. It was said when covid arrived nobody was moving, so that reduced the number of vacant properties, but that number had remained extremely small. If you advertise anything you are inundated with people not just for viewings, but people who want to rent it without even viewing.

From: Worried Landlord 25 October 2022 09:27 AM

It's going to be a difficult year for all of us with mortgages. Either rents will have to increase significantly (I'd say at least 10%) or properties sold. I agree it's not nice to have to put rents up or give notice to good tenants, but we will have no choice.

From: Worried Landlord 21 October 2022 09:19 AM

Well it needs to be a lot more than 3% next year. If interest rates go up by 1% then that's £100 extra interest on £100,000 interest only loan. Which is a lot more than 3% of the rent. If the rent was say £600 then £100 increase in costs is 17%. And if the interest rate goes up say 3% then that's £300 extra interest per month, which would be 50%.

From: Worried Landlord 21 October 2022 09:15 AM

I think you will find they are everywhere these days not just Cornwall!!

From: Worried Landlord 21 October 2022 09:10 AM

You are right, there is a desperate shortage of long term rentals in Cornwall and to hinder traditional BTL is just making things worse. However if the "staycation" boom is over then at least some will revert back, so not all bad news. The Govt could help of course by making taxation of BTL fairer, and maybe increase taxation / regulation of short term lets instead to create the right incentives.

From: Worried Landlord 21 October 2022 09:09 AM

Yes you are right there!! Its a shame there is no organisation able to promote an accurate picture of landlords and the PRS, that the vast majority of tenants are happy (more so than in social housing) etc etc. Oh yes the NRLA - why am I still a member I ask myself.

From: Worried Landlord 20 October 2022 09:44 AM

As a customer of First Direct I am deeply unimpressed!! Perhaps they would be better to offer advice on budgeting and not spending all your money on non essentials.

From: Worried Landlord 20 October 2022 09:19 AM

This survey may be based on a number of incorrect assumptions. Firstly from the people who don't own rental properties of any sort, and think it's all very easy. Totally unaware of the costs, risks, rules and regulations and hard work involved. Secondly from anyone who thinks the "staycation boom" isn't over. People will be spending a lot less on holidays of any sort over the next couple of years and existing holiday providers (whether campsites. holiday homes, air bnb, hotels, b&b, whatever) will be competing for customers and offering cheap deals. They had a very good 2 years, but the wind has changed.

From: Worried Landlord 20 October 2022 09:12 AM

It is very difficult if you have nice tenants. All my mortgages are going up over the next year so I am planning to advise them in March that there will be 10% increase in September. Fair warning so they can decide whether to stay or not, but they won't be able to find anything similar for anywhere near what they are paying. I could tell them now, but don't want to stress them out, and hoping by March they will be feeling less stressed.

From: Worried Landlord 19 October 2022 10:18 AM

Only 29? I get a lot more than that when I advertise (nowhere near London mind you)

From: Worried Landlord 18 October 2022 15:55 PM

I thought they increased SD to stop landlords buying, so why would they want to stop us selling? Other than both moves are just to raise tax revenue, and they don't actually care whether we buy or sell or anything else?

From: Worried Landlord 18 October 2022 10:11 AM

Anyone buying up to £250K will save 2%, but you are right the extra 3% for additional properties remains. So investors would have paid 5%, but now it's only 3%. Obviously if buying with a mortgage that saving is more than wiped out by increases interest rates.

From: Worried Landlord 18 October 2022 10:05 AM

After the chaos of the last couple of weeks, I dread to think what nonsense they will come up with next. Total inability to predict the catastrophic outcome of their policies. Problem is with the PRS it will take a while for the full impact to become apparent. Yes there are some landlords selling up now in anticipation, but for those who remain its going to be a very stressful time. And horrific for tenants.

From: Worried Landlord 18 October 2022 09:22 AM

Well, there might be a few rich landlords somewhere. However the majority of landlords were not rich to start with, and those that have mortgages will probably be much poorer in the coming months and years.

From: Worried Landlord 18 October 2022 09:14 AM

Totally agree, they also need to get rid of S24 as that's totally unfair as well.

From: Worried Landlord 17 October 2022 19:16 PM

Well mine are definitely better off as they have had less than rent 5% increase in last 12 months. Next year will be a different story though, with interest rate rises, some of that will have to be passed on.

From: Worried Landlord 15 October 2022 10:33 AM

She probably doesn't even know what S21 is, or the problems this will cause. It just sounds good to those who have no idea, and implies that mean old landlords are evicting people for no good reason, when of course that's not actually the case.

From: Worried Landlord 13 October 2022 11:51 AM

You are quite right. It's very sad for landlords, tenants and all hard working people.

From: Worried Landlord 13 October 2022 11:48 AM

Well it would be some good news at last if some common sense was going to prevail. Problem is the average person still believes it helps tenants by stopping S21 evictions, they don't think it through. The ones in the local press (online news site) here are invariably landlords selling up, and so they would go ahead anyway, but the sad faces generate lots of negative comments about landlords.

From: Worried Landlord 11 October 2022 09:20 AM

Not surprising, and I guess the cost of this damage just needs to be factored in to the daily rate for these rentals. There would be no point in claiming on insurance for the smaller losses. Excess would probably be at least £250 anyway.

From: Worried Landlord 07 October 2022 09:05 AM

That might be true, if there were more people looking / able to buy than rent. Whenever I advertise one of my properties I get about 50 applicants in a week. When I sell there are maybe 5 viewings per week. So 10 times as many people wanting to rent. It doesn't help any of them when I sell a property, it's just another one lost to rental market.

From: Worried Landlord 07 October 2022 09:01 AM

We just have to hope this isn't a priority, with all the other problems they have, some of their own making. What is needed is something that will actually improve things for both landlords and tenants.

From: Worried Landlord 07 October 2022 08:54 AM

An interesting analysis. I'd rather they raised the thresholds for basic rate and 40%, at least that would reduce the effect of the unfair S24 tax a bit.

From: Worried Landlord 07 October 2022 08:50 AM

Firstly it doesn't look like a bonanza to me, I don't want to put my rents up, but as I have mortgages I may have no choice. Secondly I have noticed a couple of annoying trolls on these pages lately, we really need to ignore them. This is a forum for landlords, hence it's called landlord today. I am sure there are plenty of other places for those who just want to "screw us over". Problem is they just make life more difficult for decent tenants because we have to be so careful these days, and all the pre tenancy checking does feel intrusive, but we can't take the risk of having to deal with the tenant from hell.

From: Worried Landlord 01 October 2022 18:37 PM

Nick its always much easier to sell once tenants have gone. Not only is the place a mess (and usually the garden is a bramble patch) but they can be obstructive with viewings. Good luck though, hope you get your house back soon. Once they have gone maybe change agents and get better photos. I use a local agent who charges 1% inc vat and find they are much better than the online ones.

From: Worried Landlord 30 September 2022 09:52 AM

There is a lot of reduced property around, but could just be that initial asking prices had become really excessive, due to agents competing for new instructions. I have a friend had to change agents twice and drop from £300K to £250K to get a sale (not a rental property) clearly first agent had suggested ridiculous high asking price.

From: Worried Landlord 30 September 2022 09:49 AM

Totally agree, although if you have any fixed term deals ending soon then you can't avoid it completely.

From: Worried Landlord 30 September 2022 09:46 AM

Our tenants will have to hope that we are able to weather this storm. Otherwise choice will be sell the property or put the rent up significantly.

From: Worried Landlord 30 September 2022 09:41 AM

How do you know anything about the lifestyles of landlords? As in any industry there might be a few who are making a lot of money (and maybe worked really hard to get there), but as most landlords only have a couple of properties that's unlikely to have a major effect on lifestyle. The job I had prior to becoming a landlord paid a lot more than I get from my rental properties, especially with the unfair taxation of landlords so I don't even get to take a holiday any more. So if you want to come on here and be rude, at least get your facts right.

From: Worried Landlord 30 September 2022 09:34 AM

Lis Truss on the radio this morning just wanted to talk about the cap on energy prices, not sure she even realises what she and Kwarteng have done.

From: Worried Landlord 29 September 2022 09:02 AM

I think this will be the least of our problems over the next couple of years. Being a home owner with a mortgage will probably be even more difficult than being a tenant as landlords won't be able to pass on all the increased costs.

From: Worried Landlord 29 September 2022 09:00 AM

Yes you are missing the fact its not 100%, so any increase is a real increase against any profits you might have been hoping for! If your mortgage goes up by £400 a month you get tax relief of only £80 so unless you can increase the rent by £320 per month you are losing money. And multiply that by say 10 properties, you are bankrupt.

From: Worried Landlord 28 September 2022 10:02 AM

They are risking the viability of this govt and thus opening the door to the labour party, who must be delighted with all this. Tax cuts might work in some conditions but not in the current situation. Its disastrous for the majority or the electorate and either they will need to back track or they will be out.

From: Worried Landlord 28 September 2022 09:43 AM

Probably not possible in practice, how can you dictate which buyers a seller should accept? Surely that would be an illegal restriction on personal choice. Also what about repossessions, are they going to tell lenders who they can sell to? I think not. There are already people who say they want to sell to FTB and not to "greedy landlords" that's their choice. I have sold 8 properties to date, 4 went to other landlords and 4 didn't. Just down to the type of property really, and whether it was more suited to being rented or not.

From: Worried Landlord 27 September 2022 16:51 PM

I think we are all incredulous that politicians know so little about the PRS. It has only grown as a result of Govt polices over the years, and now likely to die over the next few years. Leaving people living where exactly? They say they are getting rid of 45% tax band to simplify tax and make it fairer, well what's more unfair and complicated than George Osborne's S24 taxation of landlords? Have tried explaining it to fairly intelligent people and they can't even understand what it is.

From: Worried Landlord 27 September 2022 16:42 PM

Yes just shows they have no idea at all.

From: Worried Landlord 26 September 2022 11:03 AM

I guess we should all write to our tenants to warn them what is coming.

From: Worried Landlord 26 September 2022 11:02 AM

Well at least we know what they think they would do. If the PRS isn't already dead by then this would kill it off, so makes you wonder how they would house all the homeless tenants this would create.

From: Worried Landlord 26 September 2022 09:33 AM

Well a rent freeze might be fair if inflation was zero and interest rates were frozen. But back in the real world, totally unrealistic.

From: Worried Landlord 26 September 2022 09:30 AM

All this shows is how incredibly frustrating it can be to have bad tenants, especially those who don't pay the rent, and how difficult it can be to get rid of them through legal channels.

From: Worried Landlord 26 September 2022 09:26 AM

Cancel that, its only the over £150K people

From: Worried Landlord 23 September 2022 10:52 AM

Well one good thing (at last) this presumably cancels the effect of the S24 tax swindle. ie we won't be pushed artificially into the higher rate tax band, because there won't be one from April 2023.

From: Worried Landlord 23 September 2022 10:19 AM

Totally agree. It's once a year and usually below 5%. The only time you could hike it up would be when someone moves out and you advertise for new tenants. I'd guess they are looking at asking prices on rightmove as they can't possibly have figures for all tenancies (which are agreed privately between landlord and tenant).

From: Worried Landlord 23 September 2022 09:15 AM

But we can only increase rents once a year, so potentially we will be out of pocket for months.

From: Worried Landlord 22 September 2022 18:52 PM

Yes indeed, unless rents can be increased to compensate.

From: Worried Landlord 22 September 2022 18:07 PM

Yes my mortgage guy tells me its going to be a difficult time for many of those who bought new build properties in last few years. He has been warning them that they are paying too much, and when they come to remortgage it will be a problem. People don't listen though.

From: Worried Landlord 22 September 2022 10:10 AM

Problem is, the simple and easy to administer systems are always going to be unfair. To make it fair would be complex and require a lot more administration (and cost) ie employing armies of people to assess every household and decide what discount is fair. Just so glad I don't have any HMOs any more. If landlords have to pass on the £400 then they should also be able to pass on the increased energy cost, even if it's more than £400 (which I am sure it would be).

From: Worried Landlord 22 September 2022 09:25 AM

It may be fine for landlords with no mortgages, but for the rest of us, rents have to keep up or there are problems when we try to remortgage. Also we do actually need the rental income, especially if its our only source of income. It's not just spare money for most.

From: Worried Landlord 20 September 2022 09:05 AM

I agree. I used to do this but I wrote to them a while back saying my rents are now well below market rate, and so it would be unfair for them to use this information. Not heard any more.

From: Worried Landlord 20 September 2022 09:00 AM

It's probably true that many of us could make more profit, either by switching to serviced accommodation, or buying in certain areas (mainly up north) where yields are higher, or buying properties most suited to serviced accommodation, or converting large properties into flats, or some other strategies. I think it's called sweating your assets. None of those options appeals to me, but might suit some people. I think Aran is a genuine person, but like others offering property education the strategies they promote might not suit everyone.

From: Worried Landlord 16 September 2022 10:37 AM

Let's hope Liz Truss or new housing minister doesn't try to follow suit, although if she is as right wing as she appears, it should not be a problem?

From: Worried Landlord 06 September 2022 14:09 PM

Problem is, 5 weeks rent doesn't generally cover it...

From: Worried Landlord 26 August 2022 07:38 AM

Yes it doesn't sound like your average tenant. But surely the BTR type properties don't generally have "private outside space"? Seems odd.

From: Worried Landlord 26 August 2022 07:34 AM

I am sure they will, even where their rent hasn't increased in the last 2 years, and landlords will be expected to put up with it, again.

From: Worried Landlord 26 August 2022 07:11 AM

Yes I agree damage is common, but so far we have never claimed on any insurance. Main issues are pet damage to carpets etc and general damage to doors, door frames etc.

From: Worried Landlord 25 August 2022 12:02 PM

Just shows how big the gulf is between what tenants want, and what they are going to get. And looks like that's only going to get worse.

From: Worried Landlord 25 August 2022 08:06 AM

The headline should just say "wrong insulation in your property might make it hard to sell". Someone I know just sold their house and had to have this foam insulation removed before the buyer could get a mortgage. Another scandal.

From: Worried Landlord 19 August 2022 09:18 AM

Yes for HMOs it would also be how to get on with other people, consideration for others, how to put your rubbish in the right bin, how to tie a bin bag and put it out for collection, how to clean the bathroom, how to do your washing up and not just leave it for days, how to keep your room clean, how to pull the curtains and open the windows, how to do your fair share of providing bin bags, loo rolls etc, how to do your washing and not leave it drying on radiators etc etc

From: Worried Landlord 17 August 2022 09:11 AM

FFS. It's probably true that some training could be useful in many ways for some people, especially where they left school with little or no education. How about how to manage your money, how to manage yourself and have good relationships with others, reducing conflict in your life, be a good citizen, avoiding harmful behaviours, addictions etc but this?? Really??

From: Worried Landlord 16 August 2022 16:24 PM

Problem is, when you come to remortgage, if your rents are too low you have a problem.

From: Worried Landlord 11 August 2022 08:48 AM

Yes you are right, they should!!

From: Worried Landlord 06 August 2022 21:30 PM

The strange thing is, my mortgage guy tells me there are plenty of people buying properties to let, even though property prices locally have gone through the roof. I can only assume they haven't heard about the white paper!!

From: Worried Landlord 06 August 2022 21:27 PM

Totally agree, you can never get rid of that smell of dog even with professional carpet cleaning. Even extra deposit (when it was allowed) didn't cover the cost of new carpets. People suggest having laminate flooring but I had tenants who got a puppy (without permission) and it ruined the laminate flooring, which is even more expensive to replace than carpet.

From: Worried Landlord 05 August 2022 08:59 AM

I agree its all very well for those with no mortgages. Spare a thought for people with typical BTL deals on 2 year cycle, so every year half of them come up for remortgage. If you can be sure you will keep the properties longer then you can go for 5 year deals, but with the current state of things we might well need to sell up before then, and we don't need a massive early repayment penalty to add insult to injury.

From: Worried Landlord 04 August 2022 19:32 PM

Yes...and?? Perhaps local authorities should lobby the Government to make some positive changes for landlords, which might then increase the supply of rental properties. Like getting rid of S24, more powers to evict bad tenants more quickly etc etc. Otherwise things will just get even worse...

From: Worried Landlord 01 August 2022 08:54 AM

To be fair in tourist areas such as Cornwall it is an issue, but I would think most of those properties are or were cash purchases anyway, and there will be plenty of other lenders. It's just a publicity stunt from a lender pretending to have a social conscience.

From: Worried Landlord 01 August 2022 08:43 AM

Surely mortgage applications are assessed on income? So either they meet the income level required or they don't. Same as if owner occupiers wanted a bigger mortgage, it would be assessed on their income. I've had 2 couples who gave notice in 2020 to buy their own house.

From: Worried Landlord 01 August 2022 07:57 AM

It's an opportunity for yet more people to take a cut of any profits from BTL ie tax software companies, tax accountants etc. Can't see any way in which this is an opportunity for landlords, other than to shell out more cash and thus make another loss, or potentially put up rents to compensate.

From: Worried Landlord 30 July 2022 14:55 PM

Total shambles and as things stand proposals in the Gove White Paper will only make things worse.

From: Worried Landlord 30 July 2022 14:52 PM

Overall I just think Sunak's idea to get inflation down first is the best plan. Giving tax breaks etc will only make inflation worse, not sure Truss has much idea about finance. We need tenants who can afford to pay the rent, and so getting inflation under control seems the better plan out of this mess. Still not sure why businesses can't seem to get the staff they need mind you, when there are so many on benefits, unless they are all unemployable.

From: Worried Landlord 28 July 2022 20:13 PM

I wonder what they will come up with? Higher CGT or something else?

From: Worried Landlord 28 July 2022 20:07 PM

Totally agree and similar situation. Great shame for all the good tenants who will struggle to find anywhere to live when we sell up. Just sold a property with tenants in situ, its taken nearly a year, and price approx 8% less than I might have got if it was vacant, so not going to do that again.

From: Worried Landlord 28 July 2022 20:07 PM

Now is the time for all of us to review all tenancies, before the law changes, and S21 any tenants where there are issues with rent or any other problems.

From: Worried Landlord 27 July 2022 09:54 AM

I agree a low EPC might deter investors, until there is some certainty about the Govts plans. However for owner occupiers the main issue is surely that prices have shot up, so I'd guess they will still be willing to buy a low EPC property, and the rules of supply and demand will apply. Many people still look for "character" and "period features" rather than energy efficiency. Also a lot of holiday lets are "character cottages" which have a low EPC, so there is still that market available if the property is in the right area.

From: Worried Landlord 27 July 2022 09:47 AM

You are right, houses seem to have gone up a lot more than flats

From: Worried Landlord 26 July 2022 08:53 AM

Well best of luck to them, if they are going to be buying up the properties we don't want!! Will be an extra 3000 homes available for renters, which will help a bit with the shortage. Will be interesting to see how affordable the rents are though, once they have invested all that money they will want a decent return on it.

From: Worried Landlord 26 July 2022 08:51 AM

Yes I have noticed this too. Then I was a FTB I could only afford a studio flat!! Which then was in negative equity for years. Now people think a FTB property is a 3 bed house. Something not quite right there.

From: Worried Landlord 25 July 2022 18:51 PM

Nothing would persuade me to take this bribe, even if it was offered in my area. I guess if someone had a "hard to rent" property then it might be an option.

From: Worried Landlord 25 July 2022 18:29 PM

Yes it's an obvious and simple solution, which we can all see, but sadly those making all the decisions can't seem to see it. Makes you wonder.

From: Worried Landlord 25 July 2022 18:27 PM

The process of being a landlord has its own life cycle. At the start you are keen and you buy properties, then at some point you start selling. For a while you might do both ie sell off some and buy something different, and eventually they will all get sold, or passed on to children. So any survey is going to pick that up and depending who responds, might give a skewed picture. Handelsbanken presumably surveyed its own customers who might not be representative of all landlords.

From: Worried Landlord 25 July 2022 10:43 AM

Well they will be on benefits, but you will find even if the benefits are paid direct to landlord this will be weeks late, and there will still be a shortfall every month.

From: Worried Landlord 25 July 2022 09:18 AM

It's called market forces, supply and demand. This applies to all areas of the economy. It's not just landlords, it's all businesses. Just another excuse to trot out the "greedy landlords" phrase.

From: Worried Landlord 25 July 2022 09:15 AM

Surely it just means the house goes with the job, if they aren't doing the job any more then the house is needed for whoever is.

From: Worried Landlord 23 July 2022 13:03 PM

Hmmm, so where do Landlords go to complain about the behaviour of tenants, the damage they have inflicted on a property, and the money they owe? Are they going to have to pay up to £25,000 compensation? Thought not. Bit one sided isn't it? I foresee a tsunami of evictions before all this becomes law.

From: Worried Landlord 23 July 2022 10:27 AM

Well fine, as long as landlords can increase the charges passed on to tenants in line with actual increases in bills, then fair enough to pass on any rebates. However as most landlords won't be doing that, then they are bearing the additional cost, and should therefore receive the rebate.

From: Worried Landlord 22 July 2022 18:40 PM

The questions are specifically about the white paper proposals, so any comments about all the other previous attacks on landlords would most likely be ignored. Problem is, if the only responses they get are from anti-landlord groups, then they still may not grasp the simple truth that there will be far fewer rental properties, and therefore life will be much more difficult for all tenants.

From: Worried Landlord 22 July 2022 09:47 AM

Agree they have made it much more difficult. It's a great shame about the library. I am only staying because of the helpline and as a general principle, in the hope they are lobbying for us, but that's looking very dubious these days.

From: Worried Landlord 22 July 2022 09:20 AM

Hmmm I wonder what the catch is. The one thing you can rely on as a landlord is that everyone you deal with is taking money out of your account, estate agents, solicitors, HMRC, lenders, insurance companies, letting agents, tradesmen etc etc etc. We are like a cash machine.

From: Worried Landlord 20 July 2022 08:55 AM

I think it just shows that those coming up with these ideas know very little about the PRS and make all sorts of incorrect assumptions. Problem is those assumptions could well make things a whole lot worse, which you would have to hope is not what is intended. They would only need to ask about half a dozen actual landlords to get all the information they need, but clearly that's too difficult.

From: Worried Landlord 16 July 2022 17:48 PM

Why is it that every survey in the last 10 years shows the same thing, 80% tenants happy, yet we are treated as though 80% were unhappy? Soon they will be unhappy because they won't be able to find anywhere to live, or the only place they can get won't be anything like what they want. Would like to think there might be some changes with Johnson and Gove both gone, but that may be too much to hope for.

From: Worried Landlord 11 July 2022 10:25 AM

Insurance policies may not pay out, so I think these days the best option is higher rent where there are pets. Basically we match the rent to the risk of damage. The other option is tenants to pay for own floor coverings. I just had tenants with a dog ask me to pay for new carpets, I declined and I told them why.

From: Worried Landlord 08 July 2022 09:52 AM

Well at least the total disarray might slow up the demise of the PRS. Which would be a good thing for tenants as well as landlords.

From: Worried Landlord 06 July 2022 22:25 PM

Completely agree. I thought when they elected Bojo as leader, is this really the best you can come up with? And as for Gove. Makes me feel sick.

From: Worried Landlord 06 July 2022 22:23 PM

The sooner Johnson and Gove go away, the better for the country. Sadly the Conservatives are no longer the party supporting hard working people and businesses.

From: Worried Landlord 06 July 2022 09:14 AM

Having googled insurance for pet damage in rental properties apparently tenants could get insurance against being taken to court by 3rd parties ie if their dog attacks someone or damages someone else's property (ie landlords). Problem would be even if they took out such insurance at start of tenancy they could presumably cancel it any time, and you'd have to take them to court. Often it's the smell that's the worst thing, and the court won't really get the full effect of that unless they visit the property, and you'd obviously lose months of rent in the meantime. I have found even professional carpet cleaning doesn't get rid of that smell, you have to get rid of the carpets and underlay and replace with new.

From: Worried Landlord 04 July 2022 21:58 PM

Good idea! I would think you could justify it on the basis of the lower risk of damage where there is no pet, and citing previous examples of cost of repairs after pet damage.

From: Worried Landlord 04 July 2022 21:30 PM

Quite right, and by the time the chickens come home to roost, Gove and Johnson will be off to pastures new.

From: Worried Landlord 02 July 2022 17:32 PM

Presumably they are already seeing less properties on their books with landlords selling up, and less turnover as tenants aren't moving. The odd property that makes it to an advert generally says "fully booked for viewings" so dead easy to rent, but their profits must be down already?

From: Worried Landlord 02 July 2022 16:53 PM

Yes totally understandable, and many other landlords are doing the same. It will be a great shame for all those good tenants who will find it more and more difficult to find a home. How long until the Govt and all the anti landlord groups realise what they have done?

From: Worried Landlord 02 July 2022 15:58 PM

You can still give notice at 2 months arrears, this is to stop those annoying tenants who, when it gets to the court date, pay off just enough to get below the 2 months arrears. It doesn't mean they can build up 6 months.

From: Worried Landlord 02 July 2022 15:55 PM

Excellent points on the issue of renting in retirement. Probably not currently a major problem, but may well be in years to come. Typical older people now may well own a property that really needs renovation, so it can hard for them to move as the sort of place they might like to move to might well be more expensive (speaking from experience of friends with elderly parents). The worst situation now is probably for young families with several kids and pets and on benefits as they are really not an attractive proposition to most landlords.

From: Worried Landlord 28 June 2022 13:53 PM

In the news today: The population of England and Wales has risen to 59,597,300, results of the 2021 census show. It grew by more than 3.5 million (6.3%) since the last census in 2011 and there are more people over 65 than ever. Ideal time to get rid of the PRS, when more people need housing than ever!! Makes you wonder what they are thinking.

From: Worried Landlord 28 June 2022 13:38 PM

As we have all said before, this is tragic for tenants, and it's unbelievable that those making the rules can't see what is going to happen when it's totally obvious.

From: Worried Landlord 28 June 2022 09:52 AM

Agree, its absolutely stupid to suggest this and I'm guessing this winter the black mould problem will be much worse than usual. As even more people will be turning heating down and not using the tumble dryer (unless they aren't paying the bills).

From: Worried Landlord 28 June 2022 09:48 AM

Totally agree. Where do they get the "extra £800 per month" from?? All my rents are less than £800 a month, and that's for 2 and 3 bed houses. If they were paying £800 plus my mortgage plus all maintenance costs their rent would be much higher than it is.

From: Worried Landlord 28 June 2022 09:44 AM

Oh dear not this old chestnut again. You can't reasonably compare rent payments to mortgage payments, unless you add in all the maintenance costs, which tenants don't have to pay for. I had tenants buy their own place after 9 years of renting from me (yes they managed to save up the deposit) and they told me their mortgage plus all the insurances etc was the same as the rent, and that's before any property maintenance costs. Within a week of moving they asked me for my plumber's number. Welcome to the expensive world of property maintenance. On average tenants earn less than home owners, yes of course they do, that's why they are tenants not home owners! We have a system where if you work hard and save up then you will probably be able to buy a property if you want to.

From: Worried Landlord 28 June 2022 09:34 AM

From: Worried Landlord 27 June 2022 09:50 AM

Problem is, this is not proper research. Buildings insurance for rental properties is higher than for equivalent type of properties that are owner occupied. This is not because of the properties themselves, in fact rentals have to have safety checks that owner occupiers don't have to bother with. It's down to tenant behaviour. For example fires are more likely in rental properties due to smoking, electrical faults (with tenant's appliances not the electrical supply), chip pan fires, tenants having disabled smoke alarms, not replaced batteries, rubbish being piled up etc. Tenants are less likely to notice faults like leaks, and where they do, they don't always bother to report them until the ceiling falls in. And as for black mould that tenants insist is caused by damp coming in through the walls, in my experience it is always caused by tenant lifestyle, drying washing indoors, never opening the windows, etc. So it's not the property that is more unsafe, it is the tenants that directly cause those safety issues. This should be a valid reason for giving notice, but of course it won't be in future.

From: Worried Landlord 27 June 2022 09:49 AM

If you want to sell a property (for any reason) then that will be an acceptable reason for giving notice. They are not (at this stage) going to prevent people selling their properties. If they did try to stop properties being sold, then the BTL mortgage market would collapse as lenders obviously expect to repossess and sell the property if the mortgage is not being paid. So the only rental properties would be those with no mortgage.

From: Worried Landlord 27 June 2022 09:34 AM

Agree in future we will have to pick and choose even more carefully. However we might have a better pool of applicants to choose from. Problem is what do you say to all the unsuccessful ones, you can't stop them applying unless you say something you won't be allowed to say, like no pets.

From: Worried Landlord 23 June 2022 18:00 PM

I agree "additional properties" could be anything. Some might be BTL but equally second homes, holiday lets, people moving house who buy before selling existing home etc.

From: Worried Landlord 23 June 2022 09:38 AM

The biggest issues in the past may be different to the biggest issues in the future. We already have to contend with extra stamp duty, Section 24, rent arrears, damage to property, etc. Biggest problem for tenants will be actually finding anywhere to live, unfortunately. For landlords it will be whether there is any point in continuing in this business, and when to sell up. For those who carry on, being much more selective about who you rent your property to, getting rid of anything which won't meet EPC-C, and grappling with making tax digital. Happy days.

From: Worried Landlord 23 June 2022 09:29 AM

I meant a vote winner amongst the millions of people who have only one house. They generally think it's a good idea for "richer" people to pay more tax.

From: Worried Landlord 22 June 2022 18:42 PM

I agree and if I was that desperate for some cash I'd sell a rental property, but for those with the space who can't work extra hours or get a better paid job, its surely an option?

From: Worried Landlord 22 June 2022 18:40 PM

Maybe this will take off with the "cost of living crisis"? After all its potentially a relatively easy way to make some extra money to cover bills etc, if you have the space.

From: Worried Landlord 22 June 2022 18:39 PM

Whilst the lower cost and the company might be appealing, I'd guess the annoyance of other people's washing up in the sink, dirty bathrooms, and all those things that sharers complain about might be even more galling to someone not recently out of a student house.

From: Worried Landlord 22 June 2022 18:21 PM

Interesting. I did wonder whether any of my tenants might do this, but as they are generally paying below market rent for 2/3 bed houses, unless they moved to a flat there would not be much of a saving. And whenever I advertise I always get loads of people desperate to move to a house from a flat.

From: Worried Landlord 22 June 2022 18:19 PM

It's beneficial to the Treasury, and that's all that seem to matter. Unfortunately it's an easy target and supposedly a vote winner, as of course anyone buying a 2nd property for whatever reason is portrayed as a greedy grasping millionaire not just a normal person trying to make a living or move house. Many of those who don't have one property, for whatever reason, can't see any reason why anyone should have more than one.

From: Worried Landlord 22 June 2022 18:14 PM

I thought rent guarantee insurance had died a death, due to the pandemic? Has it come back to life?

From: Worried Landlord 21 June 2022 20:12 PM

Neither does it mention that rent includes buildings insurance and all property maintenance, new boiler, roof repairs, fences, tree work etc. Some tenants have a nasty shock when they buy a place and have to find their own plumber, I have had at least 3 contact me after they have moved wanting contact details of tradesmen....urgently due to leaks, tiles off roof, gutters blocked etc etc. Welcome to the real world of property ownership.

From: Worried Landlord 21 June 2022 20:07 PM

Never heard of a tenant hiring a professional cleaner!! Have had to replace carpets several times once tenants with dogs have moved out, and guess what, the deposit didn't cover the damage. Also had tenants get thousands in arrears due to vet bills. So really not keen on pets for good reasons. I had cats myself but they trashed the flooring, peed in corners etc, you can't stop them. When prospective tenants say they have a "well behaved cat" I laugh out loud, there is no such thing.

From: Worried Landlord 21 June 2022 19:57 PM

Clearly they won't be happy until tenants can do whatever they want in a property, and stay as long as they want. Problem is, that's what can happen only when you work hard and buy your own property, not when you rent someone else's property.

From: Worried Landlord 20 June 2022 08:56 AM

Currently 38%, but whenever I advertise a property the first question is do you take pets? Then, is it a long let? Then, how much is the rent, deposit etc? Despite all this being clearly stated in the advert, if they did but read it.

From: Worried Landlord 17 June 2022 20:04 PM

You are right about the carpets. No amount of cleaning gets rid of those pet smells. Interesting that the housing association locally lets all properties with no carpets, so tenants have to provide their own, whether there are pets or not.

From: Worried Landlord 17 June 2022 19:59 PM

I agree this is all really annoying and unfair on decent landlords. However if I was a tenant, especially one on benefits, I'd be even more worried. Shelter can explain to them why rents are so high, and why landlords won't take them on, not greedy landlords, just another failed government policy.

From: Worried Landlord 16 June 2022 09:35 AM

Can't see how this could be anything other than a disastrous policy for the thousands on waiting lists. Surely housing associations need to be financially viable and if they have to sell off properties cheap and then provide replacements, they will go bankrupt? Even more tenants will then be looking for housing in the PRS, but probably not the sort of tenants most landlords will be interested in.

From: Worried Landlord 09 June 2022 20:06 PM

Unfortunately we are hard wired to be anxious about everything, and so as Jo says we do need to take positive steps to address this. Things are going to get a lot worse before they get better. It doesn't help that the media keeps showing food banks etc, rather than how to access education to manage your life and finances better. Also I agree that landlords already have plenty of reasons to be anxious, including the possibility that their tenants will stop paying the rent.

From: Worried Landlord 09 June 2022 09:52 AM

Don't see how moving house from time to time ruins anyone's life. Some people choose to do this, to move nearer work or relatives for example. Certainly in the past there were plenty of rental properties available for good tenants. Sadly not the case now, due to landlords selling up etc but no landlord evicts good tenants or sells the property without good reason.

From: Worried Landlord 07 June 2022 17:57 PM

Well no surprise there. Just so tragic for tenants that the people who are claiming to support them are causing the problem. What will it take for them to wake up and see what they are doing?

From: Worried Landlord 06 June 2022 09:39 AM

Nothing would persuade me to take up this offer. It's a scandal that councils only want good tenants and they don't want to house anyone with problems. They expect the PRS to do that!! I had nice tenants who decided to move to a rough area to be nearer a relative with health problems. They applied for social housing as very few private lets there and the questionnaire asked them all about rent arrears, drug / alcohol problems etc etc basically any problems and they would not have been accepted!!

From: Worried Landlord 01 June 2022 09:03 AM

Very unlikely that £400 would cover the increased cost of utilities in the vast majority of shared houses, must be a nightmare for those landlords.

From: Worried Landlord 30 May 2022 08:49 AM

Also bearing in mind estate agents and solicitors generally advise to sell a property with vacant possession, so its quite hard to persuade them that you want to sell with tenants in situ even if you want to (less potential buyers) and they generally say you will get 10-20% less for the place.

From: Worried Landlord 26 May 2022 16:28 PM

To be fair its possible that a landlord fully intends to sell but then things go wrong, either with the sale process, their personal situation, or the housing market. eg If it was a repeat of 2007/ 2008 then the price may crash in a short period, and then its not viable to sell as nobody is buying for a year or 2. I had a property in negative equity for about 10 years (bought in 1989).

From: Worried Landlord 26 May 2022 16:25 PM

In my experience the majority of younger people want to pay as little rent as possible, and keep their money for car, mobile phone, going out, holidays etc etc. There may be a market for this in London and a few other cities and that's fine. I don't think it will offer much competition for the majority of landlords.

From: Worried Landlord 25 May 2022 16:58 PM

I agree. Very high demand locally for the type of properties I have, so quite happy to see BTR, makes mine look very good value for money!! I had 2 nicely furnished shared houses with kitchen equipment etc provided, and professional tenants who broke everything and could wreck a new frying pan with one use, so not missing that game at all.

From: Worried Landlord 25 May 2022 16:53 PM

Bugbears are all very well, the challenge is how to predict which tenants will create them. Sometimes it's the ones you don't expect. All tenants will say they will pay the rent, they will keep the place nice and look after the garden. Some claim they will make improvements, but they rarely do. I don't think agents are any better at predicting this than the average landlord. Also I'm not sure there is less turnover when using an agent? In order of annoyance: Not paying the rent Damage to the property including black mould and poor redecorating Leaving the garden in a state Pet damage including carpets having to be replaced Being rude and unpleasant If they don't turn up for the viewing that's fine, I can cross them off the list as time-wasters. I have nice tenants, but I am happy for them to move on as I would be able to increase the rent significantly!! So not that bothered about tenant retention in the current market.

From: Worried Landlord 24 May 2022 09:06 AM

Surely the solicitor who dealt with your sale would know? Or if they don't know they should find out from HMRC?

From: Worried Landlord 24 May 2022 08:46 AM

I am pretty sure they will have to allow landlords to give notice in order to sell the property. If for no other reason than lenders won't lend on property that can't be sold, so it would cause the collapse of the sector.

From: Worried Landlord 14 May 2022 09:33 AM

Previously it has been said that valid grounds for giving notice will include selling the property or needing it back to live in yourself. We will have to wait and see the detail but it has been suggested this will have to be included or the whole sector will collapse. Not just because landlords will sell up, but also mortgage lenders won't lend if they can't repossess the property in the event of default on the mortgage. So mortgage lenders may in fact save the sector inadvertently. There's a thought.

From: Worried Landlord 11 May 2022 10:04 AM

I am in favour of clamping down on rogue landlords and improvements to properties which are genuinely unsafe. Surely it would be possible to do this without making things impossible for decent landlords with decent properties? There is no point saying 22% of renters did not end their last tenancy by choice without giving the actual reasons. No landlord evicts decent tenants who are paying the rent. In any case, where do they get these figures from? There is currently no credible organisation collecting data from all tenants as to why they left their previous property. Presumably this is data from shelter who only get to meet a small proportion of tenants. Those will be tenants who can't find a new place and who will have been given notice for reasons they may not be honest about. When I gave notice to some nightmare tenants they told their new landlord a load of lies about why they were moving.

From: Worried Landlord 11 May 2022 10:00 AM

Either they can see it but they don't care or they are so deluded that they really think it a good idea. Presumably they think it's a vote winner.

From: Worried Landlord 11 May 2022 09:44 AM

“These reforms will help more people own their own homes” according to the government. How can this possibly be the case?? Do they mean there will be less properties available to rent, so people will somehow have to buy? In which case they will have to force mortgage lenders to completely change their criteria to 100% mortgages and no affordability or credit checks.

From: Worried Landlord 11 May 2022 09:40 AM

Another few nails in the coffin, so sad for all those decent people who want to rent but are going to find it more and more difficult. Why can't these campaigners and the Govt see the blindingly obvious. None of this is actually going to help tenants.

From: Worried Landlord 11 May 2022 09:35 AM

It is very sad for decent tenants who just need a place to live. It's also a tragedy that landlords seem to be the only people who recognise this problem, and that those who could make a difference ie Govt are totally taken in by the nonsense from Shelter and other anti-landlord groups. I have nice tenants and I will be very sad when I have to give them notice and they have nowhere to go.

From: Worried Landlord 05 May 2022 10:54 AM

I agree this would be better, also direct payments for gas electricity water and council tax. Problem with any sort of vouchers, there would probably be a black market as they will get traded by some for cash to pay for other things....sad to say

From: Worried Landlord 02 May 2022 09:12 AM

They always seem to have 3 dogs as well. Its not just dog food, worse arrears situation I had was a couple who spent all their money on vet bills. Also makes you wonder how we, our parents and grand parents all survived years ago when there was no central heating.

From: Worried Landlord 01 May 2022 22:15 PM

Problem is with property prices as they are, anyone starting out now would soon run out of money without borrowing. Most BTL deals are 75% LTV so the investor takes all the risk and again, soon runs out of money, unless entering into the sort of "joint ventures" advertised by some landlord education.

From: Worried Landlord 29 April 2022 17:56 PM

I always get a CCJ on point of principle. I believe it hinders them in many ways financially for 6 years, can't get sky TV, mobile phone on contract, loan, mortgage etc etc. Just had bailiffs call me about the latest idiots, they don't answer the door but they have a new car so that's the next step.

From: Worried Landlord 29 April 2022 17:46 PM

Brian, It is generally said that the worst thing a landlord can do is sell, because they then lose the income from that property. The decision to sell is largely driven by government policy and taxation, or because the landlord needs the money out to pay for repairs at another property or some other crisis. We can see that EPC C is going to have this effect. If a property doesn't stack up financially then it has to be sold. A landlord who is struggling financially will be unable to afford to maintain their properties. I just had to pay out £5000 for roof repairs and £3200 for new fences. The government gives no assistance to landlords and now doesn't even allow mortgage interest payments to be treated as a business expense. So if the government improved things for landlords (less unfair taxation, less regulation etc) then they would be less likely to sell, there would be more rental properties, more people would be investing, and things would also be better for tenants. I should also say the time, stress and expense of being a landlord can be horrendous, especially if you are unlucky enough to have any bad tenants.

From: Worried Landlord 28 April 2022 09:32 AM

It would be interesting to know whether the treasury's income from landlords has increased or decreased over the last few years. Also the scale of consequences including the effect on the types of rental property and the average rents, and waiting lists for housing of different types. I'm guessing more properties have been shifted from family lets to HMO's or serviced accommodation but not sure there's been any proper research on this.

From: Worried Landlord 28 April 2022 09:14 AM

I wish they would give up this nonsensical idea that landlords just randomly give notice to tenants for no reason. Why would we? Every change of tenants costs us time and money. We only give notice to tenants where there is a good reason such as rent arrears, damage to property, or anti-social behaviour affecting other tenants or neighbours. Section 21 is often used as a back up to Section 8 just in case for some technical reason the section 8 fails.

From: Worried Landlord 28 April 2022 09:01 AM

Not sure about this. For home owners it might be nice to know your house is worth more than you paid for it, but unless you remortgage you can't extract any of the equity until you sell. Then unless you move to a cheaper property you are no better off, and you will have the costs of buying and selling to contend with. Tenants have protections that home owners don't, also the costs of moving to cheaper accommodation are far less than buying and selling. Mainly a removals van if you don't have a mate with a van. I do agree if you were a FTB in 2019 you would have got a much better deal than a FTB today.

From: Worried Landlord 28 April 2022 08:54 AM

A strange headline as most people think in terms of the rent per calendar month (pcm) and not the annual figure. Even mortgage lenders want to know the pcm figure. Also surely its more relevant to know the percentage increase? Yes rents are likely to increase for all the reasons we know ie the squeeze on landlords which can't just be absorbed for year after year.

From: Worried Landlord 28 April 2022 08:43 AM

I think it is easy to under-estimate the costs of renovation, especially if you don't factor in your own time and the lost rent while you are renovating. Too many people watching homes under the hammer perhaps. If all this is true then investors might cotton on and then it will be impossible to sell shabby houses at such high prices. The only people who will pay over the odds will be people who specifically want to live in that street / area and where improved houses rarely come up.

From: Worried Landlord 27 April 2022 18:41 PM

Well yes the value of property tends to go up (except if you are really unlucky as I was between 1989 and 2007). It's called inflation. Problem is that doesn't translate into cash in the bank until you sell (when of course you pay CGT) or you remortgage. At that point you can work out whether you got out more than you put in, allowing for inflation. It's all part of the "rich greedy landlords" rhetoric. Tenants and should ask themselves, do you want your landlord to be struggling financially? Because if they are then less chance of repairs being done, and no chance of any flexibility on the rent in the event of a pandemic.

From: Worried Landlord 26 April 2022 20:10 PM

Totally agree. They can't possibly have this information as there is no register of all rental properties. Nobody has ever checked any of mine (they happen to be all in good repair). I'm not saying there are no properties in need of repair, but Its just a wild guess.

From: Worried Landlord 21 April 2022 19:32 PM

In terms of "the quality of the private rental sector" I'm unconvinced there is actually any accurate data on this. I am sure there are good and bad and everything in between, and clearly a shortage, judging by the interest in every property advertised. But there is no assessment or even register of all rental properties, so nobody can possibly know the quality.

From: Worried Landlord 21 April 2022 18:13 PM

Surely there is a difference between unregulated / unaccredited landlords and those who flout the law? It's perfectly legal to rent a property as long as you follow the rules. No accreditation is required as an individual. Not sure about letting agents. I'm guessing more and more tenants are looking on social media, so surely it's up to landlords to decide whether this is a good way to find the right sort of tenants? Not something I would try mind you.

From: Worried Landlord 20 April 2022 15:51 PM

What a load of nonsense!! I have never let a property on a first come first served basis!! It's not a buyer's market and we all know the reasons for that. I always ask for some information to allow me to decide who to offer viewings to. I don't expect anyone to pay more than the asking price, but I do need to know they can afford it. Worst tenants I ever had were a young family with 3 young children, trashed the place, rent arrears, very rude, never again.

From: Worried Landlord 14 April 2022 08:35 AM

It's also an uphill struggle for landlords to find reliable contractors to do any work these days. I don't know whether it's brexit, covid or something else but certainly in the south west there is a shortage of tradesmen. If a tenant reports a problem I immediately try to get someone to fix it, but even for urgent problems there can be a long wait until someone can fit it in. And as for non-urgent problems, I had part of a fence blown down in the gales, my fence man was busy with fallen trees for weeks, tenants moaning even though it's not causing them any problems. Tenants get the same service as I do for problems with my own house, but they seem to think everything should be fixed next day.

From: Worried Landlord 14 April 2022 08:26 AM

More a list of things to consider. As it's not a buyers market then unfortunately most prospective tenants are lucky to get a viewing. I usually get over 40 enquiries in a week, and I might offer 8 viewings. Tenants would definitely need to ask about redecorating and pets. My rents are always fair so if they try to haggle on that then its a big no from me I am afraid.

From: Worried Landlord 12 April 2022 10:04 AM

You are quite right. Suggesting rents are higher than mortgages is just another way of implying landlords are greedy. As you say, rent doesn't include safety checks, property maintenance including big ticket items like new boilers and roof repairs, or property insurance. Its so annoying.

From: Worried Landlord 04 April 2022 09:57 AM

Totally agree, there is more help for tenants than homeowners!! Surely tenants are responsible for their own energy use? (except in those HMO's where its included with the monthly rent). So glad I got rid of my HMO's, where tenants would turn the heating up and then just open the windows if it was too hot for them rather than turn it down! And then go out leaving the heating on full blast. Surely this hike in energy costs will make HMO's even less worthwhile?

From: Worried Landlord 04 April 2022 09:49 AM

I think you have misunderstood what I was saying. The tax system currently favours holiday lets over family rentals in Devon and Cornwall. They even got a payout in the pandemic due to paying business rates not council tax. I was simply stating that there are a lot of student houses in Falmouth, I don't know the details of each one, but I would assume they are mainly more financially viable for the landlord than a family let, or they wouldn't be doing it. The student demand has also pushed up house prices in the area in recent years. I agree the costs of running HMOs are much higher and the hassle factor, which is why I got rid of mine.

From: Worried Landlord 25 March 2022 19:57 PM

Do you mean HMO's or holiday lets? I already had HMO's thanks.

From: Worried Landlord 24 March 2022 17:38 PM

Yes you are right, but I don't think the main problem is people with second homes who also rent them out to visitors for part of the year. The main problem is former family home type rentals which are now either student HMO's in Falmouth or holiday lets / air BNB because the tax regime is more generous. All that needs to happen is for the Govt to make longer term lettings more financially attractive and some holiday lets would revert to family homes.

From: Worried Landlord 24 March 2022 10:11 AM

None of it makes sense. Perhaps they think by freezing benefits then landlords will be forced to freeze rents? Many tenants who are eligible for benefits also won't be able to afford increased energy costs. If they set caps on rent then many landlords will increase their rents up to the cap level. It will only benefit the more well off renters who are in the more expensive rental properties. Landlords might then decide to sell those properties or convert to holiday lets / airBNB. None of these policies will have the desired effect of making rental properties more available or attractive. I guess they are so out of touch with the real world of ordinary people that they can't see any of these obvious things?

From: Worried Landlord 24 March 2022 10:01 AM

The problem in Falmouth is that the powers that be decided to locate a university campus there without thinking about the massive impact on the local property market. Prices have sky rocketed and many former family homes are now student HMOs. Falmouth/Penryn was already a popular tourist area and so perhaps not really a very good place to locate a university as it's not a large town. Not really the fault of landlords and to be fair, students have to live somewhere!! If there were less students then some of the properties would probably revert to family homes. I'd agree holiday lets make the situation worse, but all the Government has to do is adjust the taxation regimes in favour of family homes and there would be a shift back in that direction.

From: Worried Landlord 24 March 2022 09:25 AM

So glad I got rid of my HMO's. Occupied by "young professionals" ie the people we are supposed to be saving the planet for. On weekly visits I saved plenty of recyclables from the general waste as they really could not be bothered. I took tons of their empty bottles to the bottle bank. Really don't miss sorting other people's rubbish. My other tenants pay their own council tax so I think the council can send them whatever information they want about recycling.

From: Worried Landlord 18 March 2022 09:03 AM

Totally agree, the £150 is being offered because of increased energy costs so should go to whoever pays those bills. So glad I got rid of my HMO's because this is going to be a nightmare.

From: Worried Landlord 07 March 2022 09:24 AM

Best tip - don't buy a property at auction.

From: Worried Landlord 05 March 2022 16:15 PM

Garden landscaping, that's a laugh, most don't even keep on top of basic gardening, cutting the grass and weeding as stated in the tenancy agreement. At the end of the tenancy instead of the nice garden that was handed over the landlord has a weed infested area with brambles and a lawn that has been killed by what dog has been doing. Lovely.

From: Worried Landlord 14 December 2021 10:11 AM

Yes in 10 years I have never known tenants to do any decorating that has enhanced the property in any way, generally it counts as damage as its had to be repaired before the place can be rented to anyone else. Garish colours and total lack of skill, when they paint a wall they get paint on ceilings, carpets, woodwork etc. Also painting kitchen cupboards and other doors in an amateurish way. Of course they think its an improvement, but its not!!

From: Worried Landlord 14 December 2021 10:02 AM

I think it's legal to sell to whoever you want, but they will need to include a restrictive covenant to ensure whoever buys it doesn't just sell it after 6 months at a massive profit. A bit like when they sell off council houses.

From: Worried Landlord 02 November 2021 08:06 AM

Surely the Capital Gains Tax we all have to pay on the sale of every property is already a windfall tax? How can you tax people on money they don't yet have, bearing in mind property prices could fall by the time a property is sold? My rents haven't gone up in the last 2 years and some tenants have rent arrears, so how was that a windfall?? I'm also selling a property that hasn't gone up much in value and will only break even on what I paid after legal costs etc. So no windfall there either. I know they won't get into power, but it's a worry that anyone could think this would be a good idea. When will they realise that ultimately if you kick landlords then tenants surely will also suffer one way or another, whether higher rents or less property available to rent?

From: Worried Landlord 25 October 2021 10:17 AM

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