What is the explanation? It’s straightforward. Landlords are selling up because their costs – almost entirely down to borrowing costs – are going through the roof, and all of that is down to the Bank of England and their interest rate rises.
Millions of households are now living closer to destitution because the Bank of England has no idea how to identify the cause of inflation or tackle it in the circumstances in which we found ourselves.
In response, Labour and Tories lend the Bank their total support.
What sort of conspiracy against the people of this country is going on here?
Still, we know how to solve this, don’t we? I’m sure Spud was all in favour of limiting landlord access to interest relief. And he’s certainly claimed that such investment income should be subject to a 15% surcharge.
Those will help, don;t you think?
Don’t forget the lawfare that HMG (ie Michael Gove) has been waging on landlords for much of the last 5 years
I blame fly-by-night landlords for the shortage of rental housing. And the slithy Gove.
Osborne’s restrictions on tax deductions for mortgage interest for landlords have also had a big impact.
The Govt has taken many actions on tax and law which make it more expensive and risky to be a landlord.
Yoiu could argue “its beneficial” but the consequence is always higher prices.
The BofE also printed a load of money, directly causing much of the inflation it is now confused about.
It’s also restrictions on being able to evict problem tenants – which he favours. In short as with persistent inflation he is the main instigator of the problems he comments on.
what are the causes of inflation? (in no order)
– Net Zero (which he supports – indeed he want to make opposition to it illegal and an arrestable offence)
– Unlimited QE (which he proposes continuance of)
– Unlimited immigration – (opposition to which is ‘fascist’)
– the Ukraine War (the only one where he has no real opinion – he’s a Hamas supporting anti semite in the Middle East but not a CIA plant backing the Ukraine War)
– Excessive government expenditure crowding out (he favours base tax rates of 99% above £5,000 income and complete sequestration of all private savings)
So as is so often the case he is the primary cause directly of these issues, and he can feel the distant pull of the rope on the lamppost or tree….
With the threat of legislation capping rent increases to less than the rate of inflation and borrowing, and further legislation making it impossible to evict tenants plus strict controls on the rental properties that increase the landlords costs it’s no wonder that landlords are choosing to sell up. People respond to incentives, and there aren’t many of those for Landlords in the rental market.
Landlord licensing: £820 quid over 5 years in the roughest ward in Middlesbrough “to help improve standards of accommodation, and social and economic conditions”. Has it worked? No-one is saying.
Stamp Duty: every landlord gets stiffed for this on low cost housing when owner-occupiers buying do not, and the tax rates are higher on the higher priced properties.
AirBnB: Vet your tenants, check they’re decent, don’t have to deal with potential scrotes – the only ray in the picture but it shows up as a reduction in residential supply.
No fault evictions: Jesus blooming underpants. Coming soon apparently. Get out of the market, club together and buy a hotel instead, and get guaranteed income for half your rooms from the DfID.