4th
Sep 2019
On Monday 2nd August, Labour's Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell announced the Party's 'revolutionary' plans for the private rented sector to 'help' tenants buy out their landlords at below market price.
Image: Envato Elements, Photographer: Satura_
Needless to say the sector is up in arms about the Labour's Right to Buy Scheme, and one trade association has warned that if the party comes to power in the next General Election then it will “kill off the private rented sector”.
The Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell is once again attempting to woo tenants to vote for Labour by announcing its radical scheme to 'encourage' millions of renters to buy their homes at what he calls a “reasonable price”.
Speaking to the Financial Times yesterday, McDonnell did not offer to explain what exactly is deemed as a reasonable price, when he said "You can establish that and then that becomes the right to buy,” and uttered the immortal quote: “You (the government) set the criteria. I don’t think it’s complicated.”
A spokesperson for the trade association blasted the plans and said: “Labour’s proposal would effectively kill off a large part of the private rented sector denying a home to many thousands of people. If there was to be any chance of this becoming law, there would be a mass sell-off of properties in advance.
“The association is all in favour of landlords selling to sitting tenants but it must be entirely voluntary. Anything else amounts to a form of compulsory purchase.”
Keshava Raghubeer of a London-based property developer added: “If you wanted another reason not to vote Labour this is it. All this would create is a mass exodus of landlords before the date of implementation.
“You’d think at a time of national crisis the Labour Party would have bigger things to focus on.”
Richard Merrick of PIMS, said: "Labour's intention seems to be to kill off the private rented sector with its spin on the Rent to Buy scheme and coupled with their preference for mandatory rent caps, it could become disastrous for any landlord to stay within the sector.
"These are only two of the schemes that have been mentioned by the party and no doubt there are many other more 'opportunities' simmering underneath the surface in their efforts to force landlords out."
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