So are Landlords finished?

https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/...

The final list of amendments to the Renters (Reform) Bill has been published by parliament ahead of tomorrow’s third reading of the legislation, during which each will be discussed and voted on.

Several new amendments have been added which may cause alarm among some BTL investors, while some have been designed to ‘bolster landlord confidence’ as Michael Gove put it recently.

The new ones that will raise eyebrows the most are from Labour. These include banning bidding wars, the latest idea from the party’s shadow housing minister Matthew Pennycook and also prohibiting landlords or agents from insisting on a ‘rent guarantor’, this time from Labour MP Alex Sobel.

Research reveals that approximately a fifth of tenants are asked for a guarantor.

Another somewhat baffling amendment would see student landlords banned from signing up tenants months before the academic year begins, as proposed by MP Paul Blomfield.

And finally, Green MP Caroline Lucas wants to use the legislation to raise the minimum EPC level for all rental properties to a C, a measure Rishi Sunak U-turned on last year.