Small landlords selling off isn't a great news after all

[Goingindrain]

My landlord is a small landlord, just owns his house and the one where we live. He is a nice man and charges us below the market rate rent.
He is fed up of all the anti landlord rules and has decided to sell. It seems he had an offer from FTB and then a big corporation put in an offer 10k over and he's selling it off to them via the agents.
I am worried about the rent going up and it's not a great news for tenants.

Problem is they can’t replenish the stock they lose via right to buy.

This is the sort of shite my dad believes too. A council block of flats moved tenants on a while back, and he was convinced it was to move "the boat people" in. It was because the buildings needed a lot of extensive and timely work.
Can't convince him otherwise though.

It's called enshittification where these large players flush with cheap cash can buy out anyone and just raise prices - it creates a renty economy where the public pay more and more for less and less.

Unfortunately the only solution is capital controls but then major parties would have the newspapers on their backs saying they are anti business and anticapitalists.

I don’t think you’re being asked to cry a tear for that person. The fact is, that person was a relatively reasonable landlord. Now replaced by massive businesses, often based abroad. Treating tenants a whole lot worse. Mr Audi has probably sold the six properties and emigrated.

Part of this thing where a lot of landlords are selling up has come about because interest rates have gone up so there's not as much easy money in it. A lot of landlords think themselves as very benevolent, while somebody else was basically paying off their mortgage. So no sympathy from me, except for the tenants who in many cases are now left with nowhere to live. My cousin is in a situation where the landlord is selling the place from under them so they have to put up with viewings while still paying full rent- he should get a discount!

So this must be lies.

https://www.serco.com/uk/sites/serco-aasc/landlords

Landlord haters (whose perspective I do understand, I rented for 10 years) should have been careful what they wished for. Having Blackrock as your landlord may be far worse than a normal person renting out their old flat.

Accidentsl landlord from inheritance. Reluctant to sell as want to move there when retired . But the stress and cost of compliance make it hard to see what else to do . Ironically until.recently someone had lived there in comfort and style but would need retro fitting to comply . If I had tenants and needed to sell in 3 years or move in myself , where would they go? No social housing in the area or 10 year plus waits and of course in the meantime, paying rent even modest, means they can't save .

I’m not saying it’s lies. I’m saying be careful what you believe. A lot of people are out to blame “foreigners” for everything because it suits them

Didn’t Angela Rayner’s new regulations say that Landlords weren’t able
to ban either animals or children from rental properties?

I agree, many moons ago DH and I rented from a really decent landlord belowish market rate for almost 5 years. Allowed us as young professionals to save up and get on the property ladder. He was a good man, even popped over to see our new house and baby years later. Always fixed things quickly and left us to it. Although there are terrible landlords there are a lot of decent ones too and future rental market is in trouble.

What most tenants wanted was to be able to rent a well maintained property, that was up the utilities regulations, Where they could be long term renters and not have to worry about maintaining the building and not be kicked out when they needed something fixing within a set time frame.

But this is what all the anti-landlord labour voting people wanted so

Even though the Conservative party started most of the changes?

Same with funeral directors. One by one they’re getting taken over by national companies.

It seemed so, then there would be more available to buy… but if course it was never going to work out that way.

This is such a low IQ comment. You may dislike landlords personally. But incentives and trade offs resulting from poor legislation have negative repercussions that may even affect you. Fewer small portfolio landlords is not a good thing for people who have to rent

They can not choose you if there’s a choice though

Like Right to Buy - because that went well.

It's a fact that companies like Serco and Mears are awarded multimillion pound contracts by the Home Office to "disperse" small boat migrants throughout the country. Landlords of Houses in Multiple Occupancy properties have been offered guaranteed tenants for long term contracts by Mears and Serco, all maintenance and faff paid for. There was a piece on this in the Financial times recently.

This affects the housing supply available for other people. During a housing crisis, this is a bad thing. If there are 50 four bedroom rental properties available in a small town, and Sears seduces 10 landlords into housing asylum seekers in them, there are now 40 properties of this kind available to rent. Ergo, fewer people will be able to find a rental. This is basic economics.

It’s the tenants suffering. Landlords sell up and skip off with the proceeds.

It was on the ITV News. Single mother was evicted from rental to accommodate male Afghan asylum seekers. The reporter went to the house and spoke to one of the men. He spoke English and had no idea that a family had been kicked out. To be fair he was quite shocked that this had happened

You seem to be missing the point. It's not the landlord anyone is worried about - it's the tenants. The lack of rental properties and the cost. I rent out one house that used to be my home in Cornwall. Definitely won't be doing any wall insulation etc to move it from a EPC D to a C when that requirement comes in so if it can no longer be rented it will go. No need to feel sorry for me. I'll get the wodge of equity - it's the tenant and people that can't find a rental that have a problem.

I agree with a previous poster - if there is plentiful affordable social housing then you can squeeze landlords. When there is a massive shortage of rentals it is madness.

We are small landlords and will probably stick it out. In one of our properties the tenants have been there for 10+ years. Their children are adults now: they have had long term stability and we’ve had good trouble free tenants. Where we are in London social housing is scarce so if we sold up they would probably have to move out of London as we are charging a bit below market rent.

Who benefits from over regulating until we quit? Our tenants will never be in a position to buy where they are as they are close to retirement age. Nobody would give them a mortgage.

I’m a small landlord and only have one property . It’s just not worth being a landlord anymore . There are so many rules , regulations, legalities and certifications to be had together with higher taxes before you even get to maintenance and general costs . As above my Tennant has been there a long time and she can’t afford to buy a property and never will as a single older care worker , she can’t afford current market rents and where would she go if I sold up .

Yep, said on many a thread that this will be a bad thing, but shouted down by people who hate landlords irrationally.

For some reason people have got it into their heads that a massive corporation landlord is going to be more humane and cheaper than a landlord with a couple of properties or only one.

Lets find out shall we!