Emergency rent freeze laws passed !!??

[happyfishcoco]

Emergency rent freeze laws passed in Scotland
and Welsh maybe follow.

YABU = vote agree to rent freeze
YANBU = vote for not agree to rent freeze

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-63164850.amp

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-63131075.amp

As others have pointed out on this thread, owning property can be expensive and restrictive and this has nothing to do with BTL landlords driving up prices.

Some people will never be able to raise the deposit, stamp duty and fees to buy a house in the area they would like to live. To assume that this is always possible is misleading.

Lots of homeowners have had very expensive things go wrong with the house and had to stump up large amounts of cash unexpectedly. They have had years in negative equity when house prices have dropped and struggled to remortgage when interest rates have risen. Property isn't always an asset and it can feel very much like a very expensive liability that you can't offload easily when it all goes wrong.

And lots prefer to rent. Interfering with the market like the Scottish government has done is creating chaos.

This is going to lead to homelessnesses. Landlords who are barely making enough to live on will be remortgaging and now not have enough to pay their higher mortgage costs. They’ll need to sell if they can’t cover their own mortgage plus their BTL. Just to be clear, I’m really talking about accidental landlords, not so much those who do it as a business.

There's a massive shortage of rental properties in Edinburgh and Glasgow and this proposal will just make it worse. Radio Scotland was reporting that there is very high demand for rental properties with landlords receiving hundreds of queries for each property. Renters in Glasgow were offering to pay over the advertised rental price just to secure a property. The whole situation is a nightmare. I feel most sorry for the students who don't have parental support and cannot afford to pay high rents. I heard on the radio last week that some students have been living in their cars until they can get a room somewhere.

Scotland freeze happened ages ago and will likely be extended if the Westminster government keep scoring own goals against the economy.

Goes back to my original point 100% percent mortgages are on their way.

For some people that will work out really well and for other people who lead chaotic lives it will end in absolute disaster but it keeps the money merry-go-round going around.

The absolute last thing the government wants is people being able to retire on unearned income. And far too many people in their mid to late 50s have done that in the last two years so any obstacles that they can put in their place they will.

It's too blunt a tool.

So someone who has good tenants and has kept the rent deliberately low can't raise it slightly to cover increased costs (likely meaning they sell the property).

But if you've already got in and whacked it up you are fine.

Surely better to establish an independent body or structure to ensure rents are fair and reasonable

My neighbour is an unintentional landlord. He is on secondment from another part of the UK. Originally 12 months, now likely to be 3 years.

His situation is simple. He has let his house at a rate that covers his mortgage, and costs, while he rents a temporary home here. He isn't making a profit from the property he rents out, it simply covers its costs. If that ceases to be the case, he has no choice but to raise the rent or sell, because he doesn't have any spare income to magically cover an increased mortgage.

Being unable to raise the rent would mean he sells, evicting the tenant in the process. He would then buy here for himself and his family.

The only loser is the tenant who would be homeless. The "landlords are all evil profiteers" theory is hopelessly inaccurate.

I rented for years and certainly didn’t consider myself a victim. Get over yourself

Who will buy though, whoever it is it will be firesale prices not the bubble prices many landlords borrowed at.

Nightmare

This is the outcome huge spike in demand over places available

His situation is far from simple, if the tenant knows their tenancy law they can stay longer that he might wish, a lot longer, and he will be trying to sell the most illiquid asset of them all into possibly the biggest housing price crash in history, his best bet is to subsidise the tenant for a while TBH.

Being unable to raise the rent would mean he sells, evicting the tenant in the process. He would then buy here for himself and his family.

Thereby freeing up a rental property there 🤷‍♀️

It will be interesting to see if overseas landlords withdraw from the market too.

Like I say, a long time has passed since I bought my btl. Rent was £650 back then including fees to live within a hour of London.

I rent personally because my current house is worth around 500k and I couldn't have offorded to live here ( where work is) if I had to buy 20 years ago. I still can't. It suits me. I bought the cheapest house in the cheapest area at the same time to stay on the property ladder. I had to save the deposit for four years. Like I say. That was a world away from now.

Housing crash, why are there plans for lots of new house building?

I did hear somewhere that Truss isn't precious about greenbelts, but I haven't heard of any significant plans to build, build, build!

Approximately 50% of rented properties were sold in the post covid boom. Did prices fall?

People always say it’s ‘supply and demand’ but it’s not that straightforward for property, because it’s not usually bought outright. The availability and cost of credit is a big factor that drives property price up. I
imagine there are others.

@Bumpitybumper how is it the tenant’s problem that the landlord has an interest only mortgage so has opted not to pay towards the asset? Seems like a bad decision or worse on the part of the LL

"why are there plans for lots of new house building?"

Maybe the government want this obviously planned housing price correction to go on for longer?

Definitely agree.

We looked into renting recently and they are astronomically huge. Landlords are making a fortune.

Private landlords are on a hiding to nothing, regulations, taxation and management cost take all the income, that is if you have good tenants, bad tenants can be a nightmare.

I don't agree with rent control, what should happen is there should be enough council properties to house all the families that claim universal credit or housing benefit. This would then naturally bring down the price of both buying and renting homes.

The fact that the government gives millions to private landlords, through the benefits their tenants claim, to pay their mortgages whilst also propping up the housing market with all the buying schemes shows just how corrupt the system is.

A friend of mine lives in a 3 bedroom ex council house, and pays 1300 per month, she receives 800 in benefits towards that rent. We would all be better off if she lived in a council house and was paying £500 rent to the council/government instead.

But this will never happen as too many MPs have the fingers in the property pie, and homeowners don't want prices to go down, even though it doesn't affect their home in the slightest.

For example we were quote £1400 monthly rent for a tiny house that had sold during the summer for £180,000.

You'll be queuing up behind the overseas buyers who are wetting their lips to buy in. Cash in hand.

You seriously have no idea. I just checked my spread sheet, I'm currently running at a £170 loss since April. I had some unexpected expenses earlier in the year, plus insurance which is 4 months worth of my 'profit' gone. Assuming no more expenses and only a gradual continuing increase in interest rates I will make a few hundred this year.

If I sell at current prices I will make a reasonable sum of money minus CGT on the increase in value of my property.

But I definitely don't consider a few hundred pounds a year a 'fortune'.

It's a long slow burning investment at the best of times, but all these new restrictions that have, and will be coming in make it pointless. I'll just sell and stick the money in diverse stocks and shares.

www.thenational.wales/news/20016125.owns-wales-wales-biggest-landlords-based-england/