Successive Governments seem to be going out of their way to make life hard for the Landlord. In this months Property Investor News they highlight the changes in legislation that are giving landlords a massive headache. As if it wasn’t hard enough with section 24 restricting Landlords earning potential the government are now tweaking the eviction rules so that Landlords may be stuck with bad tenants for much longer than is healthy.
Some genuine tenants will have suffered as a result of Covid and genuinely need help in keeping a roof over their head. That help is two fold with the Landlord and tenant having an adult conversation on what is affordable going forward and reviewing this on a regular basis and the state providing people with financial assistance who are on low incomes. This is a real world event and is solving the fast majority of issues currently.
As a direct result of Covid the Government introduced an eviction ban for six months; add to this the Governments’ policy of not treating rent arrears as a priority in the courts, and the delays in court hearings caused by the pandemic means that a landlord may struggle to evict a bad tenant inside two years! The Government seems to have relented in the case of anti-social behaviour, and rent arrears that were an issue before lockdown. It is a fluid situation at the moment with U-turns a plenty as the Government tries to get a balance of what is right and what is just plain unfair.
The National Residential Landlords Association states that well over 90% of landlords are private individuals or small businesses who rely on the rental income to pay their living expenses. Certainly not tycoons in the mould of a Scrooge as the media would have us believe. As in any walk of life the bad Landlords, who represent a huge minority, give the vast majority of excellent landlords a bad name. Successful landlords want to give tenants quality accommodation at an affordable price and establish a long-term relationship with that tenant, albeit business based. Bad properties attract resentment which leads to bad tenants, bad behaviour and a very unhealthy relationship for everyone, and who wants that? Simple answer, no-one with an ounce of decency!
If you are a landlord who is looking for a great alternative then come and talk to us. We offer straight rental agreements and also management services, both of which offer great benefits to landlords over the short and long term
