As life gets tougher for landlords in the East Midlands it also appears that the knock-on effect is starting to hit tenants as well. The NRLA published the Office for National Statistics figures that showed the highest annual growth in the UK for private rental costs was in the East Midlands at 4.1%, almost 50% higher than the national average! The average rise in rental costs was the highest since 2016 yet London only came in at 1.5% and the National Average at 2.8%.
Is this a sign that the Governments Build-to-Rent scheme is taking effect already? The reality is that the scheme targets high density population areas so as to give the investors their greatest returns. These are new build apartment blocks mostly that tick all the relevant boxes for the new anti-landlord regulations:
- New build therefore EPC of C or above.
- Corporates that are not affected by section 24.
- PLC’s that have to report to shareholders and therefore greater transparency.
- No rogue landlords.
This is great for the larger conurbations and renters in those areas; however, the Government are putting many landlords out of business who provide good quality housing for their tenants and charge fair rents. The regulations regarding section 24, section 21 and the upcoming EPC change mean landlords are incurring much higher expense just so the Government can expand their Build-to-Rent scheme quicker. The reality is that this scheme will never land in smaller cities and towns because the mass demand just is not there. The result will be that rents will continue to rise in those areas as we have seen in the last year. Sadly, it appears the Government does not actually have a plan for smaller conurbations which does not auger well for the coming year and the cost-of-living crisis will be further fuelled by this inaction.
It is difficult to see how this “tanker” is going to turn around without a major U-turn by the Government in how they handle Landlords in the UK. Certain regulations are positive for tenants and landlords, the EPC specifically is a good move but there needs to be grants in place for those landlords who own Victorian style houses that would be hard to upgrade from a D to a C. We need to see those rogue landlords weeded out of the system for good, however, England’s database shows 57 rogue landlords in the entire country, whereas ministers are stating there are thousands. Another example where the authorities are not doing their job when it comes to enforcement, so they feel the best way to deal with it is to make all the really good landlords pay for the bad ones.
If you are a landlord looking for solutions, then why not contact us for a no obligation chat to discuss what options there are for you.
