Landlord won't sell. Another second home in our dying village

The poster does not possess title, and therefore, she does not ‘own’ the property, irrespective of whether it is currently her ‘home’.

Otherwise, we can only speculate as to why the owner is content to leave it empty. I will say this - the proposed RRB, due this summer, has thrown up some interesting dynamics, whereby a significant number of owners would rather leave their property void, than face losing a significant amount of control over their assets.

From the DT, yesterday:

Britain’s landlord crackdown has driven the number of long-term empty homes to a record high as buy-to-let investors quit, new analysis shows.

One in 94 homes in England last year had been vacant for at least six months, up from one in 95 a year earlier and the highest proportion on record since at least 2013, excluding the pandemic, according to analysis of council tax data by Property Investments UK.

Analysts blamed the Government’s buy-to-let crackdown which is pushing landlords to sell up.

Nationally, 272,257 homes were lying empty long-term. Based on the average household size, this meant homes for 650,000 people – nearly enough to accommodate the strain on housing supply driven by net migration of 728,000 in the year to June 2024.

Probably beats the hospital accommodation I was stuck in for the first few years. I've worked in 13 hospitals.

Of course it is - but presumably he lives in the house too? I think a man posting here about whether he should keep renting a house or buy a different one would definitely be asked whether his wife was on board with the decision.

No one is suggesting it's not but the first half of the post is about "we" and the second is about "I" so it's a perfectly reasonable question

It’s ok for a woman to talk about how she feels about something without also explaining her husband’s feelings.

How does your husband feel over this?

In your posts you don't mention him at all.

If this a situation where he feels the same or is he not bothered?

It's hard to understand how both of you invested so much emotional energy and money (which was clearly tight and you could have saved for your own home.)

In your head now, you've got to let this go. And do think of your son. At 8-9 he's a child but in a few years he may not want to live in the back of beyond and a dying village with few friends or always having to be driven to see them by you.

It's a long shot, but could you persuade a local landowner to sell you a plot of land on which to build your own home? Modular and timber-framed construction techniques might be worth looking at. Also, look at the rules for self-builds on rural exception sites (RES) - these are sites that are not normally permitted for open market development but may allow for the construction of a self-build home by someone with strong connections to the area (eg: work and family, length of time as a resident in the village etc). The cost of a self-build plot on an RES is generally lower than that of a piece of land being sold on the open market. You may find that planning will require certain conditions to be met, for example, when you come to sell the house on, you may only be able to sell it to someone with an equally strong local connection. Could be worth looking into though.

So for years when you weren't in a position to buy, it suited you that they didn't want to sell.
Now that you are in a position to buy you want them to sell.
How would you have felt if a couple of years ago you were evicted because they were selling?
It's their choice when to sell. If that costs them extra council tax until such time as they do want to sell then that is their choice.

From what I can gather this home isn't necessarily the owners second home. They've married a farmer who may or may not own their farm, or maybe they plan to use it to pay their new tax bill.

This property could well likely be the owners only property, maybe they want it for themselves to retire to, for family, friends who knows.

IMO the thread title is very misleading.

Nope, basically very property in my Victorian street is a C as I compared when selling.
We had a modern boiler, double glazing and new radiators. No heat pump, no under floor insulation as it’s Victorian construction, no loft insulation.
Surely this should be the bare minimum standard for renting out a safe, warm, habitable property? What a bizarre notion that the law changing many years from now to require this rating would be controversial.

That is what they are aiming for, but we all know that will not happen in reality as there is not enough housing stock and they will have to offer exemptions closer to the time and max investment thresholds. They cannot make tenants pay more than homeowners who are richer. Because ultimately it is always the tenants that end up paying if they squeeze the landlords.
So Milliband can keep on in cloud cuckoo land but this will be close to the next election so I doubt it will be an absolute obligation when push comes to shove.

An EPC of C will need a modern boiler, TRVs, modern DB glazing, loft, even floor insulation, possibly a heat pump.

Its doable for most properties but it wont be cheap.

BUT the EPC of C in 2030, will use new criteria, downgrading gas and upgrading electric heating and solar/batteries.

Well insulation can cause moisture retention - old houses are designed to breathe and materials can be damaged from rot or mould if it’s not done correctly or there’s too much insulation.

No, I know. But they are part of the same 'save the world' scenario that actually wrecks the place.
My Victorian house is double glazed and isulated, with solar panels. Stays warm in winter and cool in summer - except the sitting room which faces south-east and therefore overheats on warm afternoons.

A rating of E is the minimum and it’s still incredibly low. What energy efficiency strategies to get houses to a very low efficiency rating do you think spoil older houses?

The last few Victorian homes I’ve sold were a C rating and it’s very, very easy to achieve.

Solar panels farms and wind turbines have nothing to do with domestic EPC ratings.

I understand them, I do worry that grants to make homes (rented or bought) more energy efficient will wreck many older houses and cause problems with damp etc.
I am generally not in favour of energy efficient measures that spoil landscapes or spoil houses. Solar panels covering arable land are an abomination as are wind turbines on bleak uplands (not to mention danger to bird life). And I think the pollution we produce is more important than chasing CO2 targets.

You have no idea why your landlord is keeping the property. She may love it just as much as you do. She may wish to keep it as a retreat for herself. She may want it for old age (not sure if it's easier than a farm to reside in) or she may wish to keep it for her children.

I can feel your immense disappointment and I'm sorry that you feel that you have to move. However, your landlord may have loads of reasons to say no. It's not always about immediate financial gain and she is under no obligation to share her long term plans with you.

You could continue to stay, keep saving and ask again in a few years or start looking for your dream home which will be a lovely blank canvas.

I am sure you'll make any house into a beautiful home x

I can see it from both sides, you obviously love the house. I do have a house that I rent out and the tenants also love it and would like to buy it. But I really don't want to sell, partly because I do really like the house, it's also a nest egg for my children, and partly because my Dad spent his last few years there and I love the memories of going to see him there.

You could always call their bluff & move out - worst case you find another home you can build a life or they'll realise it's more hassle then it's worth & put it up

Yeh that’s what I read it as @StellaAndCrow

Shelter isn’t really relevant for a renter who can stay but just wants to buy instead.

op I see you’re invested emotionally in the house but best to look elsewhere if you want to buy.

You don't appear to know what these rules are.

The current EPC rule for rented property is E, incredibly easy to achieve and a rating that any decent LL should have.

The new rule, not due in until 2030, so AFTER the next GE, is an EPC of C - that will be a problem for many BUT Miliband is saying grants will be available for LLs with 1 or 2 properties, assuming Labour even get in again, unlikely atm.

Try reading the thread.

The OP is about to buy a house.

Sorry your landlords won't sell, but it's not them are the problem, it's the stupid laws re energy.

But the rule changes aren’t a factor in the landlord’s decision not to sell. OP thinks that’s why they should sell. As far as I can see, the landlord is quite happy to keep renting to the OP. OP just suggested the option of selling because, if she were to move out, the landlord might have issues letting the property again in the future.

she would always be at the mercy of being told to leave the rental house

And that’s why OP should check out her rights with shelter as needed so as to be sure of her contract in case she does receive this news, since she lives in an area with low availability of rentals.

The landlady will be keen to have such a good tenant improving her rental house for her at no cost… up until the landlady isn’t because she wants to sell it on or live in it herself. So OP needs to know what timescales and rights she has.

It was hard to know what you meant, because you didn't explain it fully, hence asking

Given the OP is on a very tight budget, she might not be able to afford a Buy to Let mortgage, nor may she want the hassle of being a landlord because her ability to pay the rent AND a mortgage would rely on always having a tenant.

And it also means she would always be at the mercy of being told to leave the rental house.