Landlords have been confronted with a series of issues in recent years which include:
- Stamp Duty – 5% surcharge on additional properties.
- Section 24 Finance Act 2015 – not allowed to offset mortgage interest against your income.
- Section 21 Notice abolished – No longer allowed to take your property back without giving significantly greater notice.
- EPC – government increasing the need for more energy efficient housing, a challenge on older properties.
Bad publicity is a fact of life but programmes such as Nightmare Tenants, Slum Landlords has brought pressure to bare on government to legislate against the worst offenders, quite rightly, but offering no reward to quality landlords providing good quality, healthy accommodation.
The National Landlords Residential Association recently pointed out to the Government that 94% of Landlords own just one or two properties, they are not property tycoons, in spite of this the Government ploughs on with its anti-landlord agenda.
Rather than me giving my opinion of the current state of affairs take a few minutes out to watch this video.
It features everybody’s favourite home finder Phil Spencer interviewing a very experienced landlord and founder of Property Tribes, Vanessa Warwick. Phil’s channel Move IQ on Youtube is a must watch for all landlords and people interested in the space.
The video highlights the current challenges for landlords and it is worth subscribing to both channels for current news and some excellent solutions.