Rental market is utterly broken
Discussion
MarcelM6 said:
Also went throught this with our daughter who started a job near Bristol so needed to rent a flat. 15-30 viewings on every flat, once it's on Rightmove it's too late. Got lucky in the end renting a flat from a colleague who was moving in with his girlfriend
That might explain why I don't see properties come up for rent in my area, and those that do are for way more than I expected.Our area is looking at implementing landlord licensing which is little more than an £800 per property tax grab. That will be another rent rise to cover the cost!
troika said:
Unfortunately all of the above is a consequence of the govt actively seeking to smash small landlords, with no plan to address the resulting supply issues. Well, it’s worked.
The problem as ever is a lack of property full stop. We have a growing population and house building is simply not keeping up. Blaming landlords for "stealing" all the houses is just a distraction. You can't fit 110 households into 100 properties no matter what you do.
We need enough properties to house everybody, then renting vs owning becomes lifestyle choice, and you will pay sensible market rates for both.
98elise said:
The problem as ever is a lack of property full stop. We have a growing population and house building is simply not keeping up.
Blaming landlords for "stealing" all the houses is just a distraction. You can't fit 110 households into 100 properties no matter what you do.
We need enough properties to house everybody, then renting vs owning becomes lifestyle choice, and you will pay sensible market rates for both.
I’d caveat that by saying a lack of properties where people want to live. Plenty of cheap houses around, but not in desirable areas, which is why they’re cheap. We can’t carry on concreting over the countryside. On the basis that a growing population appears sacrosanct, something has to give.Blaming landlords for "stealing" all the houses is just a distraction. You can't fit 110 households into 100 properties no matter what you do.
We need enough properties to house everybody, then renting vs owning becomes lifestyle choice, and you will pay sensible market rates for both.
98elise said:
The problem as ever is a lack of property full stop. We have a growing population and house building is simply not keeping up.
It's not just a growing population, but also a shrinking of the average size of household units. I vaguely remember reading somewhere that in the last twenty years, the population has risen by about 13% but the number of households has risen by nearly 20%. Also the widening wealth gap has dramatically increased the number of privately owned holiday homes which are left empty when not in use by their owners. I suspect that's still too small a number to have much effect on national statistics, but it's a very real local problem in some areas.
Edited by kambites on Friday 29th September 14:58
There is a flip side to this.
I’m a landlord and I have a simple view on the way I rent houses out. I buy houses that are around 30 years old and in need of modernisation. I refresh them, make sure everything is new and fresh. Fit modern but not expensive kitchens and bathrooms then rent them.
I charge what I see as a fair rate based on the current market. I won’t give them away but I don’t add silly money to the rent which would just add to the inflation.
However, I only need one tenant. I don’t need or want 20 people fighting for the house. If I get that then I’ve priced the house too cheaply. Equally I don’t want it empty. That costs me money so the quicker the turnaround the better. Finding a balance is critical.
The market may be all over the place but tighter regulation and higher taxes will always see the those costs passed down to tenants. Tighter regulation is not always a bad thing, but excessive red tape is, especially when it adds no value and is just a cash grab.
I’m a landlord and I have a simple view on the way I rent houses out. I buy houses that are around 30 years old and in need of modernisation. I refresh them, make sure everything is new and fresh. Fit modern but not expensive kitchens and bathrooms then rent them.
I charge what I see as a fair rate based on the current market. I won’t give them away but I don’t add silly money to the rent which would just add to the inflation.
However, I only need one tenant. I don’t need or want 20 people fighting for the house. If I get that then I’ve priced the house too cheaply. Equally I don’t want it empty. That costs me money so the quicker the turnaround the better. Finding a balance is critical.
The market may be all over the place but tighter regulation and higher taxes will always see the those costs passed down to tenants. Tighter regulation is not always a bad thing, but excessive red tape is, especially when it adds no value and is just a cash grab.
troika said:
Unfortunately all of the above is a consequence of the govt actively seeking to smash small landlords, with no plan to address the resulting supply issues. Well, it’s worked.
When I've commented about LLs getting a raw deal there were plenty of responses on the lines of "Boo-hoo, tough titty"Those chickens have come home to roost & the tenants that the government wanted to "protect" are now discovering the consequences of government action. Sad but entirely predictable- if you make it awkward for someone to do something then they stop doing it.
I've had a rental just come empty- it'll be refurbed & sold rather than going out to rent again.
Edited by Biggy Stardust on Friday 29th September 15:35
Firstly I cant offer any practical advice, but going into agents and speaking face to face is a great idea, take them a box of Krispy Kreme or whatever, make you the person they show the property too before it goes on rightmove. Good Luck on your search.
The ranters online, shelter and in momentum have got what they wanted.
They created a toxic environment, they wanted to make landlords lives as difficult as they could, and they did, aided by an idiotic government who believed a bunch of mindless propaganda and did not want to appear to be "nasty tories."
It was obvious to anyone with a brain that TFA2019 and changes prior would lead to significant numbers of landlords leaving the market.
The theory put forward by the wise men and women of the chattering classes, lapped up by their friends in the media and in academia is that this would reduce demand for property to purchase and all the would be renters would buy their own homes.
In the VERY long term this might be the case, but you have 10-20 years of 30 people chasing one flat and outbidding each other to get it. I tended to buy flats that are above shops or in Victorian house conversions, they are not glamorous and certainly of no interest to first time buyers, places that people would happily live in for 12 months but not pay £200K to live in for 10 years.
Its really sad, I took 3 of my rentals out of AST and moved to short term and corporate lets over the last 3 years, my other 2 will go the same way when the existing tenants leave. There are flats I would love to buy right now, on the market that need a bit of TLC, new kitchen, new bath etc, they make sense, from a cost perspective, but I cant accept the risk of AST rental now, and short term is to unpredictable to make buying for this worth it.
Like I said sad, that a market that functioned really well for the vast majority of those involved has been destroyed by those motivated by an outdated political ideology.
The ranters online, shelter and in momentum have got what they wanted.
They created a toxic environment, they wanted to make landlords lives as difficult as they could, and they did, aided by an idiotic government who believed a bunch of mindless propaganda and did not want to appear to be "nasty tories."
It was obvious to anyone with a brain that TFA2019 and changes prior would lead to significant numbers of landlords leaving the market.
The theory put forward by the wise men and women of the chattering classes, lapped up by their friends in the media and in academia is that this would reduce demand for property to purchase and all the would be renters would buy their own homes.
In the VERY long term this might be the case, but you have 10-20 years of 30 people chasing one flat and outbidding each other to get it. I tended to buy flats that are above shops or in Victorian house conversions, they are not glamorous and certainly of no interest to first time buyers, places that people would happily live in for 12 months but not pay £200K to live in for 10 years.
Its really sad, I took 3 of my rentals out of AST and moved to short term and corporate lets over the last 3 years, my other 2 will go the same way when the existing tenants leave. There are flats I would love to buy right now, on the market that need a bit of TLC, new kitchen, new bath etc, they make sense, from a cost perspective, but I cant accept the risk of AST rental now, and short term is to unpredictable to make buying for this worth it.
Like I said sad, that a market that functioned really well for the vast majority of those involved has been destroyed by those motivated by an outdated political ideology.
C5_Steve said:
Yeah it's rough, had a mate who was given notice on his current place as the landlord wanted to increase the rent massivley. He had to try and find somewhere quick, just wasn't anything available. In the end he negotiated the rent on his current place to a level that was still higher but similar to other places he was looking at.
Best of luck with the search.
I'm expecting that in March next year, when my contract is up.Best of luck with the search.
Currently paying £1500, about 70 percent of my salary but similar 2 beds on the estate are now on the market for £2000, the one beds are now at £1500.
I'm sure my LL can ask for a £500 rise knowing that they'll be queuing at the door if I have to move out, but then where will I go?
croyde said:
I'm expecting that in March next year, when my contract is up.
Currently paying £1500, about 70 percent of my salary but similar 2 beds on the estate are now on the market for £2000, the one beds are now at £1500.
I'm sure my LL can ask for a £500 rise knowing that they'll be queuing at the door if I have to move out, but then where will I go?
Please don't think I'm being rude to you but quite literally nobody cares; the LL just wants to get out of a bad situation, the marxists lap up any anti-LL sentiment they can find & the governent wants to appease a mindless baying mob. Your situation is immaterial to them.Currently paying £1500, about 70 percent of my salary but similar 2 beds on the estate are now on the market for £2000, the one beds are now at £1500.
I'm sure my LL can ask for a £500 rise knowing that they'll be queuing at the door if I have to move out, but then where will I go?
Good luck but I don't anticipate it being easy. Yet all of this was avoidable if only they'd left alone.
98elise said:
The difference between supply and demand is growing.
Punitive taxes (on private landlords only) and it being increasingly hard to remove bad tenants means lots of landlords are exiting. High interst rates will also drive more people to exit with yields being around 4-5%.
Supply in my area has dried up. I set up a routine email from rightmove recently so that I could review my rents. I get almost no notifications, and when I do get one the prices are much higher than I expected (up to £1500 vs the £1100 I was expecting).
My brother has sold all his rentals over the last couple of years, and we got rid of 2. We were planning to sell the rest with the coming EPC rules but that's now scrapped so not sure what we will do now.
I’d somehow missed that in the news, many thanks for posting Punitive taxes (on private landlords only) and it being increasingly hard to remove bad tenants means lots of landlords are exiting. High interst rates will also drive more people to exit with yields being around 4-5%.
Supply in my area has dried up. I set up a routine email from rightmove recently so that I could review my rents. I get almost no notifications, and when I do get one the prices are much higher than I expected (up to £1500 vs the £1100 I was expecting).
My brother has sold all his rentals over the last couple of years, and we got rid of 2. We were planning to sell the rest with the coming EPC rules but that's now scrapped so not sure what we will do now.
Edited by 98elise on Friday 29th September 10:26
Badda said:
98elise said:
The difference between supply and demand is growing.
Punitive taxes (on private landlords only) and it being increasingly hard to remove bad tenants means lots of landlords are exiting. High interst rates will also drive more people to exit with yields being around 4-5%.
Supply in my area has dried up. I set up a routine email from rightmove recently so that I could review my rents. I get almost no notifications, and when I do get one the prices are much higher than I expected (up to £1500 vs the £1100 I was expecting).
My brother has sold all his rentals over the last couple of years, and we got rid of 2. We were planning to sell the rest with the coming EPC rules but that's now scrapped so not sure what we will do now.
I’d somehow missed that in the news, many thanks for posting Punitive taxes (on private landlords only) and it being increasingly hard to remove bad tenants means lots of landlords are exiting. High interst rates will also drive more people to exit with yields being around 4-5%.
Supply in my area has dried up. I set up a routine email from rightmove recently so that I could review my rents. I get almost no notifications, and when I do get one the prices are much higher than I expected (up to £1500 vs the £1100 I was expecting).
My brother has sold all his rentals over the last couple of years, and we got rid of 2. We were planning to sell the rest with the coming EPC rules but that's now scrapped so not sure what we will do now.
Edited by 98elise on Friday 29th September 10:26
My places are all 60's built places with double glazing, insulation, and modern boilers but are rated D. That's about as modern as you can get here. The towns are victorian, with the surrounding areas mostly 60's and 70's. Beyond that it's tiny developments of newer stock.
Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff