By The Conservative Party has lost the support of a significant proportion of landlords, with as few as 15.8 per cent considering voting for the party in an election, according to a new poll by the National Landlords Association (NLA).
One of the leading causes of the party’s loss of support stems from the Government’s housing policies over the past few years. Mortgage tax relief is in the process of being phased out, while the Government also proposed the scrappage of Section 21 eviction notices.
A number of organisations, including the NLA, have criticised the Government’s approach to housing policy in recent weeks. The Residential Landlord Association (RLA) also launched a survey to ask landlords about their views on proposals to scrap Section 21.
Section 21 plans in focus
Richard Lambert, CEO of the NLA, said: “Our members have told us that removing Section 21 would be devastating and costly for their businesses. Conservative Ministers need to take the time to understand what’s actually happening in the private rented sector or it may end up costing them dearly.”
The NLA claimed that, out of the landlords they surveyed, as many as 69 per cent said they voted Conservative in the 2017 general election, but only 25 per cent would do so if an election was called today.
As many as 85 per cent of those polled indicated that they would vote for any party that was willing to cancel the proposed scrapping of Section 21, with 89 per cent saying they wouldn’t support a party that proposed rent controls, according to the NLA.
Additional changes concern landlords
As well as the Government eliminating Section 21 eviction notices, landlords faced higher tax burdens as a result of the phasing out of mortgage tax relief, with Stamp Duty taxes also rising.
Mr Lambert added: “It’s hardly surprising that landlords are losing faith in the Conservatives, given the way their government has overturned the economic, and now legislative foundations of the private rented sector since 2015.”
I believe that the government changes and indeed their attitude towards Landlords is disgusting! It’s quite apparent that they do not have the housings stock available to provide Council housing so they are imposing a “forever tenancy” on the Private Rental sector and even under section 8 I’m guessing the courts will be lenient to the tenant dissolving Landlord applications for possession and in doing so producing an unworkable outcome going forward where the relationship has broken down between Landlord and Tenant. It’s also evident from personal experience Tenants have been deliberately breaching a tenancy agreement to aggravate the Landlord into issuing section 21 notice then claiming to the Council that their Landlord is making them homeless. By doing this they hope to become a critical case and qualify for instant rehousing. I’m waiting to see what the “new” section 8 will offer but I seriously think the government has totally lost track on who actually owns the property.
Any LL should have the absolute right to take possession of his rental property whenever he wants.
It is that facility that gives confidence to a LL to let a property.
If there was a fast eviction process for rent arrears cases that would encourage even more to let property.
The suppised very fragility of a tenant being able to stay is actually completely the opposite.
Good LL will rarely wish to get rid of good rent paying tenants as that is the very reason why they are LL!!
LL only give NTQ when the LL/Tenant relationship has broken down.
A speedy removal service is what LL need to stay in business.
Without it LL will continue to leave the sector.
Rent default is the major cause of homelessness with S21 being the process by which most LL got rid of rent defaulting tenants.
At very least existing tenants unit should not be affected and given new rights . What conditions will exist where a landlord could get possession
If you wish to have a new let under the new order that’s a different thing of course .
no Landlord would let under these rules unless the rent was significantly higher Has to be a trade off
How will houseshares survive the one tenant from hell if said tenant knows he cannot easily be evicted? The good housemates won’t want to go on record with evidence as the eviction process takes too long…they will simply leave. The bad-ass gets to stay and there will be a ton more anti-social behaviour…and unlike landlords in the social sector…private landlords cannot easily get an injunction….given the gov policy that keeps claimants under the age of 35 in houseshares…this looks like the perfect storm. Have the police been consulted?
The current housing
policies will lead to a reduction in rental properties and lead to further homelessness which is the opposite policy aim .
I also find when tenants are in breach of contract with the council properties they are given notice to leave and told to get a property with a private landlord there by exacerbating the problems landlords have with bad tenants.