To think rents are going up because of insane levels of demand and not billionaires buying all the houses?

Yes that was a total shitshow. People lost their jobs and it was miserable. Also the prices didn’t even crash all over the country - it was only in already deprived areas. I don’t think anyone benefited from it really so I definitely wouldn’t be wishing for another massive recession.

There were approximately 1.5 million empty or second homes in England in 2021. Stop people having second homes or leaving housing empty and that will make a really good start to helping the housing issues.

Yes because 2008 went so well and had no negative repercussions whatsoever! Be careful what you wish for.

What are the cons of a retirement village?

1. Service charges can mount upMost homes in a retirement village will be leasehold. This can come as a shock if you’ve only previously owned a freehold home.

1. Retirement homes can be difficult to sellRetirement homes are not always bought and sold easily.

1. Resale values don’t follow market trendsRetirement homes can be sold for far less than expected, or even at a loss.

1. Exit fees can run into thousands Ask your solicitor to check for so-called 'exit fees' before buying a home in a retirement village.

This is madness.

If like to see some stats at source about benefits to the UK as a whole.

SDLT prohibits many people from downsizing, or moving at all.

If you thought LL's are leaving the market now, and they are, wait until the EPC rules kick in. I have 12 btl houses. 8 are EPC C already and the other 4 are one or two points from the C standard. They are Victorian terraced houses and are single skinned because that was how they were built. They are not damp or mouldy because they have air vents towards bottom of external rooms. To get them to an EPC C I'd have to have internal cladding on every external wall and redecorate afterwards. I've been quoted at between £13k and 14.5k depending on numbers of rooms/bedrooms. All this so tenant can save £103 pa. It's not financially viable. If I passed on cost to tenants, as they'd be saving on fuel bills, noone would afford the rent. I'll be selling these 4 houses in 2028. It will mean making 8 adults, 7 DC including 1 with SEND and 2 cats homeless. These tenants have been living in these homes for years, many of the DC have never lived anywhere else. They are good tenants they pay their rent on time and advise me in good time if anything needs repairing or replacing. The big problem is in this city so many other homes (about 35 percent) are also Victorian terraced houses that are also unlikely to be internally clad to get to EPC C. All the other LL's I have spoken with also say they will sell between 2028-9. Where will all of the tenants displaced by Miliband's policy go? It's madness that btl houses must be EPC C but privately owned houses can be an E standard. It would be far better if everyone got help to meet EPC D standard now then another push for C standard in 10 years. Labour policy will make so many families homeless. Government are not building houses at the rate needed to even stand still as immigration is far outstripping emigration. The sheer number of new immigrants in the UK every year means millions of houses are needed just for them. No wonder so many people are turning against Labour as they see they will be made homeless.

Well the house prices would crash, as they need to.

Heating a large house costs more
Maintenance costs more
Stairs may become a problem especially if the only bathroom is upstairs as is the case with older properties.
Cleaning a large house is more difficult

And we have a population crisis because we keep importing people.

I think people prefer to buy a shiny new one. The older ones value can be really low (area dependant) and tough to sell. Often the estate has to carry on paying substantial fees so there’s no real incentive for whoever is running it to assist in selling as getting paid regardless.

It's purely supply and demand. I have lost count of the amount of times over the years it has been debated on MN. People saying that making things tougher for landlords would mean they had to sell up and then house prices would go down and people would be able to buy instead of rent. I got shouted down for pointing out that landlords selling up wouldn't flood the market and push prices down so people still wouldn't be able to afford to buy but also would struggle to find somewhere to rent. Now it is the reality. Landlords have sold up because it has become to onerous and unprofitable. House prices haven't gone down. People still need places to rent but there are less places available. That pushes rents up.

The real problem is that there is not enough council housing. Between people buying their council houses and removing them from the stock, and a complete lack of investment in building more, there just isn't enough for everyone that needs it. That isn't the responsibility of landlords to fill the gap. That is something that government, local and national, needs to sort out.

But many of those people would have bought those same properties in the past but now can’t afford to because of the rise in house prices (due to lack of provision of new housing).

Calling older people "boomers" in that distainful tone is as insulting as using the "N" word to an ethnic minority person.

That’s actually a lot more than farming contributes to the UK Economy at 14.5 billion in 2024.

Thankfully, the government doesn't consider a rental property with an EPC rating of below C to be 'perfectly fine', which is more important than my opinion!

I know a relative of a friend who is living in a sad triangle in one room. Bed, chair, commode, her partner left the house to charity ( she has a life interest) at the time it seemed like a good idea as no kids. Now she would benefit from company and care but has no assets. Social services won’t fund just 3 care visits a day and she has this house just crumbling as can’t afford to maintain.

Being a landlord is not what it was. If you get a bad tenant you risk a great deal of damage to your own mental health. I have rented and even commercial property they’re some absolute moron tenants about. I would rather leave for storage than deal with some of these irresponsible people. I think there’s a lot more irresponsible people than there was 20/30 years ago.

I am sick of death of people moaning about Landlords and don’t want to pay their rent or even look after a property.

But the prices are high due to demand!

Near me a planning permission has been submitted for yet another retirement village. Not social housing. Not homes for young families. But one more retirement complex of which there are at least six nearby. Many of these are half empty. So why the rush to build more? Do these have tax advantages? Do they get subsidies? It’s a mystery.

No but a lot of perfectly fine houses have a lower rating than C and they’re not hell holes by any stretch of the imagination.

A house doesn't need to be a 'new build' to have an EPC rating of C.

I think you are right OP. Population of the UK is going up by hundreds of thousands every year. There aren’t that many new homes. I think there’s a lot more people living as a single person households which increases demand too. There are so many empty homes. I live in a pretty part of Scotland maybe 10-20% holiday homes.

Lots of empty homes from people going into care and probate houses that sit empty for years. I do think there’s a lot councils should have more abilities about getting homes back into use. Probate backlog should be dealt with and perhaps make it possible to sell house quickly in straightforward cases.

Then you will find a huge absence of rental properties and people will have to live in hotels or the like as there will be such a shortage. A house doesn’t become a hell hole just because it’s not a new build with a C EPC.