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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think people who own more than 3 properties should have a special tax applied to them?

794 replies

Calltheguards · 28/05/2019 10:32

I'm just thinking with the housing crisis, should people really own more than 3 properties? I would assume it's a property portfolio and used to exploit renters. AIBU to think there should be a special tax applied to property owners who own more than 3 properties? Maybe tax them at a really high rate to discourage people from hoarding property.

OP posts:
Original poster
Calltheguards · 28/05/2019 10:56

I'm talking about the posters who just want to call me jealous rather than debate the content of the thread.

OP posts:
nancy75 · 28/05/2019 10:57

My parents own 3 properties, they live in one, I live in one & my brother lives in one.
I’ll be sure to tell them what parasites they are.

Rufus27 · 28/05/2019 10:57

How is it good for the environment for an individual to own more than 3 homes? What benefit are they providing for society? They are essentially a parasite and should be taxed as such

We own three houses, two of which are rented. One is rented to a lovely Romanian couple who came without references and struggled to find somewhere to live. They treat the house as if it's their own (looks better than when we lived there, in fact) and are really great tenants. We've therefore kept the rent to a minimum and not raised it for four years.

Second house (which we tried to sell but couldnt) is rented to a three generation family with a severely autistic adult son and the main rent payer has been bankrupt previously, so again, they struggled to find rented accommodation. We do our best to support them, often doing odd jobs such as gardening to help them (even driving over to them on Boxing Day when they needed help with the water system).

I would say that we are helping society in a small way and dont deserve to be labelled as 'parasites'. Each situation is different.

Reasonstobeearful · 28/05/2019 10:58

Yanbu. We could call it the Wanker Tax.

butteryellow · 28/05/2019 10:58

There already is a regulation to improve housing stock environmental performance in place. At present all properties performing less than G I think can not rent the property legally until it is improved to I think E. That's step one that came into force in Feb or April. Next year the same is being asked of all properties rented with EPC F and so on.

I'm a landlord, and a renter, and I didn't know this.

Having said that, I don't think I've ever seen an G for rental, and an E is a pretty low bar (my current place is an E)!

IvanaPee · 28/05/2019 10:58

Why are they wankers?

kaytee87 · 28/05/2019 11:00

Yanbu. We could call it the Wanker Tax.

🙄 pathetic

floraloctopus · 28/05/2019 11:00

No. Landlords are taxed on their earnings from property rental and more properties = more tax.

fairweathercyclist · 28/05/2019 11:00

This is akin to the thinking behind booting “old” people out of their houses because younger families need the room

I don't think so. Well I suppose it is, if you think trying to find ways to share out property in the UK more fairly is wrong.

There are about half a million empty properties which need to be brought back into use, instead of constantly building bad quality new ones on green field sites. That would certainly help both the rental and home owner markets.

I do think there should be carrots to encourage singletons and couples in large houses to move into smaller ones.

Tax rates on landlords should certainly reflect the fact that someone else is paying the landlord's mortgage for them.

And you should not be allowed to convert a bungalow into a house. Putting rooms in the roof is one thing, taking the roof off and turning it into an actual house when there are a lack of bungalows already, is not.

AlexaAmbidextra · 28/05/2019 11:01

How is it good for the environment for an individual to own more than 3 homes?

How on earth does owning three homes affect the environment? Do tell.

Pinkyyy · 28/05/2019 11:03

Utter stupidity.

floraloctopus · 28/05/2019 11:03

How on earth does owning three homes affect the environment? Do tell.

I can't see how it makes any difference at all other than perhaps the petrol to drive and check on the houses.

M3lon · 28/05/2019 11:04

YANBU - I hate the concept of investment landlords with a passion.

I think more than 3 is bang on the money too. Nobody needs more than 3 houses...so how about not letting your greed price others out of the market?

AlexaAmbidextra · 28/05/2019 11:05

It feels very unfair sometimes that people my age struggle to buy even small/starter homes because many are being hoarded by older people who bought when property was cheap.

Why do you assume that small/starter homes are being hoarded by ‘older’ people? We’re usually accused of insisting on staying in our big houses and not giving them up for ‘young families’.

LadyRannaldini · 28/05/2019 11:05

Can we have a law that if a tenant refuses to pay rent they are in breach of their tenancy agreement and rental protection laws don't apply, as they are not tenants but thieving squatters? It should be possible once they are in default that they can be easily evicted and the property rented to honest people.

Original poster
Calltheguards · 28/05/2019 11:06

Ok let's say you own 4 properties.

Most likely you have a holiday home which is taking a home away from someone who would live there, and now that person is forced to buy a new build where the land and infrastructure must be changed which will harm the environment. The rented properties are not upgraded to more environmentally sensible features because it is financially punitive for the landlord to do so, which also harms the environment.

OP posts:
magicBrenda · 28/05/2019 11:06

LadyRannaldini

If only...

DaisiesAreOurSilver · 28/05/2019 11:07

Any other legitimate businesses you object to? Weird ideas you have, OP.

LadyRannaldini · 28/05/2019 11:07

I hate the concept of investment landlords with a passion.

What do you want, a soviet free-for-all where everyone is treated the same irrespective of their contribution to society? It never even worked for the Soviets!

IvanaPee · 28/05/2019 11:08

if you think trying to find ways to share out property in the UK more fairly is wrong.

Well. I do, as a matter of fact.

Should I just tell my parents that the house they worked hard for then lovingly took care of all their adult lives shouldn’t be theirs anymore because Sid & Nancy down the road decided to sprog four times and feel entitled to somewhere big to live?

Whatareyoutalkingabout · 28/05/2019 11:08

You do sound quite bitter and jealous OP, referring to them as 'parasites' just seems bizarre. As a PP said, landlords are just providing a service and they already pay tax. They're hardly 'hoarding properties', they are running a business and there's nothing wrong with this.

Sirzy · 28/05/2019 11:09

The problem here is people are making massive judgements and trying to paint all landlords in a bad light.

They are ignoring the fact that no matter what many people wouldn’t be able to get a mortgage. If a tennant is relying on housing benefit every month to cover all or most of their rent where do you think the money is going to appear from for a mortgage? And for the other associated costs with owning a house.

Yes some landlords are shit and they need cracking down on.

Some tenants are shit and they need cracking down on.

But most tenants and landlords work well together and it’s a win win situation.

floraloctopus · 28/05/2019 11:09

Most likely you have a holiday home which is taking a home away from someone who would live there, and now that person is forced to buy a new build

Most FTB are not going to be able to afford a new build, they are usually more expensive houses bought by people a few houses up the ladder and so them buying a new build is releasing starter homes for the FTB.

The rented properties are not upgraded to more environmentally sensible features because it is financially punitive for the landlord to do so, which also harms the environment.

It is exactly the same for home owners. Apart from (free) loft insulation this house is as it was when it was when it was built because of the financial outlay which is punitive.

IvanaPee · 28/05/2019 11:10

Most likely you have a holiday home which is taking a home away from someone who would live there

So sell your holiday home and instead increase your carbon footprint by flying to all sorts of places because you owe someone a house that you could have driven to?

Pa1oma · 28/05/2019 11:10

OP, when you buy a second home you already pay a higher rate stamp duty. We were forced into this position because the London property market is stagnant due to Brexit, so now we have to let out our first home instead. We would like to sell it as soon as Brixit is sorted and the housing market picks up, but at the moment nobody seems to be buying property in this price range because everyone fears a recession. We also have 2 other flats we rent out locally at the market rate. One was purchased for elderly relatives who ended up not needing it. If we didn’t own / rent them, someone else would.
DH is also involved in a property sideline of about 80 ish flats on average nationwide, but none are sitting vacant. Some were bought at auction and made habitable - maybe nobody had been living there for years. Some they rent, some they turn around for sale. Nobody can afford to sit in empty properties, so I’m not sure what you mean about landlords damaging the environment.