To think rent increases “because of inflation” are immoral when many landlords own outright?

[RentRealityCheck]

I keep seeing rent hikes justified with “inflation”, even where the landlord has no mortgage and their costs haven’t meaningfully increased. At that point it feels like pure profit-taking, passed directly onto tenants who already have no leverage and with huge knock-on effects for stability, mental health, family life and society more broadly.

AIBU to think this isn’t just market forces but greed and that pretending otherwise ignores the damage being done?

If a landlord is overcharging don't rent from that landlord. If you can't find cheaper in the same area that implies they were not overcharging. If you still do not want to pay the designated amount move to another area or buy.

Not really. It's their property. They can charge what they want.

Exactly
I just did a quick search on rightmove and there are over 3000 properties up to 150k within 10 miles of my postcode for sale

I looked on Rightmove 53 properties that are £150000 and under so it wholly depends on where you live.

That's one way of looking at it or foreign investors buying up all the properties, causing scarcity in the housing rental market, driving up rents and not contributing anything to the community is another way of putting it!

£100 a month on what basis? If you look on Zoopla at our borough, the most expensive place is on for £4,500 a month, and the cheapest at £500. So 100 quid would be a 2% hike for some and a 20% hike for others.

Rising costs are always passed on to customers. In food shops, pubs and restaurants anywhere, the end user always ends up paying.

I was listening to You and Yours yesterday and was interested to learn that actually the number of property available for rent has stayed more or less the same, in spite of the recent changes in policy. However, the amount and rate of recent immigration has pushed demand sky high, it's mainly a question of supply and demand.

As a one time 'accidental' landlord I always smile wryly to myself at the image of the money pouring in, and I'm extremely happy that I am not longer a landlord. Bear in mind that landlords are having to upgrade all their properties to a certain energy efficiency standard within the next 4 years, so many will be making provision to pay for for that in current rents.

When you say it’s not a business , what incentive is there for people to buy to rent. In an ideal world people wouldn’t need a profit from rental income but they do. The income is less than placing the money into a bank account when all expenses are taken into out. What needs to happen is more council houses built and available.

Merseyside

So what do you think of people who sell food, or water companies. Do you think they have a particular mindset of making money out of the provision of food and clean water and profiting off their business when children are going hungry

You do realise that a lot of what you would call council housing is actually owned by private landlords renting their properties to councils.

So many people on this thread are in the wrong country. They would be happier in a communist place.

Yes - food, clean water and shelter are basic human needs. Is there any level at which profit is acceptable for their provision? What about medicine?

If you don't want to be subject to market forces and how they shape supply and demand I'd suggest moving to a communist country. All your basic needs (food, shelter, housing) will be provided for as no one owns anything. Whatever labour you do is considered equal to the other so no one is richer and no need for wealth taxes.

British public has lost the plot - just feels like baying for communism these days..I'm quite happy to live in a country where ambition can have some type of reward (though disappearing daily)

All these things are happening precisely f**king where in the UK!

Talk about hyperbolic f**wittery of the highest order.

Did you actually grow up in London, pre global city and how long ago as you do realise the large swathes of the place were Socialist in outlook and tbh still are!

Yes completely agree. It’s just a sign of immaturity in my experience, some people get jobs, move out of their parents houses, have children of their own and contribute to society ..,and some people over 30 vote Labour. It’s not a coincidence Labour are giving children the vote.

What are you on about? Of course is a right. You have the right to be a landlord. You have the right to buy a house and let it for tenancy. You have obligations and responsibilities towards your tenants, Home Office, mortgage company, utilities, Safety regulations, DPS and so on. Who or what stops you from doing that?

I suppose the landlords without mortgages need to compare what they get from rent with what they would get from selling the house and investing the money elsewhere e.g. in shares.

But surely given she has a flat, that is the freeholders job and all the flats would be done at the same time and the cost shared between the leaseholders. Can’t understand why it was just her paying for this given the biggest expense would have been the scaffolding

Yes! The assault on ambition and telling people when they have "enough" income, the cheers at a millionaires tax for people who have high value homes, the demand for inheritance tax to redistribute wealth are all about telling people the state can take from you at any time.. that they will no longer allow your children (or whoever you'd like to receive your lives work) a financial bead start in life. Capitalism is exploitive by nature. And what, that is fine so long as you're not being exploited but happy to buy the shite from Primark that is covered in the tears of Chinese factory workers?

I do think a lot of Brits are making a rod for their own back. The othering of those with wealth fundamentally misunderstands what motivates people to succeed. We are truly in benefits Britain where people are expected to work to subsidise others rather than raise themselves up... To be told when they've made "enough" money and what profit is acceptable for a service they're providing. It's a total joke and economically and emotionally hurting. I've worked all my life but even I work less now as what is the actual point when I get told I've already made enough, therefore should lose all benefits and should feel pleased I'm helping others when my own kids go without..zero incentive here.I'm tired of pretending we aren't moving to a new ideological place. Everyone who expects free state housing or to tell a person how much they should charge for rent is a communist and not a socialist whether they like it or not. When you demonsise people for ownership and expect us all to be equal and that no one should ever be too wealthy that is the ideology you support (whether you paid attention in History or not)

British public has lost the plot - just feels like baying for communism these days..I'm quite happy to live in a country where ambition can have some type of reward (though disappearing daily)

To be fair, I think we've just lived in a period of time where the Left have successfully managed to persuade the silent majority that certain types of beliefs must be packaged together -- two such beliefs being marxism and so-called anti-racism.

Take heart though. People all over the western world are starting to wise up to this.

Do you honestly believe that all your stock market investments are completely ethical? And calling those who invest in property less intelligent than you is laughable.Rental property owned without a mortgage by someone who can look after them themselves is still a valid option for making money. Why would people not strive to make money with minimal day to day effort? Imo they are the intelligent ones.

I don't really see any logic here. The utilities and supermarkets can put their prices up to cover their rising costs but landlords can't? Why not? What's different about landlords?

And if I'd bought a house in 1982 and rented it out you could still be paying 1982 rent prices.

I think you haven't really thought it through. The truth is you don't want your rent to go up which I understand. But it's not the landlord's fault or in their control. They did not create inflation.

I think it would make rental properties very difficult to come by. Then where would you be? As it is, it's not a very attractive business to be in

(Indeed, I am looking after a house I am choosing to leave empty rather than deal with red tape and entitled tenants. I'll sell it in the Spring, I guess).

Absolutely not. Why should landlords take a cut in invoice in real terms they’re not running a charity.

Plus when the boiler needs work or replacing or the electrics or any of the other things landlords have to pay for they won’t be the same prices anymore, they’ll cost more.

So landlords bills will go up and they’re supposed to not put prices up and make a loss??

totally unreasonable.