Landlords are hated but

[Parsley1234]

I am a landlord tenants been in situ for over 10 years very happily in a character Victorian terrace rent raises minimum I leave them alone get repairs done in a timely manner however from 2028 I will have to either sell holiday let or leave vacant the property as the modifications are untenable for me. Double glazing adding internal walls to make small rooms smaller etc. We are in a housing crisis this is going to make it worse and for all of you who want to have a go at landlords maybe look at the government housing policy first

@Parsley1234 i have never come across this as a recommendation. Is it just a random partition across a room or is it creating or hallway or similar?

you do realise you can be prosecuted for selling a property under market value ?

Where are you based? In the UK it's legal to sell your property for any figure you choose. You could sell your property to a family member for £1 if you wanted and although it might be perceived as a bit underhand there is nothing in law to stop you. Do you really think the police are going to come and arrest you if you offered to sell to your tenants at a discount?

@Dobbysgotthesocks I rent the house I live in actually and the house I own I can’t get it to the required level as we will be seeing with the other Victorian terraces that won’t either

I am a landlord. I see it as incumbent upon me to be a good landlord that abides by the govt rules. I also like my tenants who have been in situ for 5 years with no issues.

I have just replaced the double glazing throughout because I am interested in maintaining my property, investing in it and keeping my tenants happy.

There was nothing wrong with the old double glazing but it had ceased to be efficient. My tenants are over the moon.

Landlords do get a bum deal these days so for that reason I sold another property I had & will use the capital as draw down income now.

I’m in it for the long run & whilst I appreciate your frustrations, think twice about kicking tenants out. It might lead to more hassle than it’s worth.

Being an old house you might find you can be excused from insulating the walls? Get some prices for the work that needs doing so you know exactly what you’re in for. It might not be as bad as you think?

@Parsley1234 I'm sorry but that's rubbish. There is absolutely no reason why a Victorian terrace of any age cannot be brought up to standard! You might be to tight to do so but the only person at fault for that is you.
You should have brought it up to standard years ago!

@OnlyFoolsnMothers I have treated my tenants well and they don’t want to buy the have adverse credit and are over 60

I don't know if it's illegal to sell a house at below market value but guess it could be perceived as tax evasion ie done with a motive of avoiding or reducing liability for stamp duty.

It seems a shame that a huge amount of Victorian properties will become ineligible for the rental market. This helps no one. Of course tenants need homes that can be kept warm but some older houses just can't take some of these adjustments.

I was looking at a stone cottage near me recently for sale (nice area by coast) and it said on the sales bumf that it would likely be unsuitable for rental market: 18" thick stone walls (bumpy exposed stone inside) irregular shaped windows, etc. Difficult to insulate and bring to the new standards.

Sooo... it sold to someone as a holiday home. Great. 🙄

I can only assume that you don’t know what the standards are. I was reviewing an EPC the other day and to get it to a C rating the works suggested totalled approx 50000 pounds and included solar, wall cladding and various other wholly unrealistic recommendations. The complete recommendations included installing a wind turbine at cost of 15-25000 pounds on top of the 50000 to get a b rating. Ridiculous

You can gift a house in trust and it's fine if 7 years are exceeded. If not there is IHT and/or CGT to pay. Needs to be wrapped into a Trust.

🎻

@Eastangular2000 you assume wrong. I know what's involved. But I'm sorry that's what you sign up to as a landlord!
Odds are the property has increased in value by at least the cost of the works and will definitely increase in value afterwards!
Being a tenant shouldn't mean having to accept substandard housing! And finally the legislation is forcing unscrupulous landlords to provide what they should have provided from the start

I think you are correct. The government is putting more and more pressure on Landlords and what will happen is more and more will sell or will let out as holiday let’s which don’t have the same rules.

This would be okay if the government was also investing in providing more houses for people to rent at reasonable prices but it is not at all. The more landlords that sell up, the more competition there will be over the houses available to rent which are left and the harder and more expensive it will be to rent something. Many many people will never be able to buy a house, will never have a deposit or just don’t want to stay on one place. People need houses to rent so why are decent landlords viewed as enemies. A lot are providing houses which are way better than the council will give you at reasonable rates.
Obviously it’s best if improvements can be made to energy efficiency levels but allowances should be made for very old properties. It’s fine saying it’s a business and should be willing to invest but if the business incurs more costs the cost will go up for the end user or the business will be gone and someone may end up with no home.

If the landlord cannot afford to bring the property up to standard it strikes me that they ought to be able to sell to the local authority/a housing association/housing coop with the borrowing power to take on the tenants and upgrade the property.

If your tenants are on low income there ought to be some grant assistance available to help you with the costs. But on a national scale, these things are probably more efficiently done in bulk. And of course if a landlord sells a property to private occupiers, that's one fewer would be tenants chasing one fewer rental properties so the impact is surely neutral?

DH was talking to an EPC guy about what he needed to do to get the property he inherited from his parents up to a C. Fortunately it's not that old and it's doable, he's getting it done ASAP. However, in the course of the discussion, the guy said lots of rentals really couldn't be upgraded sufficiently, and that if the landlords had done what they could and spent at least £3K, then they'd be let off the fine. I don't know if this is the official position!

My parents in law rent their house and have done all their lives. If they had to move out because the house was sold they would be devastated as it’s a lovely old house. Friends of ours also rent an old farm cottage very cheaply, farm cottages are often rented out long term and cheaply around here and they will definitely be affected by these new rules.

@Dobbysgotthesocks i am not unscrupulous I spoke to the EPC chap he said it can’t be done not me - the property has increased in value but it will never meet a C that is the way it is
@Icannever yes the rental is way better than a council property of which in Gloucestershire there’s none available
its going to be a total joke come 28

@ValerieDoonican if I can’t bring it up to regulation neither will the HA or council
@Icannever where are those people supposed to go !?

This makes no sense, you do not know the OPs situation so you have no way of knowing what the level of work required is. Some properties it is likely to be almost impossible to achieve the rating without spending far in excess of what any return would be. I think they will have to be handing out a lot of exemptions as the C level can be extremely costly not too mention wholly impractical for a lot of properties. I for one don't want to see perfectly good victorian sashes being ripped out across the country to be replaced with UPVC monstrosities not to mention cladding being applied to buildings which were designed to breathe. I think there are going to be a raft of unintended consequences from this sledgehammer approach.

I'm sorry but I don't believe you! Where there Is a will there's a way.
You don't want to do it - fine - sell up or move into yourself. But don't expect anyone to feel sympathy for you. The only people I feel sympathy for are your poor tenants who will be made homeless at no fault of their own and who have had to live in a substandard house!

My landlady sold to me. At market value. I got a bargain and it was an easy transaction.

You paid market value. Not sure why you see that as a bargain!

Homeowners who live in Victorian houses won't have to do this though.

I'm a landlord
Just looked up the epc on my property and the suggestions for improvements.... Currently grade d. One of the suggestions is floor insulation. Cost estimate £4000-£6000 yearly saving £37!
Ridiculous.

This is absurd, a house not meeting a totally arbitrary govt mandated EPC target does not make it a substandard house. The fact you say where there is a will there is a way suggests you don't in fact have a good understanding of the incoming regs and what they mean.