Where are all the rental properties?

[Butteryflakycrust83]

A few years ago when we moved, Rightmove would be updating easily 20 or so properties a day. There were many to choose from, and it was relatively easy to find yourself as a first viewer.

I always like to keep an eye on what's on the market and for the least year, I would say a mile radius now has probably 2-3 properties a week. Initially we put this down to reluctance to move during lockdown, but what is causing the shortage now?

Are people reluctant to move while the economy is so unstable?
Are LLs selling properties instead?

As a private renter I always have a worry that if we were to be given notice, we would seriously struggle to find somewhere. I saw a family who have had to buy a tent because they cannot find any properties in their area.

Curious as to thoughts as to what has happened for the stock to drop so dramatically?

Landlords should be in it for the long haul. 10 years plus at least. If there not they should not be a landlord. People should not be being kicked out of their HOMES so greedy landlords can make massive profits.
Housing should not be a profit making scheme it is a basic human right.

I would have had no issue with being licensed when I was a landlord.
If you make all leases long term you will reduce the housing stock available and not everyone wants a five year lease.
It isn't that you can't make these choices so much as they often have unintended consequences.
I don't see how keeping my house out of the rental pool would have actually helped anyone.

More social housing is an obvious answer to the issue. Increasingly restrictive landlord rules are unlikely to actually create the wanted changes.

How rude you are. Op gave you a comprehensive list of why landlords are selling and why there is a rental shortage. I agree with them. Landlords are leaving the business. I'm staying in the business for the time being but my brother has sold 6 as it's not returning the appropriate profit and the risks are escalating. I know others who are also leaving. I don't know what will happen to those people needing/wanting to rent, because there is very little availability in the social sector and now very little in the PRS.

Tenants should at least have the option of having a long term tenancy. Moving every six months on the whim of the landlord is not affordable and prevents people Being able to save for deposits.
And if your property was rented out for five years it would be in the pool of properties as it's providing a home for someone.

@Ballcactus no private renting? Where do you think everyone would live? All our tenants are people who can’t afford a deposit to buy but aren’t ever likely to get a council property. Where would they live if they didn’t have the option of private renting?

We ended up renting our house out for five years but initially it was for three years and if we had had unforeseen circumstances we would have needed it potentially sooner.

Compulsory time limits would have meant our house stood empty for those five years we rented it out.

I'm not particularly against time limits but I can only imagine that practically it is likely to reduce the supply of rental accommodation further.

It is the supply of social rentals that need to be increased not more and more draconian landlord measures if you actually want more rental accommodation, which was what the thread was discussing.

I agree, let's make energy and food free too . . .

@Lineala nobody said anything about making it free! But it does need to be affordable for everyone. On the whole food is and if it isn't there are places to go such as food banks to get help.
There is no safety net for renters. All we want is to have somewhere in a decent state of repair for a reasonable price we can call home

I was a landlord once as I had to move and my flat had negative equity. I didn't make any profit but it covered the mortgage payments until the lovely single parent I let to last wrecked the flat. Radiators kicked in and carpets ruined by her cat amongst other things. Cost me 5 grand to put right and 3 months to get her out when she stopped paying rent. Her deposit was the princely sum of £350.

I am sure most tenants are fine but landlords just aren't protected from the bad ones. Social housing should never have been sold off but we will always need private rentals for short term lets and for those who are not lucky enough to get a social housing offer. I agree that leaving homes empty is criminal.

We will need to build more social housing and stop people being able to buy it. If you don't want private landlords then it's the only alternative. But it's how far down the scale you want to go. Should supermarkets and farmers be banned from turning a profit if we see food as a human right? It has to be a balance and currently the situation is driving out landlords and reducing supply.

I don't know why the link hasn't been made that 10 years ago this was a profitable business venture (and yes, we want business minded people as landlords).
Also 10 years ago there was a lot of housing stock to rent.
Now, it's not a profitable venture in lots of cases. The people who want to run a business don't see a benefit in it.
Now, we don't have enough houses to rent.

So, to solve the problem, either the council needs to provide more social housing, or the sector is reformed to make it appeal as a business venture. if neither of those things happen, homelessness increases.

A roof over your head is already a human right in the UK, if you are homeless the local council is obliged to house you, it may not be what you desire but you will get a bed for the night.
If you have no money they will feed you as well, that’s why migrants try so hard to get here, they are treated so well.

I agree with this.

As a previous private renter, I have always defended landlords on mumsnet threads because they provided me with a product I wanted. I always had a choice over the location and style of house I wanted within the parameters of my budget and the market was competitive. I was not at a point in my life where I wanted to be responsible for expensive maintenance and when I wanted to move I could do so with a month's notice.

There is no way I would have qualified for a council house, and I would have been lucky to end up with a bedsit or house share.

I don't blame them for getting out if they can't make money from it. The ones left can charge what they like. It doesn't help private renters. When I do a search now, there are two, possibly three properties I would consider.

There are a grand total of 3 properties of any kind currently to rent in my town.

Tenants by Vicky Spratt is an interesting read on this topic. The answers are complicated

I own a flat and would love to find decent tenants! I've had 2 lots of awful tenants in the last 2 years. Who've caused so much damage that in January I had to pay 4K to replace ovens, carpets windows, plumbing that were new when I moved out.

I also would like to sell, as it's a hassle to get new tenants and hope and pray that they keep it nice and don't abuse it.

I was actually thinking it might be worth just paying the council tax myself and keep it empty!! Madness

I was thinking of selling too. It's a lovely place and I keep it very well maintained.

I used to volunteer at asylum seekers drop in. They get around £5 per day . I dont think that is enviable at all.

Why the UK is a preferred destination for economic migrants is not because it is a nice place to live as a poor person. In fact it is the opposite. It is however an easy place to get cash in hand work. We don't even have ID cards. We also have poor labour protection laws. Many migrants end up staying with family or friends in overcrowded conditions when they first move here. Most locals would be unwilling to live the way they do

In germany, the rentals are long term. The tenancy agreement my DH and I signed as a newly married couple in Berlin was for the rest of our lives. We moved back to London 7 months later but got a friend to take over the tenancy.

My DH was a student in Berlin but he always managed to rent his own apartment privately even though the rentals were long term. So do most students. in fact, as a 32 year old man, my DH's only experience of the rental sector was in Germany. He has never lived in a flat share as he could afford to rent his own apartment in Berlin even when surviving on Student Loan Company payments. He grew up in London and moved back to London after his studies in Germany where we lived with his mother before we bought a flat together. He did not understand my obsession with buying property, he thought me very silly as his experience of renting was so good that he thought it was excellent and aspirational to rent long term. I had a better idea, as I rented privately in London as a student and was once locked in with my landlord who refused to change the lock until the lock fell apart in his hands. This was for an ex council flat and the landlord charged £2080 per month back in 2012. I always warn him not to extol the virtues of renting in the UK to British people given that he has never rented in the UK before!

No it isn't. The local authority has no obligation to house people unless they are a priority need. I.e. they have children under 18, they have a disability or illness that would make them a higher risk of harm as a street homeless person, unintentionally homeless and with a local connection (with exceptions). Migrants are not treated well in this country, you really shouldn't spout such nonsense. They receive around £5 a day and are not allowed to work legally until they have receive acceptance as a refugee, which sometimes takes several years. Not to mention the fact they may soon be finding themselves deported to Rwanda, which isn't too hot on human rights, particularly if you're LGBTQ+.

I live in an old building it was an epc F when I bought it. Having spent 20K or so over the years (insulation, more insulation, energy saving lightbulbs, efficient boiler and solar panels) it's now a C. I don't think I could get it to a B TBH.

My friend who was sectioned due to her acute mental health problems is unable to be housed by the council even though she was homeless (and sleeping rough on many days) prior to being sectioned. This is because she has £50k in premium bonds from her divorce (it was a much larger amount but cos she was manic, she seems to have spent it all and she was so vulnerable that people also stole from her). Also she is a hoarder so I don't think any private landlord with his/her head screwed on would rent a flat to her, plus she has no income (and no ability to get a job due to her mental illness). Its a difficult question. She will have access to supportive accommodation for a few weeks but due to her assets, she will be asked to find a private rental without income or a guarantor. She was already evicted when she was a lodger at her ex's father's house, they just changed the locks on her, this made her mental health much worse than it was originally.

I really don't know what to do about her :( She is in hospital now so she is safe but what about the future? Surely she deserves a roof over her head.

It's no longer a good investment to rent property. I'm in a position where I could have invested in properties for long term rent (my pension is rubbish) but I've gone with investments instead from my divorce settlement. Not being able to deduct the mortgage etc means it's not profitable

You can deduct finance costs providing your income is below the upper limit.

www.gov.uk/government/news/changes-to-tax-relief-for-residential-landlords

100% agree. Landlords rent homes out as a business. They’re not a charity, and under no obligation to rent out their homes. When that business starts getting more complex due to lots of red tape and a system like during covid where tenants were given a free pass to not pay rent, why would anyone be stupid enough to become a landlord?? A lot of mumsnetters got what they wished for, but now express puzzlement at a lack of private rentals. Pretty obvious why. And I say that as someone who has never been a landlord, but has privately rented for a number of years until recently.

On the streets duh! 🙄 …

at no point did I say there would be no alternative. Housing should not be a profitable business, it should be provided for all, safe, a place to lay down roots and live freely. No such system exists, housing is fucked.

They had such a system in communist countries. It was linked to employment too. I don't think any of us actually wants to live in such a system.

In my home country, singapore, we have 89% home ownership because the state builds housing to sell to its citizens which 3 bedroom flats typically measuring around 1000 square feet. The income ceiling to buy such a flat is £100,000 per annum salary so the middle class also benefits. It is quite affordable considering that average household incomes in singapore are on par with london, i would say you can pay as little as £150k-200k for a standard 3 bedroom flat. I paid £392k for my 2 bed flat in London in 2019 for comparison. Hence the 89% home ownership. 85% of Singapoerans live in these government flats, you can only buy it if you are a singapore citizen who is married, engaged or a single who is 35 and above; or buying it with a parent or sibling. The government housing stock also varies- there is everything from rental flats which are rented out for a few hundred dollars per month for the poorest to condos with swimming pools, tennis courts, spa and karaoke rooms for the people who are at the top of the income ceiling but can't quite afford to buy privately. There are also a lot of rules; for example, you can only own 1 government flat. If you own a private property, you can't buy a government flat. You can't rent out your government flat in the first 5 years of ownership.

At the same time, there are plenty of multi-millionaires and billionaires who do buy on the private market. Expats also rent; they are the most typical renters. When I was growing up in singapore, i did not know a single local who was not a home owner. To this day, I do not know anyone who is a singapore citizen and rents with young children. It is not a perfect system; far from it. but it does mean that even in land scarce singapore, most families have a secure place to live and don't need to worry about paying rent in retirement. Yes they don't have the luxury of a freehold house with garden that many people prefer here.But arguably, most singaporeans have never had that or would never have that; without this system, it would be a HK system where poor elderly people live in cages (this could be our future in London and other urban areas) and where there is 20% home ownership. I fear that if we don't take a radical approach to home ownership, the UK would have far more problems down the road.