To think landlords who own multiple properties are part of the housing crisis?

[ByArtfulOliveDuck]

Is it unreasonable to say that having a portfolio of rental homes is unethical in a housing shortage?

No agree too small. They need to be a lot more flexible. Most Victorian properties had 3 beds.
Love your username……oh so true 🤯

I've seen them extended to put in an upstairs bathroom, downstairs for an extended kitchen. They're cosy and cheaper to heat. The soundproofing is better in old terraces too.

I like the terraces with a central quadrangle for owners to enjoy.

Oh yes I’m in agreement with you there!
Like the old squares in London. I’m thinking the film Nottinghill @Bedford Square.
I would definitely design them like that.

This thread blows my mind.

i know several people on basic salaries of £200-350k basic, before whopping big bonuses, who CHOOSE to rent.

They do not want the hassle of home ownership. If the boiler blows up their landlord pays, same if the guttering, roof, dishwasher or windows blow. They don’t have time to deal with this crap.

They want to be mobile in terms of moving away in the UK or abroad if that’s better for their career and family. Without being burdened with punitive SDLT whenever required to move again.

they do not want the hassle of being a landlord themselves if required to move somewhere else temporarily, the risk of tenants not paying / trashing their home / upsetting the neighbours.

one family’s HOME near me being rented out for £5k a month was turned into a bloody cannabis farm. Wife on verge of divorcing husband who was told by his employer that he had to do this international secondment ‘for the sake of his future career’.

No agree too small. They need to be a lot more flexible. Most Victorian properties had 3 beds.

And no bathroom. The third bedroom became the bathroom.

'Too small' depends on who is going to live in it. A 2-bed Victorian or Edwardian terrace is ideal for a single person or young couple pre-kids or with one baby.

The reason I said too small has nothing to do with family size and everything to do with being more flexible. If you’re building new you want to appeal to a wider demographic and want the property to stand the test of time if the local demographic changes.

Weve put ground fl extensions on for terraces with a smaller 3bedroom and divided up the 3rd bedroom to accommodate a bathroom too if it’s big enough. I grew up in one just like that .

We have a lot of tiny terraces in our area. They're snapped up immediately. The modern box estate 3 bedroom houses, however, take some selling, people even lose money on them.

A builder is trying to sell some family homes for £700k here which is astonishing. You can get beautiful homes with big gardens built a few decades ago for less than that.

Pointless question because "ALL" the landlords will never sell up!

There are lots of people wanting to buy who constantly lose out to developers and landlords, so those would be able to buy if the landlords left the purchasing market and gave room for current renters to buy.

There'd be fewer landlords and fewer rental properties, but also fewer people wanting to rent as they'll have been able to buy.

With house prices and interest rates now I doubt any landlords would get enough return from rent to cover a repayment mortgage. I think most tenants are paying less in rent than they would be in a mortgage unless they have a large deposit.

I worked out that my return on capital (I own the properties outright) is 4% after I have paid for maintenance not accounting for the time I spend sorting stuff out. That's fine by me as I hate share investments but I would never do it if I had to mortgage. Way too much risk.

@ChallahPlaiter but you are correct. The government should stop wasting our money on rental payments to private landlords and increase the supply of social housing. Housing benefit to private landlords should be temporary and just gets paid if someone is out of work for a little while.

I think many landlords don't want to rent to tenants on benefits as they aren't able to cope with the issues that can arise but the government is changing the law to prevent them from refusing.

It’s already unlawful under the 2010 Equalities Act.

Does that include value increases?

There was a report recently on the quality of housing being provided by one of the largest landowners in the country.

It was shocking reading - and the landlord? The Duchy of Cornwall.

Large portfolio landlords are far from a guarantee of a decent home and I've seen some truly appalling HA properties so they are no sure thing either.

Legislation to raise standards is there but it is rarely enforced.

I certainly think that alongside building/buying more council homes and social housing association homes, we need to be aiming towards rule changes that mean the govt will only pay/subsidise rental payments for council/HA homes and not private landlords. That would mean the taxpayer money stayed within the public/social sector and wasn't lining the pockets of private landlords. Of course, private landlords would be free to rent to tenants who were paying their own rent and not relying on benefits to do so.

Depends where properties are. There have been no increases in value in London since 2016. Decreases only unless you’ve done a decent extension. Just like 2009-2012 again…

And that is why so many private landlords are leaving the sector. Why should they be forced to rent to people who won’t pay or who will trash their property?

should shops be forced to provide free goods to people who won’t pay or who trash their store/stock?

And don’t get me started on local housing authorities who subject their leaseholders to shocking conditions and lack of any maintenance. Private landlord could not get away with this, but Labour run housing authorities can do wtf they like!

I know a blanket refusal is unlawful under the equalities act but you are still able to evaluate individual financial circumstances. I wonder exactly what the renters rights bill will do on top of that.

I think one of the advantages is that the house value should keep up with inflation.

But that won't help with a repayment mortgage and any realised gain will be taxed as a profit for a business (I think) or a capital gain for an individual.

Is there a need for social housing in your area?

Of course.

Running housing as a massively profitable business pushes up demand and therefore cost.

I'm sure individual landlords will deny they do this, but if you look at the collective mass behaviour it is true.

Oh it was a genuine question (I’m also a landlord) -
just seemed to be a low return and was wondering how you landed on it.

How is an Airbnb worse than a second home? At least a holiday let creates something for the local economy as it’s not sitting empty most of the year.
Genuine question…

It’s the tax on the landlords that is whacking the cost up! Insurance, maintenance , service charge ms all been rocketing up.

Are you a landlord or do the accounts/tax for one or more that can add credibility to your comment?