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?

It takes a residential property out of the normal rental market. Supply of long term rental homes decreases even more (after s24 changes killed it for the main supply)

I genuinely struggle with the notion that providing somewhere for people to have nice holidays is morally bankrupt 😂

once again - the problem is the poor management of population levels and available housing

why on earth are people aspiring to a society where it’s a bad thing for people to go on nice mini breaks!

It's a lower return becuase of avoiding flats (hate leasehold) and hmos (too much trouble) and it's a total return so takes account of all the money spent on stamp duty etc. Look I am happy with it but renting houses out doesn't seem the best business if you want really high returns.

Why on earth would a landlord pay above asking price? That is just a fantasy myth. It doesn’t make any kind of financial sense. They would be losing money from day one. the rent wouldn’t even cover the debt. Where do people get these crazy ideas from? It’s about year five maths level.

Huh? Who said anything about paying over asking price? The couple came round, talked to his grandparents about their plans to live in the house, start a family there etc, then did the house up in a matter of weeks and let it out at high rental prices. I assure you it's not a fantasy or myth. I know these people. They were gutted that their family house was being used in this way, as they had said from the start they would not sell to developers even for a higher price. They desperately wanted the house they had spent 50+ years, & where they had raised their family to continue to be a family home. In the end they had to accept it wasn't going to be the case, but it was very hard on them emotionally for a while.

By "pushing cost up", I meant the existence of landlords pushes up the cost of buying a house as they create more demand.

E.g.
https://www.property118.com/bank-of-england-sounds-house-price-crash-warning-if-landlords-sell-up/

https://www.mortgagefinancegazette.com/features/influence-buy-let-uk-housing-06-02-2017/

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2024/mar/19/end-of-landlords-surprisingly-simple-solution-to-uk-housing-crisis

But to answer your question (which wasn't my point): https://www.buyassociationgroup.com/en-gb/news/landlord-profits-rise/

Yes, Airbnb has a lot to answer for.

Another reason for the shortage of family houses is that they are being bought up by buy to let landlords for university students because so many people are going to university. Thanks to Tony Blair's target of having everyone and his dog go.

Buy to let landlords can get a lot more money from students and so can pay a lot of money for the houses which puts them out of reach of ordinary families.

It is also turning lots of areas in a university into student ghettos.

We need to stop so many people going to university and lots of universities need to be closed down. It is cost in the country a fortune giving out loans to students that will never be paid back.

If they are letting it to students as houses of multiple occupation they can get a lot of rent.

Yes but lots of expenses setting it up, most councils now insist on a licensing agreement which is very expensive.

For me personally it is unethical but I’m sure others don’t think so. It’s all about what your personal views are.

Usually such people will be spotted straight away because they would be getting a buy to let mortgage. Very bad luck

I know every landlord on MN only ever charges below market rent and fixes every problem very quickly but in the real world, that isn’t really. Statistics show people are renting and paying significant sums of money for poor living conditions.

It is outrageous that wages are so low, working people need housing benefit / UC housing element to cover their rent. It lines the pockets of landlords. It either goes towards their asset or their personal income. I don’t really care if people argue it’s not that much. It shouldn’t be this way at all. I wish there was enough social housing for everyone. The rent should go towards building a pot to maintain the housing stock and to build more. At the moment, the money is going straight from the government to the pockets of private landlords.

many social housing landlords are appalling and far worse than private landlords

Some pay cash
Some pay cash then convert to a buy to let after.
Others don’t have to tell the sellers or the sellers solicitors what type of mortgage they are getting as its personal

There was a documentary I caught a few months London council. The walls were black and running with water. Everything in the flat went mouldy very quickly. The family in there seemed broken by it all.

Yes I am sure. I am commenting on tax payers lining the pockets of private landlords and the tenants are still living in poor conditions.

Terraces can be OK but hard decisions are going to have to be made about transportation.

Around public transport stops, the UK should build a mixture of terraces with apartment blocks, and have strict covenants and local rules that stop people in these areas owning cars or make it deliberately difficult.

OR, for areas further away from public transport, accept that most people who live there will want a car, and build houses that have offstreet parking, so not a traditional terrace. Although you can do semi-terraced options where part of the house is "built over" the garage.

Neighborhoods consisting of row after row of terraces with no offstreet parking are awful - neither one thing nor the other. They are not dense enough to create a situation where people could conceivably live without a car, so everyone owns a car, but there is also no offstreet parking so cars are jammed all over the narrow streets and all over the pavement. The UK needs to be knocking these areas down, not building more of them.

Yeah the housing crisis has nothing to with a rapidly growing population, mainly immigration adding a city the size of Leeds to the country each year. And not building homes to house the incomers.

Nothing at all to do with that.

Because that would be too logical and rational. And we must try to engage in intellectual contortionism and deliberately ignore the real reason in favour of nonsense made up ones.

@GreenTeaLikesMe No one will like that. I managed getting around by walking and using buses for years and years. When I finally got a car it was pretty life changing. I could do so much more in a day and easily go pleasant walks in the countryside. Buses simply can not replace that ease.

And the growth of ever larger cars is not helping. I drive down residential streets that have room for cars to park either side. But those massive cars people are getting are making this much trickier.

The UK needs light urban rail and trams, not buses!
Other European countries seem to manage this!

Higher population densities (which is what I meant when I said you need apartment blocks in these urban-core areas as well as terraces) mean you end up with more stuff within walking distance, because it means you have a sufficiently large consumer base to make it economically feasible. So it becomes easy for people to lead pleasant and convenient lives without a car if they want to.

For those who prefer a more suburban, driving-based lifestyle, of course that is a valid choice, and that is why we should also provide and build more suburban housing (with plenty of offstreet parking) as well, for those people who prefer that.

Best comment ever.

@GreenTeaLikesMe lots of cities now have trams. We also need buses.
Using shops and restaurants you can walk to sounds nice, and I have that close to me. But it limits choice. Where I live has population density, plus chain restaurants and some shops. But I hate chain restaurants so go by car to eat out. I think when people think about being able to walk to things, they think of a wealthy area with nice independent restaurants and interesting shops. Not Nandos, Greggs and Heron Foods.

Agree.
‘Housing’ cars is always a nightmare. Obviously multi storey car parks is one way but for terraces I think the only way is to make the lower level tandem parking then you live above with a separate solution for the disabled.
If streets are one way then we don’t waste more land on roads which will also go some way to reduce hard standing and hence flooding

Ps
Like mews housing