Posts with tag: RLA

Tax changes continue strong influence on landlords’ plummeting confidence

Published On: November 25, 2019 at 9:16 am

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tax changes

A majority of private landlords say they are less confident about the market than they were three months ago, according to the Residential Landlords Association (RLA).

Figures highlighting the gap between the percentage of landlords planning on selling up and those planning to buy reflect this result. The aforementioned gap has increased sevenfold in the last two years from 4% to 21%.

There is one positive outcome for tenants to be mentioned: many landlords are now not increasing rents. The RLA has reported that two-thirds have frozen rents over the last year.

Confidence now seems to be at its lowest in London and Wales and highest in the West Midlands followed by the North East and Yorkshire and The Humber.

The figures, which are contained in the RLA’s latest Confidence Index, show that in the third quarter of 2019, 55.1% of private landlords were less confident about the market. 

34% of landlords are planning to sell property over the next year. This is compared with 22% two years ago. Just 13% plan to purchase at least one property to rent out compared with 18% two years ago.

The main reason that has been provided by landlords for this drop in sector confidence is the recent tax changes. Many have stated that the fact that this has been adding to increased costs has led them to the conclusion that selling up is the best option.

David Smith, Policy Director for the RLA, said: “We warned the government that the tax increases they have imposed on landlords would be counter-productive and these figures show how right we were.

“All they are achieving is driving landlords to leave the market, damage investment and so making it more difficult for tenants to find somewhere suitable to live. 

“Whoever is in government following the election needs to completely change the approach and start to support good landlords to encourage them to invest to meet the rising demand for rented housing.”

Nottingham landlord licensing scheme a farce, says RLA

Published On: November 21, 2019 at 9:43 am

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Nottingham landlord licensing scheme

Fewer than 3% of full licences applied for in Nottingham as part of a landlord licensing scheme have so far been issued.

It was in August 2018 that Nottingham City Council introduced a Selective Licensing Scheme across many parts of the city. This was a key part of its efforts to address the quality and management of private rented housing.

However, the figures provided to the Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee show that it has not worked according to plan. By August 2019, whilst 17,523 applications for a licence had been received, only 472 final licences were issued. The Council has estimated that a total of 24,000 applications are eventually likely to be received.

The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) is branding the painfully slow progress in processing applications a farce and has called on the Council to scrap this pointless scheme.

The RLA has highlighted that the issuing of a licence is not linked to any form of property inspection by the Council. Tenants cannot be sure that such a licence will actually mean landlords will meet all the required standards.

In addition, because there is no way of checking whether or not a licence application has been made, tenants cannot tell if their landlord has applied and is simply waiting for the Council to process the application or is flouting the law altogether.

The RLA is calling for all forms of landlord licensing schemes to be scrapped as part of the General Election campaign. Instead, it is calling for councils to use the wide array of data they can already access such as from council tax returns, benefit and electoral roll data and information from the Land Registry to identify landlords.

It is further calling on councils such as Nottingham to spend more time and resources finding and rooting out criminal landlords rather than wasting resources tying good landlords up in bureaucratic knots.

David Smith, Policy Director for the RLA, said: “Nottingham Council cannot have it both ways. Either it believes landlord licences are important, in which case they should process applications promptly, or they do not, in which case they should scrap what amounts to a money-making scheme.

“The reality is that the Council is targeting responsible landlords whilst doing nothing to find and root out bad landlords who will have no intention of applying for a licence. This is purely a money-making bureaucratic exercise which will not benefit tenants in any way.”

Failing housing courts need urgent reform argues the RLA

Published On: November 15, 2019 at 10:30 am

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Failing housing courts need urgent reform

The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) has noticed new figures that show landlords are facing an increased wait when getting a judgement on repossession cases.

As such, the RLA has stated an urgent need for a dedicated housing court to be established.

The Ministry of Justice’s Mortgage and Landlord Possession Statistics for the third quarter of 2019 show that the average time between claims and repossessions for private landlords was 22.6 weeks. This is up from 22.5 weeks in the first quarter of the year.

The RLA highlights that this is now the third quarterly increase in a row.

This follows the recent warning from Osbornes Law that the proposed abolition of Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 will likely “risk increasing delays” to claims. 

Responding to the release of these latest statistics, David Smith, Policy Director for the RLA, has commented: “The courts are failing both landlords and tenants. A systematic programme of court closures, coupled with cuts to the court budgets have made it harder for anyone in the private rented sector to get justice in a timely way where something goes wrong.

“With all parties wanting to develop longer tenancies in the rental market, this will only work if landlords can swiftly and easily repossess properties through the court in legitimate circumstances.

“A failure to achieve this will make such tenancies a pipe dream. We are calling on all parties in the election to pledge to establish a dedicated housing court that can bring rapid justice for landlords and tenants.”

New statistics show rent controls in London would be a mistake

Published On: November 14, 2019 at 10:26 am

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rent controls

Earlier this year, the Mayor of London proposed to introduced rent controls in the UK’s capital. Looking at fresh data released yesterday, it seems that this plan may have already had a negative impact on the sector.

The latest information from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that, in the 12 months to October 2019, private rental sector (PRS) rents in the capital have increased by an average of 0.9%. This is lower than inflation, which was 1.5% as measured by CPI and 2.1% as measured by RPI over the same period.

The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) has shared its worries about the rent control proposal. It has commented that this suggested change might have actually led to tenants paying more if rent levels had been linked to inflation.

Speaking recently to a committee of MPs, the Housing Secretary, Robert Jenrick, warned that he was “not in favour of rent controls”. He argued that they have “proven to be very negative for both landlords and tenants in the past, and I do not want to see any move in that direction.”

Research by the RLA has also highlighted that rent controls in other parts of the world have already proven to be unsuccessful. They led to a lower standard of housing and less choice for tenants.

David Smith, Policy Director for the RLA, has commented: “Today’s figures show how absurd proposals for rent controls are. Rents in London are falling in real terms yet the Mayor is failing to acknowledge this.

“If he wants to make renting cheaper it would be better to work constructively with good landlords to provide the new homes to rent the capital desperately needs. Without this, supply will fall, rents will go up, and tenants will have even less choice about where they live.”

Improve council enforcement instead of introducing more landlord legislations, says RLA

Published On: November 4, 2019 at 9:57 am

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Since 2010, there has been a 32% increase in laws that affect landlords in the UK.

According to a new analysis by the Residential Landlords Association (RLA), the total number of regulations affecting landlords has now reached 156. This is up from 118 when the Conservative-led coalition government came into power.

The RLA is warning that no improvement has been made to the enforcement of action against criminal landlords, despite this increase in legislation. Many councils are failing to properly use the powers given to them for such situations.

There is also previous research from the RLA that found in 2017/18 two thirds of councils had not commenced any prosecutions against private landlords. It was during the same year that 89% of councils told the RLA they had not used new powers to issue Civil Penalties. Fines of up to £30,000 can be issued to private landlords for a range of offences. 53% of councils did not have a policy in place to properly use this power.

The RLA is now calling on all political parties in the upcoming election to commit to improving enforcement of the powers already available, instead of introducing new legislation.

In its manifesto for the General Election, the RLA proposes scrapping licensing schemes which serve only to penalise good landlords whilst enabling the criminals to operate under the radar. Councils should instead be using the wide range of data already available to them. This includes using council tax, benefits, tenancy deposit and electoral roll information to identify landlords. It needs to be backed by a multi-year funding settlement from central government to properly resource enforcement.

David Smith, Policy Director for the Residential Landlords Association: “Removing criminal landlords from the sector will only be achieved if councils have the resources and the will to properly use the wide range of powers they already have. 

“Piling more regulations onto the sector which will continue not to be properly enforced is meaningless and serves only to put off good landlords from providing the homes to rent we need. It is time for smarter enforcement, not more regulation.”

Landlords outline positive vision to improve the UK rental market

Published On: November 1, 2019 at 9:37 am

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uk rental market

Ahead of the General Election, landlords have unveiled a positive vision for the future of the private rental sector (PRS).

The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) has highlighted that too much attention is given to the idea that the sector is a problem requiring management. Instead, it argues that really it needs a positive, ambitious programme for the sector. This should support tenants and good landlords, whilst rooting out the crooks who have no place in the sector.

The RLA’s manifesto for the PRS encourages political parties to build on the positive developments in the market. This includes:

  • 84% of private tenants stating that they are satisfied with their accommodation (a higher proportion than the social sector)
  • Private tenants have now been living in their current properties for an average of over four years
  • 88% of private tenancies are ended by the tenant

The RLA also points out that the PRS has grown to become an important source of housing for families with children, older people, the homeless and students and young people in need of access to new work and educational opportunities.

Its key proposals include:

  • Improving access to justice for tenants and landlords by developing a housing court
  • Supporting vulnerable tenants by ending the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) cap
  • Ensuring councils have the resources to find and root out criminal landlords using the wide range of powers they already have

With warnings of noticeable rent rises as a result of the demand for private rented housing outstripping supply, the RLA believes scrapping the Stamp Duty levy on additional properties for landlords providing homes will add to the net supply of housing.

It also calls for a rejection of all forms of rent controls, which the RLA argues would serve only to dry up the supply of homes to rent, reducing choice for tenants and thereby increasing rents overall.  

David Smith, Policy Director for the RLA, said: “For too long we have let the actions of a minority of landlords who bring the sector into disrepute dictate the debate around rented housing. Whilst we must find and root out such people we cannot let it distract from the positive news in the sector.

“The vast majority of landlords and tenants enjoy good relations, with many tenants staying long term in their rental properties. It is important that we build upon this record, ensuring pro-growth policies to ensure a sufficient supply of homes to rent, supporting vulnerable tenants and ensuring tenants and landlords can access justice more quickly if things do go wrong.

“We call on all parties to accept our positive, pragmatic programme for the sector and end the unnecessary scaremongering which is causing many tenants to live in fear.”