The ultimate guide to the Government’s renting reform proposals

The UK’s largest online property news website, LandlordZONE and letting agent helpline, HF Assist host a joint webinar with the UK’s top property experts to explore what the Government’s rent reform proposals will mean for landlords, agents, and tenants.

Our webinar features special guests and property experts:
- Paul Shamplina, Founder of Landlord Action,
- Sean Hooker, Head of Redress at the Property Redress Scheme
- Suzy Hershman, Legal Division Manager, mydeposits
- Mike Morgan, Legal Division Manager, HF Assist

[PotterSpurn]

Truth is that renting and being a landlord has numerous dynamics that are hardly ever discussed. E.g.,

1. Rent should be a 'cost' to the tenant, not a 'liability' (and especially not one with no asset at the end). Therefore, by default, a tenant should not be expected to pay more than they are willing to pay for a property. This is hardly the case these days. The term 'market rent' is being abused and used as a bludgeon in order to force costs into tenant liabilities - and for no personal gain at the end.

2. If a tenant is insitu when a new landlord takes on the ownership, then it is clear that the landlord and tenant dynamic has shifted from what was the landlord letting to a tenant and fixing his rent price on a take it or leave it basis, to one of the tenant providing the landlord with an investment opportunity. After all, that landlord is not provding them with a home. They had that already. Therefore, an abusive 'cash cow' exploitation dynamic can erupt if, after the landlord makes financial gains from that situation then gives the tenant no cut or piece of the financial action and instead tries to milk them for all their worth with the maximum rent they can command. This is especially true of 1977 Rent Act tenants who are often trapped by their own privileged security of tenure which can't be replicated elsewhere now.. This where landlords pay cash for the property - and at 60% of the market value to what they'd pay for it otherwise with vacant possession or AST tenant - and so are sitting on an instant, albeit it delayed, risk free capital gain profit that doesn't rely upon the market rising over time (even though that may happen too. There is no point in any landlord saying that their sale reduction is offset by lower than market rents. This is nonsense: the gain is built into the deal from the get go and no one forced that landlord to invest in the property to begin with so they knew full well what they were getting into, so they are not hard done by by RCO set rents. It stands to reason that the tenant, therefore, should get a piece of the financial pie that is worth half of the difference between the market sale price and the actual price the landlord paid for the flat. After all, the tenant is not an abstraction of no value - keeping the sitting tenancy seat warm for the next tenant. They are now - personally by name - the landlord's way in to getting a cut price asset worth more instantly they've bought it as well as a regular income from probably making no investment into the property except for the odd repair and boiler change and one or two other mandatory expenses like building insurance and gas engineer certificates. It is darned cheeky of them to charge max RCO rents if the tenant cannot afford them, no matter what the market rent is in the area.

There are others....but these two are very rarely discussed and need airing, especially 1. that applies to most tenants.

[kimalexander]

I don’t think I would like to rent a property after someone has had numerous dogs living there. My friend the cleanest of people had a dog for 15 years. When it was a puppy and was being house trained it urinated on the new carpet often, which left a stain mark in several places and the smell never completely went despite vigilant washing and shampooing. Then when it was elderly it was unable to control its bowels and she would often come down in the morning to doggie diarrhoea in the kitchen and hall. Several mats were unusable afterwards and the hall carpets were completely ruined. So it’s not just landlords who have issues with some pets I don’t want to inherit the stains and smells of someone else’s pets who rented before me.

[JASuperflex]

Why is it that some landlords are happy to collect the monthly high rent yet not so willing to do urgent repairs disgusting 😑

[JASuperflex]

Waiting to hear about affordable rent for ALL will it ever happen 🤔

[JASuperflex]

Tenants are getting passed on everyone's increase in cost like travel to work food it all on Joe blogs where to you draw the line sometimes you just have to take your losses like WE ALL HAVE TO gosh I would love to pass on my costs 😀

[JASuperflex]

Pets are not dirty it's just some of the owners that are dirty.. pet owners should not be discriminated against or have to pay any additional fees disgusting

[JASuperflex]

The landlord that increased the rent by 40% is greedy and deserved what he got

[JASuperflex]

No dss is flat out discrimination and should be banned consider the tenants previous history of paying their rent on time and landlord references instead of judging