Renters Reform - Any Landlords giving up BTL

[hattie43]

I have one BTL and I'm just not sure it's worth the hassle anymore .
I am concerned about getting rid of Sec 21 and not having control over my own property.

Any other landlords with similar concerns and are you sticking or selling .

My DB is an accidental landlord, due to having needed to live in accommodation on the site of his job. So far, it has worked well, but he is definitely mindful that he may need to just get rid of it soon. The property has never, ever, been in any kind of disrepair and any issues flagged by the agent have been dealt with right away. It's a really lovely little place and the tenants have enjoyed living there - usually between house moves or after divorces etc. So the rental housing stock is definitely needed in that area and he is a very good landlord - everything by the book, professional agent, no delay in fixing, mutual cooperation.

I think there are a lot of people who are accidental landlords. People who get together when they both own a property - end up living in one and renting out the other. People who go abroad for a year or two or whatever for work.

In the paper today, there is a Labour MP who rents out several properties. Along with photos of nasty black mould in them. It's aggravating that people like him are part of the problem (he's issued an apology, so that's all fine then ) whereas people like my DB who don't create problems and only rent out a single property, paying tax on the income, are going to potentially end up in situations where it no longer makes sense to rent the property out.

Like most of the idiotic policies, there are going to be unintended consequences. The stock of rental properties is already very low in places where it's desperately needed and the consequences of this policy could be to deplete it further.

I am not a ll, but a friend has a BTL, she is selling up, as she feels the same as you. She has had one nightmare tenant already and doesn’t want to risk another if Sec 21 is scrapped. Both the tories and labour are shooting themselves in the foot, they say more rentable houses are needed, and then wonder why so many landlords are selling up.

Sold up two years ago when there was no way of getting my last tenant to leave. This was during Covid and courts weren't interested. He disappeared owing thousands of pounds in rent. The system is wrong, for both parties involved.
I kept the property in excellent order, was fair and had previous lovely tenants who called it home for over 5 years but the affect that being powerless had on my MH really wasn't worth taking the chance again. I felt unsupported by the legislation.

My sister rented a property out after divorce. She has recently had problems with her tennant not looking after the property and has decided that its likely going to be too much trouble to continue renting and so has decided to put the property on the market.

Tennant fortunately left on time after trashing the house but at least they are gone and she doesn't have the worry of the risk of another bad tennant and being stuck with them. The deposit wont even begin to cover the damage but its done now.

People like that Labour MP make me sick. Pretending he didn’t know the state of his own properties. Fake apology supposed to make it ok.

Sold when tenant decided to open a shop, fit it out, buy stock and then tell me that sorry they couldn't pay their rent as they had spent their money on pretty things to sell in their shop.

Selling is quicker than going through the courts to get the non paying tenant out.

I'll be free of being a LL soon!
I was delighted when tenants gave notice in July.
I have had 2 flats for about 10 years. I have lain awake at night worrying about rent default, issuing s21, going to court etc etc.
Had estate agents to value one this week and it'll go on the market in the next few days.
The other has people who are waiting to exchange on a house - should be out before November.

Yes we're selling as a result of that combined with other changes. Like licences that we have to pay £1k for, yet add no value to anyone as we have all the checks and the property is very well maintained, whereas the rogue landlords just don't apply for a licence. Combined with our mortgage going up, it's just not worth the hassle and we could use the equity to clear our mortgage.

I feel bad as our lovely tenant and her kids will struggle to find somewhere else, particularly as she's paying well below market rent at the moment. We probably would have sold eventually, but I would have waited for her kids to finish at the local school were it not for the changes.

I'm keeping mine going for now. I have 11 but most are in the shelter of a limited company so I get tax relief on mortgage interest on those. This allows me to keep the others. If that were to change I'd probably sell them. I've got families with young DC in most of them and some were born there. It's their home, near to their schools. Some families have been with me for 8 years. They are good tenants. They report any issues quickly so I can get them sorted. They pay their rent on time and look after the properties. I'd hate to tell them I was selling as they would probably find it hard to rent another house for the same price. Most are EPC C but 3 are not they are EPC D and it would cost £13k each house to have internal cladding fitted and underfloor insulation and then redecorate afterwards so tenants could save about £40 per year. I'm expecting to sell to those 3 before 2030. At the moment EPC is F or above. Personally I think government should focus upon getting all houses up to EPC D not just pick on btl LL's. Housing Associations and people who own their own homes should be treated the same. LL's should not be singled out.

I’m in the fortunate position that my portfolio is paid off, but the concept of the council who has appalling property standards policing me to issue a licence is ridiculous. I’ve just had to apply for my first licence and the questions were as if I was running a social service. I wouldn’t be surprised it they’ll be a move towards mandatory taking on of social tenants. It just isn’t worth while. I would love to keep my property but I’ll have diversify into something else.

I know some accidental landlords with 1 property and yes they are considering selling up, and I don't blame them.
I think these reforms will be good for precisely nobody, and particularly bad for less than perfect tenants.

Yes we have a small portfolio of 8 properties built up. We started selling them off early this year based on the previous gifts policy and knowing what Labour would be doing. Really sad as we have some long term tenants who can't afford to buy them even with a discount..and we have been told we have been excellent landlords with properties well maintained and fair rents. Unfortunately politicians often have little life experience and think legislating will solve all the problems they see without supposed unintended consequences.

I'm in my 60s and btl just wasn't a thing- you couldn't rent out your property if it had a mortgage on it. Which meant that renting didn't pay anyone's mortgage. It made for more tenant security and less ll risk. Btl is a very bad thing!

This is an interesting thread. It seems inevitable and obvious that making things harder and more expensive for landlords will result in many selling up. This will result in fewer properties to rent and rental prices increasing. But what will it do to house prices? Will landlords want to sell at the deflated prices that will result from increased supply and low demand? Will local authorities take advantage of lower prices and purchase housing stock to rent? Will FTBs be able to move out of rented into buying these properties? It won't be as simple as that because of mortgage rates and affordability but it's going to change the housing market in this country which might make things worse but it also might make things better eventually. Things are pretty terrible as they stand.

In relation to this, can those who are thinking about selling their BTL(S), or already have, tell me how and where they are investing their money instead? I've been pondering my options post October....

My friend wasn’t BTL but did inherit her Mums house which she has kept. Really nice 2 bed cottage with small garden. She rented it out for six years and was a decent landlord. Her tenant gave notice last year as was buying a property. Due to changes it is now an Airbnb. It’s in a tourist area so obviously that had some influence on her decision.

Some years ago, my husband and I rented out the flat we lived in at the time when we worked abroad for 2 years, so we became temporary landlords.

When we came back to the UK, we wanted to move back in. Fortunately, the tenants were leaving anyway, but if they hadn’t we’d have needed to give them notice to quit so we could move back in ourselves. Presumably under the new rules we wouldn’t have been able to do that, so we’d have been stuck, unable to move back into our own home? Is that correct or is there an exception in these circumstances?

If that’s the case I’m sure many temporary landlords would think twice about renting their home for a year or two in case it became permanent. Or if they already rent under these circumstances, give notice to tenants now before the rules change, further reducing the available rental stock.

We rent out an inherited property. It came to us at the same time I had to all but give up work due to incurable cancer, so it provides a much needed income.

No way would we rent out a mortgaged property, too high risk vs reward.

My brother: selling up after absolute nightmare tenants who didn’t pay for 18 months, and he had to go to court to get rid of them. He’s not risking it again in case sec21 goes and it gets even worse

my next door house is divided to three flats and the landlord has just sold two of them to owner occupiers - he’s worried about CGT. Keeping one as it has a useful basement lockup he uses himself.

so yes people are definitely selling up

We were accidental landlords (rented out our 2 bedroom house in one area and rent a bigger house ourselves in another) but we’ve just sold up. It wasn’t worth it and we’re so relieved to be rid of it even though that means that we are no longer property owners.

No such thing as accidental landlords. Please don't minimise what is a conscious choice to set up a residential lettings business (as that's what it is - not just a little hobby or side hustle to get a bit of extra cash).

I am a landlord and I purchased my first buy to let property in 1999. I had 12 properties at one stage, my portfolio now consists of 4 and I’ve made the decision that once my tenants leave their homes then I’ll be selling up. I’ve been lucky with the tenants I’ve had (mostly) over the years but with this bill yesterday, there sadly isn’t really much regard for us landlords now and it’ll become even more restrictive in the future.

I won’t be issuing S21s as at the end of the day, these tenants have lived in my properties for years - my longest tenant moved in 2004 - yes they’re paying below the market for the type of property in the area but I’ve never had an issue with them and they pay on time each month and have maintained the property.

I can see though that many more landlords will be selling up for sure as the stress isn’t worth it. So many people BTL properties and think it’s an easy side hustle - it’s not. It’s an actual business.
People often came to me and questioned why I have a full time job and had 12 x BTL properties - truth is. It is for investment in the future, not for the monthly income…

Whole spread of various international funds both active and tracker. Very low amounts invested in the UK.

Really sad as so many landlords are good and responsible but the actions of both the previous and current govts will shift rented housing to virtually exclusively publicly owned with far less supply as evidenced already.

I inherited my mum's flat and let it for 10 years to the same family. They left as they bought a house of their own and I let to a new tenant. Both were excellent but I was concerned at the potential impact of changing legislation so sold to the tenant earlier this year. I was also increasingly ground down by the "tenant good landlord bad " narrative when the truth is there are good landlords and really bad tenants - I was fortunate to have great tenants but not willing to take the risk that next time would be the same

Yes -always had long term tenants and charged below market rent and did all repairs etc. Selling now to a guy who will use it as a base in the UK between work contracts abroad. So the incompetent Labour govt has reduced the rental stock.