Melboy

There was a time when this Landlords forum was buzzing with questions and answers on all aspects of being a landlord and buying suitable property but now weeks go by without any questions or helpful replies. A sign of the times it certainly is. Is it actually even considering buying a BtL property anymore? Even for the long term investment of say 20 years? Personally I believe it is but just right now is not a good time to buy in my opinion. I speak from experience of at least 3 "boom and busts" property times over the past 30 plus years. This article in the Money Mail makes interesting reading on the current situation and it's worth a read. https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/buytolet/article-12743015/More-landlords-selling-properties-buying-mortgage-arrears-DOUBLE.html?ico=mol_desktop_home-newtab&molReferrerUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymail.co.uk%2Fhome%2Findex.html&_ga=2.170573344.1413607739.1699519440-293831135.1699519440&_gl=1*b9sme*_ga*MjkzODMxMTM1LjE2OTk1MTk0NDA.*_ga_XE0XLFFF16*MTY5OTk1MDI4OS4xNi4xLjE2OTk5NTE3NjIuMC4wLjA.

Once this Conservative Government picked the meat off the bones on what they were proposing they realised that the Government Bill for renters was a flawed Bill and now they are back-peddling on it and quite right too. Sadly with the prospect of a Labour government coming to power next year I have no doubt that they will forge ahead and adopt this bill to protect rental tenants, good ones and bad ones. I cannot see the surge of private landlords exiting the rental market diminishing any time soon and probably will increase over the next 6 months.

I think I would go down the salary route as payment for what she has to do. See how that goes initially and you can always adjust things as time progresses.

More a less an accurate letter Grampy on what I do to accompany the rent rise official UK Gov. Form 4 notification.

Rental Reform Bill gets it's second reading in Parliament next week. Gove is under pressure to hurry it through before next April. Shame, most of these type of parliamentary Bills get kicked into the long grass of obscurity when it has obvious flaws in it's content. Let's hope a lot of MP's and Lords are affected with the proposals. It does appear that Gove has ignored the Residential Landlord Association advice during discussions.

Hi Kesme........ I have fitted many built in ovens over the past years so I have some experience on this matter. 1. Looking at you oven as fitted I would say it is a "cheapy" built-in oven probably what is known as a static heat electric element oven rather than a fan oven which is far better and usually far better build quality. These static ovens run at very high temperatures as well. At the bottom of the oven unit there should be an 8 inch wide air grill ( eBay or B&Q for these ) cut into the plinth or kick board to aid airflow around the oven itself. The reason why the temperature indicators have disappeared is because of cleaning the control knob areas with any mild or even non mild abrasive will just wear them away very quickly. 2. There should be an air gap between the top of the oven and the bottom of the oven unit normally around 10mm to prevent heat from the oven coming into contact with the unit. You should have some form of heat deflector as well to the top of the oven. Your kitchen units are "foiled wrapped" over wood units. The foil will do exactly what you have shown in your picture when subjected to high temperatures.......peel away. You could remove this damaged foil and just paint it in the colour to match. Regarding the door hinges this is usually an easy repair job for any competent handy-man. In worse cases hinge repair kits are available on eBay. You do not need to replace the kitchen for your tenant unless it is beyond economical repair. 3. Mice. Set traps to catch as many as you can. Every property can be subject to mice........even my own home. I regularly catch mice in set traps with Mrs. Mel's lemon drizzle cake, mice love it as much as I do. 4. Inform your tenant that there has to be a major change by them on how they keep the property clean and give then a month to change their ways and carry out a routine property inspection. If there is no change then you could take the ultimate action of giving them notice but if they are paying rent on time and giving you no major hassles then it is not in your interest to do this. Remember, you are control of what is done or not done and not your tenant, be firm but fair and If they are unhappy then they can move on to somewhere else.

I have done the same as Richlist in the past in returning a part ot their deposit. It depends on how much the increase really is going to be. I have just this month increased the rent to one of my long term tenants but only by 4.5% or around £25 a month but I do this every year really, a small % increase. I made a mistake many years ago by not increasing the rent for nearly 5 years on a long term tenant and it was a financial mistake to just rely on the fact they were good tenants and paid their rent on time etc. They are still with me as well. So I guess the answer is: Little and often. Don't put the rent up so high (many LL do ) that the tenant is verging on bankruptcy.

I didn't even bother to watch his speech so I couldn't possibly comment.........but I will. 😃 People of a certain age who have been through more labour governments over many years like I have will know that like all politicians they will lie through their back teeth to get the keys to No.10. Starmer is no exception to this rule. It's all soundbites to let you, the voter, hear what you want to believe is going to happen in their Government......it won't.... so be very disappointed. Now I'm no Communist, far from it but Joseph Stalin ( Russian leader and mass murderer ) had it banged to rights with his famous quotation which I have never forgotten. “Those who vote decide nothing. Those who count the vote decide everything.”

That's not a dog, it's a horse! 😄

No doubt about it. Angela Raynor took over from Lisa Nandy as the shadow minister for housing last September. "Labour’s housing plan includes a commitment to strengthening tenants’ rights with a Renters’ Charter “that will make renting fairer, more secure and more affordable”. However, there are currently little details on what the charter will contain". Politician speak for we will make it difficult for the private landlord as much as we possibly can in favour of tenant's rights. It's the Labour conference today Sunday 8th October and no doubt you will hear reference to the above policies in the coming 3 day conference. Richlist has probably done the right thing in selling up and getting out. The investment rates are so good now. ie. NS&I are paying 6.2% on 1 year bonds which is currently an excellent rate. For me, I shall just stumble on as I always do and keep my properties going never knowing whether it is the right thing do. Only time will tell.

Just my thoughts on current events. It does look extremely likely that there will be a Labour government in power this time next year especially after the Scottish by-election result on Thursday with Labour winning a huge majority victory over the SNP. I will go along with political Guru Professor Sir John Curtis detailed views and mathematics on the subject of politics when it comes to general election statistics etc. of course there is a very slim chance that the Conservatives do pull off a stunning result but it's not a bet I would place I have to say. Now, the above paragraph brings me onto my point which is the Labour Government housing policies which is well documented and represented by Angela Raynor, deputy leader and left wing shadow housing minister on the policies that SHE will introduce within 90 days which will affect every landlord in the Country. The worse one probably will be the tenant right to buy and the 12 month rule on no tenant evictions for any reason and probably a few more rules thrown in for good measure to stuff the private BtL landlord. So, I would imagine many BtL landlords will get out of the business sooner rather than later to avoid Ms Angela Raynor and of course, if it applies, the Conservative new rules on capital gains tax allowance on selling 2nd properties next April. That CG allowance halves yet again. Now for some heart warming news for landlords for a Saturday. "MP rips off security camera's from a non paying tenant since January 2023". I say warming news because I have always thought until a problem affects the political Elite nothing will change and I have no doubt this particula MP would probably had a whisper in Michael Gove's ear about tenant evictions for non payment and the length of time it takes to get them out. Full story here. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/tory-mp-ripped-out-single-mother-tenants-security-camera-vdn0669s7

It does seem that Sunak has scrapped this EPC ruling of Grade C and above for rental properties by 2025. In my view it is the correct choice to make and for a couple of reasons. Why just rental landlords and not everyone? The requirement to meet these EPC grades of C and above for landlords was going to be very expensive for older properties in the UK. Now for my personal experience from just 3 weeks ago: I have a Wimpy built 1986 1 bed ground floor garden flat rented out. I have owned this flat for over 20 years. The EPC had expired so I ordered up another one to be done. I was only granted a Grade D and not a C which really p***ed me off because the requirement to meet a C grade was ridiculous. My flat is fully double glazed including front and rear doors. Energy saving light bulbs throughout. No loft insulation obviously. The heating is electric, (no gas ) and is heated by a single lounge panel heater and 2 small wall heaters in the bedroom and kitchen. The inefficient and costly to run electric off-peak brick storage heater from new build now long gone. Now, for me obtain a C Grade apparently, I would have to replace the serviceable 10 year old front and back UPVc doors with foam filled doors at a cost of around £1,600. I would also have to replace my fortic foam lagged electric heated hot water cylinder with a new one? Why? It meets British Standards on everything and is still available as a direct replacement should my existing cylinder fail though defects. To replace this HW cylinder ( with what?) would be around £1,200. I did argue my case with my EPC assessor but it did me no good whatsoever. I did give my long term elderly tenant a warning that if the Government insisted on an EPC C grade for my flat to continue the renting out of my flat then I was not prepared to carry out work required and would have to sell the flat. I really only keep it going because of my long time present tenant being elderly and in not good health and they give me no problems whatsoever.

Good to read you had a satisfactory outcome on this matter.

Sadly Richlist in today's World of landlording political views have to be aired because it affects every landlord due to the constant interference from government most of which does not favour the landlord. I wish we didn't. I can remember a time when you never heard anything from government about how the private sector operated when it came to the private landlord. If I was to say when did it all change I would say it started with Nicholas Adolf von Hessen, who previously went by the name of Nicholas von Hoogstraten was born in Shoreham in 1945 and by the late sixties he owned 350 properties around Sussex and called himself the UK's youngest millionaire. The papers went on and on about this Guy and forced the Government to take some action which they did and they have not stopped since. Any "Youngsters" reading this: Google this Nicholas von Hoogstraten character. He did verge on the evil.

I doubt that will ever happen as the the legal consequences would be a tangled mess especially if you are going to involve the small private BTL landlord. If this law was ever to be introduced imagine the mass exodus to the door of private landlords and there again it has to pass into law through the house of Lords so I wouldn't be too concerned at the moment.

Latest from the Newspapers. Landlords fear Angela Rayner could hit them in the pocket with rent controls and tax rises". I would say it would almost be a certainty from Labour. If this does becomes a Labour policy then there will be an avalanche of landlords getting out of the business rather than a steady drift as it is now. Full story here: Landlords fear Angela Rayner could hit them in the pocket with rent controls and tax rises (msn.com)

Resurrecting this topic. In the Daily Telegraph yesterday. "Olaf Scholz is considering imposing a three-year rent freeze on Germany’s landlords as his ruling Social Democratic party attempts to ease the strain of the cost of living crisis on tenants". I have heard a few whispers from LA's that ALL 3 political parties are giving serious consideration to applying a rent freeze to England landlord rents. The reason apparently the Tories have not done so yet is due to the looming general election. I would think it would be a dead cert. if Labour or the Lib. Dems. were ever to gain power, but the latter party is very unlikely to happen. Would this be another nail in the coffin for BTL to get out of the business if a 3 year ruling was to be applied in England or would there be quickly applied rent rises for tenants before the new ruling were ever to be applied?

I'm going to soldier on with what I have got which may well turn out to be a big mistake so I can add that mistake to the many I have made over a lifetime. 😄 If I were to sell a couple of properties I will get hammered with Capital Gains Tax as I have had them for so long now around 20 years and there is no way round not paying a sizeable chunk of tax. Oh well, this Ostrich has his head well and truly stuck in the sand and ignoring everything. Even my humble EPC has gone up by a considerable percentage increase that I had renewed this morning. Shape of things to come I reckon over the next few years.

What you have written RL more or less mirrors my landlord employment history and current thoughts on what is happening in the rental market. Last night on ITV news at 10 the opening news story was all about working families not be able to find any affordable rental accommodation and having to live in hotel rooms or in a tent in a garden or having to move from London to Stoke on Trent due to cheaper rents. Not once was there any reference as to why landlords were selling up and getting out of the business but of course plenty of reference to tenants being given 2 months notice to quit as required by law as the landlord wanted their property back for whatever that reason was. You could see where this was heading, the journalist was indicaticating that tenants should have greater security of tenure and the indication was that this should be measured in many months more rather than the statutory 2 months. The selling off of council housing is backfiring on the Governments past and present and local councils and not replacing those houses.

More Government interference headed up by Michael Gove, Housing Minister and Children's Minister Claire Coutinho. As I always keep saying I am not a business that is associated with social problems experienced by tenants especially when it comes to the fact that I am not permitted to rent to a tenant who is going to run a business which is going to operate from the rental property by the local government department. Same goes for the landlords insurance contract and even if it was permitted the insurance costs would rocket. Gove and this Conservative government have made it more difficult for private landlords over the past 10 years with never ending new legislation for landlords. No doubt this will now be in the frontline of change for landlords to contend with as they step up new rulings regarding home based child minding as the general election gets nearer. Details https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-66568493

When I read stories like this I sometimes hope that we are sometimes not in possession of all of the facts behind what this Council has actually done. If it is true then words fail me but I am aware through my Council contacts that many Councils have not got any spare accommodation available to house both legal and illegal asylum seekers / economic migrants so this private house purchase and private renting is going to happen with regular frequency. I am just waiting for October when the Government announce that they have bought out Butlins or Pontins holiday camps to ease the housing burden. Don't laugh, It's quite possible. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12412393/Council-buys-homes-Afghan-Ukrainian-refugees-newbuild-estate.html

You are referring to this new'ish 2022/23 Labour Party policy proposals. "Nandy has pledged to set up the charter within 100 days if Labour wins the next election, which is expected to include an end to automatic evictions for rent arrears and no-fault evictions, the right for renters to have pets, to make reasonable alterations to a property, and to introduce a four-month notice period for landlords". Most reasonable people know that Lisa Nandy has the brain power of a whelk and if she thinks that this new legislation is going to help the private sector landlord remain in business and thus avoid a private rental property shortage which is is already decimated by this Conservative government anti landlord policies then she needs to think again. It is exactly this type of proposals that is driving private landlords out of the business. I can only repeat what I have always maintained as a private letting landlord, in business, I am not a branch of the Social Services networks.

Yes, Wales is a no go area for second homes now with the Welsh government now charging up to 300% with council tax on second homes. Source information: https://www.gov.wales/council-tax-empty-and-second-homes From 1 April 2023, the maximum level at which local authorities can set council tax premiums will increase to 300%. Shame really as I nearly bought a holiday home in Pembrokeshire about 10 years ago for my own use plus family use but the seller pulled out of the deal at the last moment. Pembrokeshire is my main holiday destination in the UK so at the time it made sense to go for it. Glad I didn't now.

Continuing with the demise of the private BtL landlord................... My Son has a contract with two medium size lettings agents here in Wiltshire mainly for gas safety certificates and boiler replacements etc. One of the LA's is very concerned whether they will be in business this time next year as the exodus of the private landlord gathers pace. The main reasons are apparently 1. BtL mortgage rate increases now not making any sufficient profits from the rent being charged even after putting up rent. 2. Savings rate now hovering around the 6% mark means that a property can be sold off and the money invested with no hassle of tenants and all that is associated with BtL. 3. The loss of mortgage tax relief and now a double whammy of capital gains tax now heading towards just £3,000 next April means some landlords are cashing in whilst they can. 4. The general downturn in housing prices which does appear to be gathering pace as well with the continuing IR rises nearly every 6 weeks. This once, very busy, privately owned LA office is struggling for rental property coming to market now. Grampa........how is your LA office going?

Which is why it leaves many Conservative voting landlords with a problem The Conservatives are bad for landlords but the alternative Labour government with MP's like Lisa Nandy will probably be far worse. Regarding Lisa Nandy she has the business brain of a Welk and like many MP's do not have a basic idea of how the rental market works but are controlled by an inept socialist ideology on property and housing. Whilst I am on my soap box the terminology "Affordable Housing" does not exist in the real World of property. Ask anyone in the housing new build game how the price of everything associated with house building has rocketed. These huge price increases do feed through to the used property market both selling and rental.